1926 Lafayette Leopards football team

1926 Lafayette Leopards football
National champion (Davis)
Conference	Independent
Record	9–0
Head coach	Herb McCracken (3rd season)
Captain	Frank Kirkleski
Home stadium	Fisher Field
Seasons ←  1925 1927  →

1926 Eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Lafayette			–					9	–	0	–	0
No. 10 Brown			–					9	–	0	–	1
NYU			–					8	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Army			–					7	–	1	–	1
Washington & Jefferson			–					7	–	1	–	1
Boston College			–					6	–	0	–	2
No. 10 Penn			–					7	–	1	–	1
Cornell			–					6	–	1	–	1
Princeton			–					5	–	1	–	1
Carnegie Tech			–					7	–	2	–	0
Springfield			–					6	–	2	–	0
Syracuse			–					7	–	2	–	1
Villanova			–					6	–	2	–	1
Colgate			–					5	–	2	–	2
Columbia			–					6	–	3	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					5	–	2	–	2
CCNY			–					5	–	3	–	0
Temple			–					5	–	3	–	0
Penn State			–					5	–	4	–	0
Tufts			–					4	–	4	–	0
Yale			–					4	–	4	–	0
Bucknell			–					4	–	5	–	1
Fordham			–					3	–	4	–	1
Harvard			–					3	–	5	–	0
Rutgers			–					3	–	6	–	0
Vermont			–					3	–	6	–	0
Drexel			–					2	–	5	–	0
Boston University			–					2	–	6	–	0
Lehigh			–					1	–	8	–	0
Franklin & Marshall			–					0	–	8	–	1
Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1926 Lafayette Leopards football team was an American football team that represented Lafayette College as an independent during the 1926 college football season. In its third season under head coach Herb McCracken, Lafayette compiled a 9–0 record and shut out five of nine opponents. ^{[1] [2]} Halfback Frank Kirkleski was the team captain. ^[3]

Although Alabama and Stanford have been named the 1926 national champion by most selectors, the 1926 Lafayette team was named as the national champion by one selector, Parke H. Davis. ^[4] The team was ranked No. 5 in the nation in the Dickinson System ratings released in December 1926. ^[5]

The team played its home games at the Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania. Fisher Stadium opened in 1926 with a seating capacity of 13,132. ^[6]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 25	Muhlenberg	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	W 35–0
October 2	Schuylkill	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	W 47–0
October 9	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 17–7
October 16	Dickinson	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	W 42–13
October 23	Albright	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	W 30–7
October 30	vs. Washington & Jefferson	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 16–10	20,000	[7]
November 6	at Rutgers	Neilson Field New Brunswick, NJ	W 37–0		[8]
November 13	Susquehanna	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	W 68–0		[9]
November 20	Lehigh	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	W 35–0		[10]

^[11]

References

1. "goleopards.com 1926 Football Team Bio - Lafayette Leopards Official Athletic Site Lafayette Leopards Official Athletic Site - Maroon Club". goleopards.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013.
2. "2018 Lafayette Football Media Guide" (PDF). Lafayette University. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
3. 2018 Lafayette Media Guide, p. 129.
4. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
5. "Stanford Eleven Adjudged Best: Navy Ranks Second Under Dickinson System of Rating Teams". The Morning Post. Camden, N.J. December 17, 1926. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
6. 2018 Lafayette Media Guide, pp. 6, 73.
7. "Leopards in Last Minute of Play Overcome Foes From Western Tip of State". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 31, 1926. p. 45 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Rutgers Players In Good Shape for Lehigh Contest". The Daily Home News. November 8, 1926. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Wilson Tops High Scorers of East as Lafayette Swamps Susquehanna". Allentown Morning Call. November 14, 1926. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Lafayette Juggernaut Crushes Lehigh". Allentown Morning Call. November 21, 1926. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "1926 Football Schedule".