Penn State Football’s Greatest Seasons: 1947

The 1947 Penn State football team is notable for many reasons, including being undefeated.

This is the start of a VBR series chronicling Penn State football’s greatest seasons.  The seasons do not necessarily have to be undefeated or end in a championship, although those are good qualifications.  Also we will be going in chronological order and not ranking the different seasons.  We will start with the 1947 team.

When talking about the greatest teams in Penn State history, the 1947 team is one that usually does not come up in conversation.  However it should be remembered for a few reasons.

Coached by former All-American player Bob Higgins, the Nittany Lions that year would become the first Penn State football team to be ranked in the national rankings.  The Lions went 9-0 in the regular season, including posting six shutouts.  They would finish the regular season ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll.

That year’s defense was one of the best to ever take the field in college football history.  Per the official Penn State athletic website, the Lions allowed 17 rushing yards per game.   In the 40-0 win over Syracuse, the defense held the Orangemen to negative 47 total yards.  Although it was a different era, that is mighty impressive.

The 1948 Cotton Bowl

What most people do remember about the 1947 team are the events surrounding the 1948 Cotton Bowl.  The city of Dallas was segregated at the time, as was the case in most of the South.  Penn State had two black players on their roster, Wally Triplett and Denny Hoggard.

Third ranked Southern Methodist wanted to play the best team available, which was fourth ranked Penn State.  Coach Higgins would not accept a bowl invite if Triplett and Hoggard were not allowed to play. A year earlier the team voted not to play a scheduled game at Miami due to the city being segregated.

The Cotton Bowl organizers eventually agreed to invite Penn State with their full roster, but the team stayed at a Navy base 14 miles away from the city.  Triplett and Hoggard were met with some disdain by spectators, however the game went on without too many incidents.

The game itself was a classic.  SMU scored the first 13 points, with the legendary Doak Walker throwing a 53 yard touchdown pass and rushing for one of his own.  The Lions roared back however, including Triplett catching the game tying touchdown.  The ensuing extra point was missed and the game eventually would end in a tie.

Must Read: Penn State ranked in top 10 of early Athlon Sports rankings

The 1947 team should be remembered for a multitude of reasons and it will always have a place in history for its part in the racial integration of college sports.