1966 All-America college football team

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The 1966 All-America college football team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1966.

Contents

The NCAA recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1966 season. They are (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) the Associated Press (AP), (3) the Central Press Association (CP), (4) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), (5) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and (6) the United Press International (UPI). [1] Four of the six teams (AP, UPI, NEA, and FWAA) were selected by polling of sports writers and/or broadcasters. The Central Press team was selected with input from the captains of the major college teams. The AFCA team was based on a poll of coaches. Other notable selectors, though not recognized by the NCAA as official, included Time magazine, [2] The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF). [3]

The undefeated Notre Dame and Michigan State teams finished the season ranked #1 and #2, played to a 10–10 tie in the 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game, and dominated the 1966 All-America selections. Notre Dame had six players who received first-team honors: guard Tom Regner (AFCA, AP, CP, NEA, UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF); back Nick Eddy (AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WCFF); defensive end Alan Page (CP, FWAA, NEA, Time, TSN, WCFF); linebacker Jim Lynch (AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF); and defensive tackles Pete Duranko (AFCA, UPI) and Kevin Hardy (Time, TSN). Michigan State had five: defensive end Bubba Smith (AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF); offensive end Gene Washington (AFCA, UPI, Time, TSN); running back Clint Jones (AP, CP, NEA, Time, TSN, WCFF); defensive back/linebacker George Webster (AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, Time, TSN, WCFF); and tackle Jerry West (NEA).

Consensus All-Americans

The NCAA recognizes 22 players as "consensus" All-Americans for the 1966 season. The following chart identifies the consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received. [1]

NamePositionSchoolOfficial selectorsNumberOthersTotal
Jack Clancy EndMichiganAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF10/10
Jim Lynch LinebackerNotre DameAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF10/10
Loyd Phillips Defensive tackleArkansasAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF10/10
Bubba Smith Defensive endMichigan StateAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF10/10
Steve Spurrier QuarterbackFloridaAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF10/10
George Webster Defensive backMichigan StateAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF10/10
Mel Farr Running backUCLAAFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI5/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF9/10
Tom Regner GuardNotre DameAFCA, AP, CP, NEA, UPI5/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF9/10
Nick Eddy Running backNotre DameAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6FN, WCFF8/10
Ron Yary TackleUSCAFCA, CP, FWAA, UPI4/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF8/10
Cecil Dowdy TackleAlabamaAFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI6/6WCFF7/10
Wayne Meylan Middle guardNebraskaAFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI5/6FN, WCFF7/10
Alan Page Defensive endNotre DameCP, FWAA, NEA3/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF7/10
Nate Shaw Defensive backUSCAFCA, NEA, UPI3/6FN, Time, TSN, WCFF7/10
Tom Beier Defensive backMiami (Fla.)AFCA, AP, NEA, UPI4/6FN, WCFF6/10
Jim Breland CenterGeorgia TechAFCA, AP, CP, UPI4/6FN, WCFF6/10
Clint Jones Running backMichigan StateAP, CP, NEA3/6Time, TSN, WCFF6/10
Paul Naumoff LinebackerTennesseeAFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI4/6FN, WCFF6/10
Ray Perkins EndAlabamaAFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA4/6FN, WCFF6/10
LaVerne Allers GuardNebraskaAP, CP, UPI3/6FN, WCFF5/10
John LaGrone Middle guardSMUAFCA, CP, FWAA, NEA4/6WCFF5/10
Tom Greenlee Defensive tackleWashingtonAFCA, AP, UPI3/6WCFF4/10

Offensive selections

Ends

Tight ends

Tackles

Guards

Centers

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Defensive selections

Defensive ends

Defensive tackles

Middle guards

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Kicker

Punter

Key

Official selectors

Unofficial selectors

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 10. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "As The Pros See Them". Time. December 9, 1966. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Walter Camp Foundation All-American Teams". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  4. "Coaches Pick All-Star Team". Hazleton Standard-Speaker. November 25, 1966. p. 35.
  5. "untitled". The Express. December 8, 1966. p. 22.
  6. Walter Johns (November 30, 1966). "Irish Dominate All-American Elevens". The Gaffney Ledger. p. 2.
  7. Ted Gangi (ed.). "FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  8. Murray Olderman (November 29, 1966). "Irish, Spartans Dominate NEA All-America Team". Raleigh (WV) Register. p. 8.
  9. "United Press names All-American grid teams". Kokomo (Ind.) Morning Times. December 1, 1966. p. 9.
  10. "All-America Selected: Seven Notre Dame Players Named to FN 'Dream Squad'". The Football News. November 26, 1966. p. 1.
  11. "ND, MSU Dominate Sporting News All-America Team With 8 Players". The Sunday Herald (Provo, UT). December 4, 1966. p. 16.