1939 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1939 Oklahoma Sooners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Oklahoma as a member of the Big Six Conference during the 1939 college football season. In their third year under head coach Tom Stidham, the Sooners compiled a 6–2–1 record (3–2 against conference opponents), finished in third place in the Big Six Conference, and outscored their opponents by a total of 186 to 62.[1][2]

1939 Oklahoma Sooners football
ConferenceBig Six Conference
Ranking
APNo. 19
Record6–2–1 (3–2 Big 6)
Head coach
CaptainNorval Locke
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1938
1940 →
1939 Big Six Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Missouri $ 5 0 0 8 2 0
No. 18 Nebraska 4 1 0 7 1 1
No. 19 Oklahoma 3 2 0 6 2 1
Kansas 1 4 0 2 6 0
Iowa State 1 4 0 2 7 0
Kansas State 1 4 0 4 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Oklahoma was ranked at No. 19 in the final AP Poll and at No. 8 in the final Litkenhous Ratings.[3]

Two Sooners received All-America honors in 1939: tackle Gilford Duggan and Frank "Pop" Ivy.[4] Five Sooners received all-conference honors: Duggan, Ivy, tackle Justin Bowers, and backs Beryl Clark and Robert Seymour.[5]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30SMU*T 7–726,205
October 7at Northwestern*W 23–045,000[6]
October 14vs. Texas*No. 3W 24–1228,000[7]
October 21KansasNo. 3
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 27–7
October 28Oklahoma A&M*No. 6
W 41–0
November 4Iowa StateNo. 6
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 38–620,417
November 11at Kansas StateNo. 6W 13–1017,545
November 18at No. 12 MissouriNo. 5L 6–727,000[8]
November 25at NebraskaNo. 14L 7–1335,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[9]

Rankings

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The first AP poll for 1939 came out on October 16. The Sooners were ranked third. They finished the year ranked 19th.

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP3 (10)6 (2)6 (2)6 (3)5 (2)1419

NFL draft

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The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[10]

Round Pick Player Position NFL team
3 17 Dick Favor Back Philadelphia Eagles
4 26 John Shirk End Chicago Cardinals
4 27 Pop Ivy End Pittsburgh Steelers
9 79 J. R. Manley Guard Green Bay Packers
10 88 Bob Seymour Back Washington Redskins
13 111 Al Coppage End Chicago Cardinals
13 116 Justin Bowers Tackle Detroit Lions
16 141 Beryl Clark Back Chicago Cardinals
18 165 Ralph Stevenson Guard Cleveland Rams

References

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  1. ^ "Oklahoma Yearly Results (1935-1939)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1939 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. ^ E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 90. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  5. ^ "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 95. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Wilfrid Smith (October 8, 1939). "Oklahoma Gives Wildcats Sharp Lesson, 23 to 0: Purple Errors Lead to 2 Touchdowns". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Oklahoma takes wild game from Texas, 24–12". Shawnee Morning News. October 15, 1939. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ J. Roy Stockton (November 19, 1939). "King Kicks Tigers To Victory Over Oklahoma, 7 To 6: Bob Orf Recovers Blocked Punt for Tiger Touchdown". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ DeLassus, David. "Oklahoma Yearly Results 1935–1939". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  10. ^ "1940 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.