1947 Fordham Rams football team

American college football season

1947 Fordham Rams football
Conference	Independent
Record	1–6–1
Head coach	Ed Danowski (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	T formation
Home stadium	Polo Grounds
Seasons← 1946 1948 →

1947 Eastern college football independents records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		9	–	0	–	1
Muhlenberg		–		9	–	1	–	0
Buffalo		–		8	–	1	–	0
No. 11 Army		–		5	–	2	–	2
Villanova		–		6	–	3	–	1
Boston University		–		5	–	3	–	0
Hofstra		–		5	–	3	–	0
Tufts		–		5	–	3	–	0
Franklin & Marshall		–		4	–	3	–	1
Boston College		–		5	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		4	–	4	–	2
Springfield		–		4	–	4	–	0
Syracuse		–		3	–	6	–	0
CCNY		–		2	–	5	–	1
NYU		–		2	–	5	–	1
Colgate		–		1	–	5	–	2
Temple		–		2	–	6	–	0
Bucknell		–		2	–	7	–	0
Duquesne		–		2	–	8	–	0
Fordham		–		1	–	6	–	1
Merchant Marine		–		2	–	9	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		1	–	8	–	0
Carnegie Tech		–		0	–	6	–	0
Drexel		–		0	–	8	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1947 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University as an independent during the 1947 college football season. In its second season under head coach Ed Danowski, the team compiled a 1–6–1 record and was outscored opponents by a total of 245 to Rams offense scored 44.

After a winless 1946 season, Fordham boosters raised money for 30 new scholarships. In addition, the school made several additions to its coaching staff, including the hiring of Vince Lombardi. Lombardi was responsible for coaching the freshman team. In addition, he helped the varsity team implement the T-Formation on offense. Lombardi did this for a salary of $3,500 a year. Athletic director Jack Coffey stated that he thought Lombardi would one day become head coach of the varsity team.

In the final Litkenhous Ratings released in mid-December, Fordham was ranked at No. 318 out of 500 college football teams.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
October 3	at Georgetown	Griffith Stadium Washington, DC	L 7–40	12,500
October 11	No. 12 Penn State	Polo Grounds New York, NY	L 0–75	12,000
October 18	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 6-36	10,000
October 25	at Merchant Marine	Tomb Memorial Field Kings Point, NY	W 12–0	9,000
November 1	at Boston University	Fenway Park Boston, MA	L 6–26	2,703
November 15	at Lafayette	Polo Grounds New York, NY	L 0–7	5,900
November 22	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 0–48	7,000
November 29	vs. NYU	Polo Grounds New York, NY	T 13–13	27,000
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Freshman team

The freshman team was Vince Lombardi's first experience as a head coach above the high school level. Many of the freshmen on the team were in their twenties. Three of the freshmen were players that Lombardi had coached in high school: Dick Doheny, Billy White and Larry Higgins. Twenty-three-year-old freshman Herb Seidell was elected as captain of the freshman team. He had served in the Navy with Leo Paquin, who was one of Lombardi's teammates on Fordham's Seven Blocks of Granite. Dick Doheny was the starting quarterback. One of the highlights for the team was defeating Rutgers freshman team by a score of 12–0. The Rams held the Scarlet Knights to negative yards, while the Rams gained 400 yards on the ground. After a 33–0 defeat of New York University's freshman team, the New York Herald Tribune stated that Lombardi should feel proud for a job well done. Other members in the media were very optimistic about Lombardi because the varsity team finished the season with a record of 1–6–1.

References

"1947 Fordham Rams Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
^ Maraniss, David (1999). When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. Simon & Schuster. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3.
Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings". Times. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
"Georgetown Leading Fordham at Capital". The Daily News (New York City). October 4, 1947. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
Hy Turkin (October 12, 1947). "Penn St., 75-0; Worst Ram Loss". The Daily News (New York City). p. 102 – via Newspapers.com.
Joe Burns (October 19, 1947). "Stubborn Fordham Gridders Beaten by Rutgers, 36-6". The Sunday Times (New Brunswick, NJ). p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Fordham Defeats Kings Point, 12-0". The Daily News (New York City). October 26, 1947. p. 95 – via Newspapers.com.
Jack Barry (November 2, 1947). "Only 2703 See B.U. Batter Fordham, 26-6". The Boston Globe. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
Dana Mozley (November 16, 1947). "Lafayette Nips Rams In 1st Quarter, 7-0". The Daily News (New York City). p. 102 – via Newspapers.com.
"HC, 48-0; Rams Gain ONE Yard". The Daily News (New York City). November 23, 1947. p. 103 – via Newspapers.com.
Joe Trimble (November 30, 1947). "Blocked Kick Gives NYU 13-13 Tie With Fordham". The Daily News (New York City). p. 89 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Maraniss, David (1999). When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. Simon & Schuster. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3.

v t e Fordham Rams football
Venues	Polo Grounds (1921, 1928–1950, 1953–1954) Downing Stadium (1951–1952) Coffey Field (1970–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1941 Cotton Bowl Classic 1942 Sugar Bowl Columbia: Liberty Cup Holy Cross: Ram–Crusader Cup
Culture & lore	First televised football game Seven Blocks of Granite The Ram "The Ram"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	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 1955–1963 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

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