1939 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 1939 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference during the 1939 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Cam Henderson, the team compiled a 9–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 286 to 84. Marshall had a 3–0 record against WVIAC opponents, but did not play enough conference games to qualify for the WVAC standings.[1] "Boot" Elkins and Zack Kush were the team captains.[2]

1939 Marshall Thundering Herd football
ConferenceWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record9–2 (3–0 WVIAC)
Head coach
Captains
  • "Boot" Elkins
  • Zack Kush
Home stadiumFairfield Stadium
Seasons
 1938
1940 
1939 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
West Liberty State $500820
Glenville State621621
Concord311441
Morris Harvey221531
New River State230034
Potomac State130251
West Virginia Wesleyan130180
Salem152162
Fairmont State150260
Shepherd040160
Marshall *300920
Davis & Elkins *300541
Bethany (WV) *111331
  • $ Conference champion
  • * – Did not qualify for conference standings
    Ties did not count in conference standings.

Marshall was ranked at No. 64 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.[3]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23Geneva*W 41–13
September 30VPI*
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 20–0
October 7Salem
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 64–0
October 14at Miami (OH)*W 21–06,000[4]
October 21at Dayton*
W 19–137,000[5]
October 28at Scranton*Scranton, PAL 0–204,000[6]
November 4Wake Forest*
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
L 13–148,000[7]
November 11Toledo*
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 14–12[8]
November 18at Xavier*Cincinnati, OHW 20–05,000[9]
November 23West Virginia Wesleyandagger
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 47–13
November 25at Morris HarveyCharleston, WVW 27–0
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

References

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  1. "2005 WVIAC Football Media Guide". West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. July 15, 2005. p. 35. Retrieved June 26, 2023 via Internet Archive.
  2. "2008 Marshall Football Guide" (PDF). Marshall University. 2018. p. 184. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  3. E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Marshall Trims Miami". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 15, 1931. p. 32 via Newspapers.com.
  5. Si Burick (October 22, 1939). "U.D. Loses In Last Minute, 19-13: Marshall Beats Flyers In Game Of Comebacks". Dayton Daily News. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Tom-Cats Outcharge Marshall, 20-0". The Scrantonian. October 29, 1939. p. IV-1 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Deciding Point Does Little Jig". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. November 5, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved May 12, 2021 via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  8. Dick Boyd (November 12, 1939). "Marshall Wins Over Toledo, 14-12". Akron Beacon Journal. p. 4C via Newspapers.com.
  9. Lou Smith (November 19, 1939). "Marshall Turns On Power In Final Period To Trim Xavier". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 36 via Newspapers.com.