1946 Chicago Rockets season

Last updated

1946 Chicago Rockets season
460920-rockets-yankees.jpg
Head coach Dick Hanley, Pat Boland, Bob Dove, Ned Mathews, and Willie Wilkin
Home stadium Soldier Field
Results
Record5–6–3
Division place4th AAFC West
Playoffsdid not qualify

The 1946 Chicago Rockets season was the inaugural season for both the Chicago Rockets and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in which they played. The Rockets compiled a 5-6-3 record, were outscored by a total of 315 to 263, and finished in last place in the AAFC's West Division. [1]

Contents

Dick Hanley, who had been the head coach at Northwestern from 1927 to 1934, was the head coach at the start of the season. After the first three games, the players voted 32-to-1 to remove Hanley. The team felt that Hanley's double-wing system was outdated. After a two-hour meeting between the players and team owner John L. Keeshin, Keeshin fired Hanley. Three of the players (Ned Mathews, Bob Dove, and Willie Wilkin) took over as player-coaches. [2] The "self-coached experiment" ended on October 29 when Pat Boland was hired as head coach. [3]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bob Hoernschemeyer with 1,266 passing yards and 375 rushing yards, halfback Elroy Hirsch with 347 receiving yards, and backup quarterback (and placekicker) Steve Nemeth with 59 points scored (32 extra points, 9 field goals). [1] Hoernschemeyer was the only Chicago player named to the All-AAFC team, receiving second-team honors from both the United Press and on the official All-AAFC team. [4] [5]

Preseason schedule

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceSources
1August 18vs. Brooklyn Dodgers T 14–140–0–1 Multnomah Stadium
2September 1at San Francisco 49ers T 14–140–0–2 Kezar Stadium

[6]

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecapSources
1September 13 Cleveland Browns L 6–200–1 Soldier Field Recap
2September 20 New York Yankees T 17–170–1–1Soldier Field Recap
3September 25 Buffalo Bisons W 38–351–1–1Soldier Field Recap
4September 29 San Francisco 49ers W 24–72–1–1Soldier Field Recap
5October 5 Los Angeles Dons L 9–212–2–1Soldier Field Recap
6October 11at Brooklyn Dodgers T 21–212–2–2 Ebbets Field Recap
7October 18 Miami Seahawks W 28–73–2–2Soldier Field Recap
8October 27at Buffalo Bisons L 17–493–3–2 Civic Stadium Recap
9November 2 Brooklyn Dodgers L 14–213–4–2Soldier Field Recap
10November 11at Miami Seahawks W 20–74–4–2 Burdine Stadium Recap
11November 17at Cleveland Browns L 14–514–5–2 Municipal Stadium Recap
12November 24at New York Yankees W 38–285–5–2 Yankee Stadium Recap
13November 30at San Francisco 49ers L 0–145–6–2 Kezar Stadium Recap
Bye
14December 15at Los Angeles Dons T 17–175–6–3 LA Memorial Coliseum Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Division standings

AAFC Western Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns 1220.8574–2423137W5
San Francisco 49ers 950.6434–2307189W3
Los Angeles Dons 752.5832–3–1305290T1
Chicago Rockets 563.4551–4–1263315T1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the 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.

Chicago Rockets 1946 roster
Quarterbacks

Fullbacks

Halfbacks

Ends

Tackles

Guards

Centers

References

  1. 1 2 "1946 Chicago Rockets Statistics and Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  2. "A New Twist: Rockets Now Self Coached". Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1946. p. II-1 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Boland Named Head Coach of Rocket Eleven". Chicago Tribune. October 30, 1946. p. III-1 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Jungmichael Named On All-AAFC Second". The Miami News. December 16, 1946. p. 4B via Newspapers.com.
  5. "All-Star Pro Eleven Named". Baltimore Sun. January 5, 1947. p. Sports 2 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "1946 Chicago Rockets (AAFC)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 29, 2023.