1940 All-SEC football team

Last updated March 02, 2019

The 1940 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1940 college football season. Tennessee won the conference.

American football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, which is the team controlling the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with or passing the ball, while the defense, which is the team without control of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and aims to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, and otherwise they turn over the football to the defense; if the offense succeeds in advancing ten yards or more, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the Southern part of the United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of eleven states, two additional public land grant universities, and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in sports competitions; for football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A.

The 1940 college football season ended with the Gophers of the University of Minnesota being named the nation’s #1 team and national champion by the AP Poll, and the Stanford University Indians in second, with the two teams receiving 65 and 44 first place votes respectively. Each writer listed his choice for the top ten teams, and points were tallied based on 10 for first place, 9 for second, etc., and the AP then ranked the twenty teams with the highest number of points. Minnesota, Stanford, Boston College, and Tennessee all claim 1940 as a national championship season.

All-SEC selections

Ends

Buddy Elrod , Miss. St. (AP-1, INS, UP)
Holt Rast , Alabama (AP-1, INS, UP)
Ed Cifers, Tennessee (AP-2)
Bob Ison, Georgia Tech (AP-2)
Fergie Ferguson, Florida (AP-3)
Harold Newman, Alabama (AP-3)

Ervin B. "Buddy" Elrod was an American football player. He attended the Mississippi State University and played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team. He played at the end position for the Bulldogs and was selected by the Associated Press, Central Press Association, New York Sun and Liberty magazine as a first-team player on the 1940 College Football All-America Team. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1941 and entered the military in 1942. He was inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.

Holt Rast was an American football player and entrepreneur who founded Rast Construction. Rast served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 and was later elected to serve in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1958 to 1966. He was appointed by Governor George Wallace to assist with the development of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1967 and founded Rast Construction in 1975.

Edward Clifton Cifers was an American football end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1941 NFL Draft.

Tackles

Abe Shires , Tennessee (AP-1, INS, UP)
Charles Dufour, Tulane (AP-2, INS)
John Tripson, Miss. St. (AP-2, UP)
Fred Davis, Alabama (AP-1)
John Eibner, Kentucky (AP-3)
John Barrett, LSU (AP-3)

Marshall Abraham "Abe" Shires was an American football player. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers football team and was selected by the Central Press Association as a third-team tackle on the 1940 College Football All-America Team. During Shires' three years at Tennessee (1938-1940), the Volunteers compiled a 31-2 record, won three SEC championships and two national championships, and participated in the Orange, Rose, and Sugar Bowls. He was drafted by the Cleveland Rams with the 14th pick in the 1941 NFL Draft. However, due to military service during World War II, Shires did not make his debut in the National Football League until the 1945 NFL season and as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Frederick Lee Davis was an American football defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Davis played college football at the University of Alabama and was drafted in the third round of the 1941 NFL Draft.

Guards

Bob Suffridge , Tennessee (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1, INS, UP)
John W. Goree, LSU (AP-3, INS, UP)
Hunter Corhern, Miss. St. (AP-1)
Ed Molinski, Tennessee (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2)
Edward Hickerson, Alabama (AP-2)
Julius Battista, Florida (AP-3)

Robert Lee "Bob" Suffridge was an American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was later inducted into the school's hall of fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Suffridge also served in the United States Navy during World War II.

Ed Molinski was a Hall of Fame college football player for the University of Tennessee. He later became a doctor after being involved in boxing, World War II, and college coaching.

Centers

Bob Gude , Vanderbilt (AP-1, INS, UP)
Norbert Ackermann, Tennessee (AP-2)

Henry Paul "Bob" Gude, Jr. was an American football player. He was a prominent center for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. Gude was frequently compared to former Commodore greats Carl Hinkle and Pete Gracey. "He was Vanderbilt's main defensive cog." Gude was twice All-SEC. Gude was named to the Fox-Movietone All-America team in 1941. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 1942 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. While serving in World War II, Gude was a sergeant who played army football under Wallace Wade.

Backfield

Bob Foxx , Tennessee (AP-1, INS, UP)
Harvey Johnson, Miss. St. (AP-2, INS, UP)
John Hovious, Ole Miss (AP-1, INS)
Jimmy Nelson, Alabama (AP-1, INS)
James Thibaut, Tulane (AP-2, UP)
Neal McGowen, Auburn (AP-1)
Frank Sinkwich, Georgia (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP)
John Butler, Tennessee (AP-2)
Merle Hapes, Ole Miss (AP-2)
Charles Ishmael, Kentucky (AP-3)
John Bosch, Georgia Tech (AP-3)
Rufus Deal, Auburn (AP-3)
William Jefferson, Miss St. (AP-3)

Robert Morgan Foxx was an American football player. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1938 to 1940 and was selected by the International News Service as a second-team player on the 1940 College Football All-America Team. In a poll of Knoxville Journal readers, Foxx was voted Knoxville's greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. He played minor league baseball in 1941. He also was hired as an assistant football coach at Tennessee in 1941.

James Guess Nelson was an American football running back. He played one season in the AAFC for the Miami Seahawks. Nelson played college football at Alabama, where he was part of the 1941 National Championship team. Though selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1942 NFL Draft, he did not play professional football until 1946. Instead, he served at March Field during World War II.

Frank Francis Sinkwich Sr. was an American football player and coach. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1942 playing for the University of Georgia, making him the first recipient from the Southeastern Conference. In the course of a brief but celebrated career in professional football, Sinkwich was selected for the National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. He coached the Erie (PA) Vets semi-professional football team in 1949. Sinkwich was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Key

AP = compiled by the Associated Press, chosen by the conference coaches.^[1]^[2]

INS = International News Service.^[3]

UP = United Press ^[4]
Bold = Consensus first-team selection

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The 1953 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1953 college football season. Alabama won the conference.

The 1948 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1948 college football season. Georgia won the conference.

The 1946 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1946 college football season. Georgia and Tennessee shared the conference title.

The 1951 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1951 college football season. Georgia Tech and Tennessee shared the conference title. The Associated Press selection had two platoons.

The 1949 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1949 college football season. Tulane won the conference.

The 1950 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1950 college football season. Kentucky won the conference.

The 1944 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1944 college football season. Georgia Tech won the conference.

The 1945 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1945 college football season. Alabama won the conference title.

The 1954 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1954 college football season. Ole Miss won the conference.

The 1955 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1955 college football season. Ole Miss won the conference.

The 1956 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by various selectors for the 1956 college football season. Tennessee won the conference.

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References

↑ "Three Tennessee Gridders Top Southeastern All-Stars". November 29, 1940. p. 41. Retrieved May 27, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Vols, Alabama Put Five Men on 'Star' Team". The Monroe News-Star. November 29, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved May 27, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Vols Dominate All-Loop Eleven". Arizona Independent Republic. December 4, 1940. p. 47. Retrieved May 27, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "United Press Puts Sinkwich On Star Team". The Anniston Star. November 29, 1940. p. 12. Retrieved June 6, 2015– via Newspapers.com.

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[1] "Three Tennessee Gridders Top Southeastern All-Stars". November 29, 1940. p. 41. Retrieved May 27, 2015– via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Vols, Alabama Put Five Men on 'Star' Team". The Monroe News-Star. November 29, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved May 27, 2015– via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Vols Dominate All-Loop Eleven". Arizona Independent Republic. December 4, 1940. p. 47. Retrieved May 27, 2015– via Newspapers.com.

[4] "United Press Puts Sinkwich On Star Team". The Anniston Star. November 29, 1940. p. 12. Retrieved June 6, 2015– via Newspapers.com.