1946 Buffalo Bisons season

Last updated

1946 Buffalo Bisons (AAFC) season
Head coach Red Dawson
Home field Civic Stadium
Results
Record3–10–1
Division placeT-2nd AAFC East
Playoff finishdid not qualify

The 1946 Buffalo Bisons season was their inaugural season in the All-America Football Conference. The team finished 3-10-1, [1] failing to qualify for the playoffs.

Contents

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback George Terlep with 574 passing yards, fullback Vic Kulbitski with 605 rushing yards, and end Fay King with 466 receiving yards. Right halfback Steve Juzwik and fullback Lou Zontini tied for the team scoring lead with 42 points each. [2]

Season schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 8 Brooklyn Dodgers L 14–270–1 Civic Stadium Recap
2September 14at New York Yankees L 10–210–2 Yankee Stadium Recap
3September 22 Cleveland Browns L 0–280–3Civic Stadium Recap
September 25at Chicago Rockets L 28–350–4 Soldier Field Recap
4September 29 Los Angeles Dons T 21–210–4–1Civic Stadium Recap
5October 4 New York Yankees L 13–210–5–1Civic Stadium Recap
6October 11 Miami Seahawks L 14–170–6–1Civic Stadium Recap
7October 19 San Francisco 49ers W 17–141–6–1Civic Stadium Recap
8October 27 Chicago Rockets W 49–172–6–1Civic Stadium Recap
9November 2at San Francisco 49ers L 14–272–7–1 Kezar Stadium Recap
10November 10at Brooklyn Dodgers W 17–143–7–1 Ebbets Field Recap
11November 18at Miami Seahawks L 14–213–8–1 Miami Orange Bowl Recap
12November 24at Cleveland Browns L 17–423–9–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap
13December 1at Los Angeles Dons L 14–623–10–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
14 Bye
15Bye
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Division standings

AAFC Eastern Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
New York Yankees 1031.7696–0270192W2
Buffalo Bisons 3101.2311–5249370L3
Brooklyn Dodgers 3101.2312–4226339L6
Miami Seahawks 3110.2143–3167378W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings.

Roster

Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage.

Buffalo Bisons 1946 roster
Quarterbacks

Fullbacks

Halfbacks

Ends

Tackles

Guards

Centers

Related Research Articles

Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from 1915 to 1917, Buffalo Niagaras in 1918, the Buffalo Prospects in 1919, Buffalo All-Americans from 1920 to 1923, Buffalo Bisons from 1924 to 1925 and in 1927 and 1929, and the Buffalo Rangers in 1926. The franchise, which was experiencing financial problems in 1928, did not participate in league play that season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Dobbs</span> American football player, coach, and administrator (1920–2002)

Glenn Dobbs Jr. was an American professional football player in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). A skilled tailback, quarterback, punter and return specialist, Dobbs was named the AAFC's MVP in 1946. After sitting out the 1950 season with a knee injury, Dobbs was persuaded to come out of retirement to play with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU), forerunner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In 1951 Dobbs was named the Most Valuable Player of the WIFU. Dobbs played college football at the University of Tulsa, where he was later head football coach from 1961 to 1968 and athletic director from 1955 to 1970. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Pruitt</span> American football player (born 1954)

Michael L. Pruitt is an American former professional football player who was a fullback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1986. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 1976 NFL Draft and spent nine seasons with that club. He had five seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1979 and 1980. He also played for the Buffalo Bills for four games in 1985 and for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1985 and 1986. In his NFL career, Pruitt appeared in a total of 152 games, gained 7,378 rushing yards and scored 56 touchdowns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marv Hubbard</span> American football player (1946–2015)

For the career criminal of the same name, see Battle of Alcatraz

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ollie Cline</span> American football player (1925–2001)

Oliver Monroe Cline was a college and professional American football fullback who played for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions in the 1940s and 1950s. A standout high school athlete in his hometown of Fredericktown, Ohio, Cline attended Ohio State University starting in 1944. He became the football team's primary fullback that year as the school went unbeaten and was ranked second in the nation in the AP Poll. The following year, Cline was named the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference, rushing for 936 yards as Ohio State built up a 7–2 record and was ranked 12th in the AP Poll. Following a brief stint in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II, Cline returned to Ohio State for a final season in 1947.

The 1946 Cleveland Browns season was the team's first in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The Browns, coached by Paul Brown, ended the year with a record of 12–2, winning the AAFC's Western Division. Led by quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and ends Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie, the team won the first AAFC championship game against the New York Yankees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Bulls football</span> Football team for the State University of New York at Buffalo

The Buffalo Bulls football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University at Buffalo located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Mid-American Conference. Buffalo's first football team was fielded in 1894. The team plays its home games at the 25,000+ seat UB Stadium on University at Buffalo's north campus in Amherst, New York. The Bulls are coached by Pete Lembo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chet Mutryn</span> American football player (1921–1995)

Chester A. Mutryn was an American professional football halfback and return specialist who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steagles in the 20th round of the 1943 NFL Draft.

The 1973 Buffalo Bills season was the 14th season for the team and their 4th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Bills finished in 2nd place in the AFC East division and finished the 1973 NFL season with a record of 9 wins and 5 losses, the team's first winning record since 1966.

The 1946 San Francisco 49ers season was the inaugural season of the San Francisco 49ers and the first season of the All-America Football Conference. Led by head coach Buck Shaw, the team compiled a 9–5 record and finished second in the AAFC West Division. The 49ers also had the second best scoring offense in the AAFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Ohio State Buckeyes football team</span> American college football season

The 1946 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented Ohio State University in the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. In Paul Bixler's only season as head coach, the Buckeyes compiled a 4–3–2 record and were outscored by a total of 170 to 166. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll on November 4, 1946, but lost the final two games of their season against No. 9 Illinois and No. 8 Michigan. Right guard Warren Amling, a veterinary student, was elected as team captain.

The 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the first season for the Brooklyn Dodgers football team and also the inaugural season of the All-America Football Conference. The team compiled a 3–10–1 record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Michigan Wolverines football team</span> American college football season

The 1946 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. In their ninth year under head coach was Fritz Crisler, the Wolverines compiled a 6–2–1 record, outscored opponents 233 to 73, and finished the season in second place in the Big Nine Conference and ranked No. 6 in the final 1946 AP poll. The team's two losses came against an undefeated Army team that was ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll and against an Illinois team that won the Big Nine championship and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll. Michigan won its last four games by a combined score of 162 to 19, starting a 25-game winning streak that continued for nearly three years until October 8, 1949. In the final game of the 1946 season, Michigan defeated Ohio State, 58–6, the Buckeyes' worst defeat since joining the conference in 1913.

Louis William Daddio was an American football player, coach, and scout. He was an All-American at end at the University of Pittsburgh and played with the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1941 to 1942 and the Buffalo Bisons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946. Daddio served as the head football coach at Allegheny College from 1947 to 1951, compiling a record of 14–18–5. He was later an assistant football coach at Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame and a personnel director for the Philadelphia Eagles. From 1969 until his retirement in 1987, he worked as a scout for the3 Denver Broncos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Evans (running back)</span> American football player (1921–2007)

Frederick Owen "Dippy" Evans Jr. was a professional American football halfback who played for three years in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) in the late 1940s.

The 1946 LSU Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Louisiana State University (LSU) in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1946 college football season. In their 12th year under head coach Bernie Moore, the Tigers compiled a 9–1–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 240 to 123. They were ranked No. 6 in the final AP Poll and were invited to play in the 1947 Cotton Bowl Classic where they played a scoreless tie against Arkansas.

The 1946 AAFC season was the first season of the All-America Football Conference, a new professional league established to challenge the market dominance of the established National Football League. The league included eight teams, broken up into Eastern and Western divisions, which played a 14-game official schedule, culminating in a league championship game.

The 1947 AAFC season was the second season of the All-America Football Conference. The league included eight teams, broken up into Eastern and Western divisions, which played a 14-game official schedule, culminating in a league Championship Game.

Louis Rogers "Red" Zontini was an American football fullback and halfback.

Joe Sutton was an American football defensive back and fullback who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple.

References

  1. 1946 Buffalo Bisons Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "1946 Buffalo Bisons Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2020.