1940 Dartmouth Indians football team

American college football season

1940 Dartmouth Indians football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–4
Head coach	Earl Blaik (7th season)
Captain	Louis Young
Home stadium	Memorial Field
Seasons← 1939 1941 →

1940 Eastern college football independents records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 5 Boston College		–		11	–	0	–	0
Duquesne		–		7	–	1	–	0
No. 14 Penn		–		6	–	1	–	1
Penn State		–		6	–	1	–	1
No. 12 Fordham		–		7	–	2	–	0
No. 15 Cornell		–		6	–	2	–	0
La Salle		–		6	–	2	–	0
Princeton		–		5	–	2	–	1
Columbia		–		5	–	2	–	2
Brown		–		6	–	3	–	1
Bucknell		–		4	–	2	–	2
Boston University		–		5	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		5	–	3	–	0
Hofstra		–		4	–	3	–	0
Harvard		–		3	–	2	–	3
Dartmouth		–		5	–	4	–	0
Temple		–		4	–	4	–	1
Tufts		–		4	–	4	–	0
Vermont		–		4	–	4	–	0
Villanova		–		4	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		3	–	4	–	1
Syracuse		–		3	–	4	–	1
Buffalo		–		3	–	5	–	0
Carnegie Tech		–		3	–	5	–	0
Manhattan		–		3	–	6	–	0
Providence		–		3	–	6	–	0
NYU		–		2	–	7	–	0
Yale		–		1	–	7	–	0
Army		–		1	–	7	–	1
CCNY		–		1	–	5	–	1
Massachusetts State		–		1	–	8	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1940 Dartmouth Indians football team was an American football team that represented Dartmouth College as an independent during the 1940 college football season. In their seventh and final season under head coach Earl Blaik, the Indians compiled a 5–4 record. Louis Young was the team captain.

George Wolfe was the team's leading scorer, with 48 points, from eight touchdowns.

Dartmouth was ranked at No. 72 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.

Dartmouth played its home games at Memorial Field on the college campus in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Cornell game controversy

Main article: Fifth Down Game (1940)

Cornell scored a touchdown in the last few seconds of the game, resulting in a 7-3 win for Cornell being officially recorded. However, observers felt that an illegal fifth down had occurred, and therefore the touchdown was invalid. After developing and reviewing filmed footage of the game, the referee agreed. Cornell coach Carl Snavely agreed to give up the win, and thus the official score was revised to 3-0 in favor of Dartmouth. The loss broke Cornell's 18-game winning streak. As of 2024, it is believed to be the "only collegiate sporting contest to be decided off the field after its completion."

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 28	St. Lawrence	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 36–0
October 5	Franklin & Marshall	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 21–23	8,000
October 12	Columbia	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 6–20	10,000
October 19	at Yale	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 7–13	35,000
October 26	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA (rivalry)	W 7–6	35,000
November 2	Sewanee	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 26–0
November 9	at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	L 9–14	30,000
November 16	Cornell	Memorial Field Hanover, NH {Fifth Down Game) (rivalry)	W 3–0	10,000
November 23	at Brown	Brown Stadium Providence, RI	W 20–6	15,000

References

^ "Season-by-Season Results: 1940-99". Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
"Annual Scoring Leaders (Since 1925)". Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wilensky, Joe (November 27, 2024). "How a 1940 Football Game Became an Icon of Good Sportsmanship". Ithaca, New York: Cornell University. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
^ "The 1940 "Fifth Down" game: Cornell vs. Dartmouth" (Video). YouTube. Cornellians Publication. November 16, 1940. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
"F. and M. Team Topples Dartmonth, 23-21, Substitutes Having Star Roles in Victory". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. October 6, 1940. p. S1.
Jack Mahon (October 13, 1940). "Lions Conquer Green, 20 to 6". New York Daily News. p. 88 – via Newspapers.com.
Kelley, Robert F. (October 20, 1940). "Last-Minute Forward Halts Dartmouth for Yale, 13 to 7". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
McGowen, Roscoe (October 27, 1940). "Dartmouth Rally Nips Harvard, 7-6". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
"Dartmouth's power too much, Sewanee drops 26–0 decision". The Birmingham News. November 3, 1940. Retrieved August 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
Kelley, Robert F. (November 10, 1940). "Princeton Trips Dartmouth, 14-9". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
"Cornell Nips Dartmouth, 7-3, With 5 Sec. to Go". New York Daily News. November 17, 1940. p. 96 – via Newspapers.com.
Richardson, William D. (November 17, 1940). "Disputed Cornell Play Tops Dartmouth, 7-3, at Finish; Pass Halts Green". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
Daley, Arthur J. (November 19, 1940). "Dartmouth 3, Cornell 0, Official Score as Ithacans Refuse Victory". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. 31.
Effrat, Louis (November 24, 1940). "Dartmouth Victor over Brown, 20-6". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.

v t e Dartmouth Big Green football
Venues	Memorial Field (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Cornell Harvard New Hampshire
Culture & lore	Wurtenburg years Keggy the Keg "Dartmouth's In Town Again" Fifth Down Game The Sport Parade The Iron Major
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

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