1947 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1947 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State College as an independent during the 1947 college football season. The team compiled a 7–2 record and outscored opponents 167 to 101.[1][2] Clarence Munn was the first-year head coach, Ralph H. Young was the athletic director, and Robert McCurry was the team captain. The three assistants (Duffy Daugherty, Forest Evashevski, Kip Taylor) were all future head coaches.

1947 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–2
Head coach
MVPWarren Huey
CaptainRobert B. McCurry
Home stadiumMacklin Field
1947 Midwestern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Notre Dame   –  9 –0 –0
Youngstown   –  8 –2 –0
Michigan State   –  7 –2 –0
Ball State   –  5 –1 –2
Ohio Wesleyan   –  6 –2 –1
Wayne   –  5 –2 –0
Dayton   –  6 –3 –0
Washington University   –  5 –3 –0
Detroit   –  6 –4 –0
Bowling Green   –  5 –5 –0
Xavier   –  4 –4 –1
Marquette   –  4 –5 –0
Central Michigan   –  2 –5 –1
Valparaiso   –  2 –5 –1
Michigan State Normal   –  1 –6 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

In December 1946, after Charlie Bachman resigned, Michigan State hired Munn as its head football coach. Munn had been the head coach at Syracuse in 1946 and had previously been the line coach at Michigan for seven years.[3] In their first season under Munn, the Spartans achieved their most successful since the 1937 team finished 8–2.[4]

The Spartans began the Munn era with a 55–0 loss to in-state rival 1947 Michigan team. The Spartans' only other setback was a narrow 7 to 6 loss to Bear Bryant's Kentucky Wildcats. In intersectional play, the Spartans beat Mississippi State (7–0), Washington State (21–7), Santa Clara (28–0), Temple (14–6), and Hawaii (58–19).[2] The Hawaii game was played in Honolulu with Bud Crane scoring four touchdowns for the Spartans.[5] The team's 58 points against Hawaii was its highest total since 1932.[4]

Michigan State was ranked at No. 38 (out of 500 college football teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1947.[6]

At the end of the 1947 season, Tommy Devine wrote in the Detroit Free Press that Munn had "restored athletic 'peace' to Michigan State."[7] At the team's post-season banquet, Robert McCurry was selected to serve another year as the team's captain, and end Warren Huey was named the team's most valuable player and recipient of the Governor of Michigan award.[8]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 27at Michigan
L 0–5572,015[9][10]
October 4Mississippi State
W 7–022,562[11]
October 11at Washington State
W 21–718,000[12]
October 18Iowa Statedagger
  • Macklin Field
  • East Lansing, MI
W 20–020,987[13]
October 25Kentucky
  • Macklin Field
  • East Lansing, MI
L 6–726,997[14]
November 1Marquette
  • Macklin Field
  • East Lansing, MI
W 13–723,856[15]
November 8Santa Clara
  • Macklin Field
  • East Lansing, MI
W 28–021,867[16]
November 15at Temple
W 14–65,000[17]
November 29at Hawaii
W 58–1915,000[4]
  • daggerHomecoming

Players

From the 1947 team, 32 players and the student manager received varsity letters for their contributions to the team.[8] The players who received varsity letters are:

  • Don Arnson, Muskegon
  • Ed Bagdon, guard, Detroit
  • Ken Balge, end, Detroit
  • Mark Blackman, Jackson
  • Jim Blenkhorn, fullback, Saginaw
  • Carl Cappaert, Clare
  • Cornelius Carrigan, East Pittsburgh, PA
  • Lynn Chandnois, halfback, Flint
  • Bud Crane, Highland Park
  • Henry Ferris, Utica, NY
  • Pete Fusi, tackle, Flint
  • Hal Gasser, Birmingham
  • John Gilman, Clinton
  • Russ Gilpin, Detroit
  • Gene Glick, quarterback, Saginaw
  • George Guerre, halfback, Flint
  • Warren Huey, end, Punxsutawney, PA
  • Bob Krestel, quarterback, Swissvale, PA
  • Don Mason, guard, Wayne
  • Bob McCurry, center, Lewistown, PA
  • Carl Nestor, Chicago
  • Rex Parsell, Flint
  • John Poloncak, halfback, Chicago
  • Barney Roskopp, Mt. Clemens
  • Steve Sieradzki, halfback, Muskegon
  • George Smith, Wayne
  • Horace Smith, Jackson
  • Ed Sohacki, Detroit
  • Bill Spiegel, Birmingham
  • Hal Vogler, tackle, Detroit
  • Frank Waters, fullback, Wallingford, CT
  • Jim Zito, tackle, Geneva, OH

Frank O. May of Dearborn was the student manager.

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Michigan
Week 1: Michigan State at Michigan
1 234Total
Mich. St. 0 000 0
• Michigan 14 14207 55

On September 27, Michigan State opened the season with a non-conference game against Michigan. Playing in Ann Arbor in front of 73,115 spectators, the Wolverines defeated the Spartans, 55–0. The game was the first as head coach of the Spartans for "Biggie" Munn, who had been an assistant coach at Michigan from 1938 to 1945. Michigan dominated the game, outgaining Michigan State 504 yards to 56. Michigan head coach Fritz Crisler played second, third, and fourth string players later in the game, using 37 players in all. Bob Chappuis ran for three touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass for another.[9][10]

References
  1. "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 154. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. "1947 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  3. Marshall Dann (December 15, 1946). "Spartans Choose Munn as New Football Coach". Detroit Free Press. pp. 4–1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. George S. Alderton (November 30, 1947). "Michigan State, Despite Heat, Overpowers Hawaii 58 to 19". Lansing State Journal. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Michigan State Wins in Hawaii". Sunday Times, Cumberland, Maryland. November 30, 1947. p. 31.
  6. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings". Times. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Great Grid Season Gets Munn off Spot". Detroit Free Press. December 1, 1947. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. George S. Alderton (December 9, 1947). "Munn Points at 1948 As 'S' Gridders Dine". Lansing State Journal. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Wolverines Rout Spartans By 55-0: Chappuis Scores Three Times as Michigan Displays Its Running, Passing Skill". The New York Times. September 28, 1947.
  10. George S. Alderton (September 28, 1947). "Under-Manned State Footballers Lashed By Michigan, 55 to 0". Lansing State Journal. pp. 1, 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Marshall Dann (October 5, 1947). "MSC Takes Only Chance". Detroit Free Press. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Little Guerre Shines as Spartans Win, 21-7". Detroit Free Press. October 12, 1947. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Marshall Dann (October 19, 1947). "Long Sprints Win for Spartans, 20-0". Detroit Free Press. p. Sports 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Marshall Dann (October 25, 1947). "MSC Loses Star, Game". Detroit Free Press. p. Sports 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. W. W. Edgar (November 2, 1947). "Power Pays for Spartans". Detroit Free Press. p. Sports 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. W. W. Edgar (November 9, 1947). "Spartans Roll Over Santa Clara, 28-0". Detroit Free Press. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. George S. Alderton (November 16, 1947). "Spartans Rack Up No. 6, a 14-6 Decision Over Temple". Lansing State Journal. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
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