1939 Boston College Eagles football team

American college football season

1939 Boston College Eagles football

Cotton Bowl Classic, L 3–6 vs. Clemson

Conference| Independent
Ranking
AP| No. 11
Record| 9–2
Head coach|

* Frank Leahy (1st season)

Captain| Ernie Schwotzer
Home stadium| Alumni Field, Fenway Park

Seasons

<- 1938

1940 ->

1939 Eastern college football independents records

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 4 Cornell |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 0  | - | 0
No. 10 Duquesne |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 0  | - | 1
Swarthmore |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 1
Scranton |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 0  | - | 2
Princeton |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 1  | - | 0
La Salle |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 1  | - | 1
Penn State |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 1  | - | 2
No. 11 Boston College |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 17 Fordham |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0
Villanova |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0
Boston University |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 3  | - | 0
Brown |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 3  | - | 1
Dartmouth |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 3  | - | 1
Hofstra |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0
NYU |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 4  | - | 0
Pittsburgh |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 4  | - | 0
Harvard |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 4  | - | 0
Manhattan |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 4  | - | 0
Penn |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 4  | - | 0
Syracuse |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 3  | - | 2
Vermont |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 3  | - | 2
Tufts |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 4  | - | 1
Yale |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 4  | - | 1
Army |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 4  | - | 2
Bucknell |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0
Carnegie Tech |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0
Providence |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0
Columbia |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 4  | - | 2
Massachusetts State |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 5  | - | 2
Colgate |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 5  | - | 1
Temple |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 7  | - | 0
CCNY |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 1  | - | 7  | - | 0
Buffalo |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 0  | - | 7  | - | 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1939 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the 1939 college football season.[1] The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Frank Leahy and played their home games at Alumni Field in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and Fenway Park in Boston. The team finished the regular season with a 9–1 record, and the Eagles were ranked in the final AP Poll for the first time in school history, at 11th. They were invited to the school's first bowl game, the 1940 Cotton Bowl, where they were defeated by Clemson.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 30| | Lebanon Valley| |

* Alumni Field
* Chestnut Hill, MA

| W 45–0| 16,000|
October 6| | at Saint Joseph's| |

* Alumni Field
* Chestnut Hill, MA

| W 20–6| 22,685|
October 12| | Florida| |

* Fenway Park
* Boston, MA

| L 0–7| 18,000|
October 21| 2:30 p.m.| Temple| |

* Fenway Park
* Boston, MA

| W 19–0| 13,300| [2]
October 28| | Saint Anselm| |

* Alumni Field
* Chestnut Hill, MA

| W 28–0| |
November 4| | Auburn| |

* Fenway Park
* Boston, MA

| W 13–7| 14,000–15,000| [3]
November 11| | at Detroit| |

* University of Detroit Stadium
* Detroit, MI

| W 20–13| 10,342| [4]
November 18| | Boston University| |

* Fenway Park
* Boston, MA (rivalry)

| W 19–0| 13,000|
November 25| | Kansas State| |

* Fenway Park
* Boston, MA

| W 38–7| 11,000|
December 2| | No. 10 Holy Cross| |

* Fenway Park
* Boston, MA (rivalry)

| W 14–0| 40,000| [5]
January 1, 1940| | vs. No. 12 Clemson| No. 11|

* Cotton Bowl
* Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl, rivalry)

| L 3–6| 15,000| [6]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1939 Boston College Eagles Stats".
2. ^ "College Football Lineups Today". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 21, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved June 7, 2023 - via Newspapers.com .
3. ^ "Auburn bows in last five minutes of play". The Huntsville Times. November 5, 1939. Retrieved September 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ W. W. Edgar (November 12, 1939). "Eagles' Passes Beat U. of D., 20-13". Detroit Free Press - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Boston C. Upsets Holy Cross, 14-0, On Power Passes". New York Daily News. December 3, 1939. p. 101 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Last minute goal line stand gives Clemson team 6–3 win over Boston". The Austin American. January 2, 1940. Retrieved December 20, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.

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Boston College Eagles football

Venues|

* South End Grounds (1893–1899, 1902)
* American League Baseball Grounds (1901)
* Alumni Field (1915–1921, 1923, 1932–1941, 1943–1945, 1955)
* Fenway Park (1914–1917, 1919–1920, 1927–1931, 1936–1945, 1953–1956)
* Braves Field (1918–1927, 1944, 1946–1952)
* Alumni Stadium (1957–present)
* Sullivan Stadium (alternate)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Boston University (Green Line Rivalry)
* Clemson (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy)
* Holy Cross
* Notre Dame: Holy War
* UMass
* Virginia Tech
* Sacred Cod Trophy

Culture & lore|

* Baldwin the Eagle
* "For Boston"
* Marching band
* Scanlan Award
* Hail Flutie
* The Iron Major

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903–1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
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* 1939
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* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number