| 1946 Missouri Valley Vikings football | |
|---|---|
MCAU champion | |
| Conference | Missouri College Athletic Union |
| Record | 10–0 (4–0 MCAU) |
| Head coach |
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| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri Valley $ | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central (MO) | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William Jewell | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Culver–Stockton | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tarkio | 0 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1946 Missouri Valley Vikings football team was an American football team that represented Missouri Valley College as a member of the Missouri College Athletic Union (MCAU) during the 1946 college football season. In their seventh season under head coach Volney Ashford, the Vikings compiled a perfect 10–0 record (4–0 against MCAU teams), won the MCAU championship, shut out five of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 387 to 33. [1] [2]
The season was part of a 41-game winning streak (1941–1942, 1946–1948) that still ranks as the fifth longest in college football history. [note 1] Coach Ashford, who led the team during the streak, was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. [3]
Missouri Valley halfback Alva Baker ranked seventh nationally in scoring among small-college players with 84 points scored. [4] Eleven Missouri Valley players received honors from the Associated Press (AP) on the All-MCAU football team, six on the first team and five on the second team. The honorees included Alva Baker at halfback (AP-1); Ted Chittwood at end (AP-1); Jim Nelson (AP-1) and Verlie Harris (AP-1) at the guard position; Bill Klein at center (AP-2). [5]
Missouri Valley's roster also included back Hugh C. Dunn, who lost his left hand due to injuries suffered in a German mortar attack during World War II. [6]
During the fall of 1946, Missouri Valley College had only 513 students, 322 of which were freshmen. [2]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20 | Sterling * | Marshall, MO | W 37–0 | [7] | |||
| September 26 | Chillicothe Business College* | Marshall, MO | W 65–0 | [8] [9] | |||
| October 4 | Simpson * | W 34–6 | |||||
| October 11 | at Tarkio | Tarkio, MO | W 27–0 | [10] | |||
| October 18 | at William Jewell | Liberty, MO | W 47–7 | [11] | |||
| October 25 | Shurtleff * | Marshall, MO | W 39–0 | [12] | |||
| November 1 | Central (MO) | Marshall, MO | W 25–7 | [13] | |||
| November 8 | Culver–Stockton | Canton, MO | W 47–0 | [14] | |||
| November 15 | McPherson * | Marshall, MO | W 32–6 | [15] | |||
| November 22 | Rockhurst * | Marshall, MO | W 34–7 | 2,500 | [16] | ||
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