1939–40 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

The 1939–40 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1939–40 NCAA Division I college basketball season. Elmer Ripley coached it in his fourth of ten seasons as head coach; it was also the second season of his second of three stints at the helm. The team played its home games at Tech Gymnasium on the campus of McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C.[1] The team finished with a record of 8-10 and had no postseason play.

1939–40 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
1939–40 record810
Head coach
CaptainJohn Schmitt (1st year)
Home arenaTech Gymnasium

Season recap

Following the demise of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference after the end of the previous season, Georgetown returned to an independent status. Beginning this season its first as an independent since 1931-32 it would play 38 seasons as an independent before becoming a founding member of the original Big East Conference in the 1979-1980 season.

The 1939–40 Hoyas were a young team, with only two seniors on the roster. New to the team was sophomore guard Buddy O'Grady. He averaged 4.9 points per game for the season and became a leader on the court, and would be a star for the Hoyas for three seasons.[2]

The team became a part of television broadcasting history on February 28, 1940, when television station W2XBS broadcast a men's basketball doubleheader from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Fordham and Pittsburgh played in the first game, and New York University played Georgetown in the second game. It was the first time in history that college basketball was televised.[3][4][5]

The 1939–40 Hoyas had a difficult season, finishing with an 8-10 record and no post-season play. Senior forward Al Lujack went on to play professionally for one season with the Washington Capitals of the Basketball Association of America.

Roster

Sources[2][6][7]

Sophomore guard Buddy O'Grady would later serve as the Hoyas' head coach from 1949 to 1952.[8]

Sophomore guard Don Martin would one day become head coach at Boston College.[9]

Senior guard Francis "Reds" Daly was killed in action in the Battle of Iwo Jima on February 22, 1945, during World War II military service.[10]

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous Team(s)
3 Jim Kiernan 6'0" N/A F So. New York, NY, U.S. Saint Simon HS
4 John Dieckelman
(or Dieckleman)
6'0" N/A G So. Albany, NY, U.S. Vincentian HS
11 Russ Miller N/A N/A F/C So. Passaic, NJ, U.S. Passaic HS
12 Jim Giebel N/A N/A G Jr. Bethesda, MD, U.S. St. John's College HS (Washington, DC)
13 George Pajak 6'0" N/A G/F Jr. Ware, MA, U.S. Ware HS
18 Francis "Buddy" O'Grady N/A 160 G So. New York, NY, U.S. St. Peter's Boys HS
20 Irv Rizzi N/A N/A G Jr. West New York, NJ, U.S. Memorial HS
24 Al Matuza 6'2" N/A F Jr. Shenandoah, PA, U.S. Shenandoah HS
43 Don Martin 5'8" N/A G So. Newport, RI, U.S. La Salle Academy
49 Al Lujack 6'3" N/A F Sr. Connellsville, PA, U.S. Connellsville HS
60 Francis "Reds" Daly 6'3" N/A G Sr. Washington, DC, U.S. McKinley Technical HS
80 John Schmitt 5'11" N/A C Sr. Syracuse, NY, U.S. St. John's Preparatory School (New York, NY)

1939–40 schedule and results

Sources[11][12][13][14]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Sun., Dec. 3, 1939
no, no
at Baltimore L 3440  0-1
N/A 
Baltimore, MD
Wed., Dec. 6, 1939
no, no
Western Maryland W 5234  1-1
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Thu., Dec. 14, 1939
no, no
at American W 4430  2-1
Clendenen Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Fri., Jan. 5, 1940
no, no
at Temple L 2838  2-2
Philadelphia Convention Hall 
Philadelphia, PA
Sat., Jan. 6, 1940
no, no
at George Washington L 4049  2-3
Riverside Stadium 
Washington, D.C.
Wed, Jan. 10, 1940
no, no
at Penn State L 2233  2-4
Recreation Hall 
State College, PA
Fri., Jan. 12, 1940
no, no
at Scranton L 3133  2-5
Watres Armory 
Scranton, PA
Wed., Jan 17, 1940
no, no
at Maryland L 4028  2-6
Ritchie Coliseum 
College Park, MD
Sat., Jan. 27, 1940
no, no
Loyola Maryland W 6537  3-6
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Wed., Jan. 31, 1940
no, no
at Army W 3534  4-6
Hayes Gymnasium 
West Point, NY
Thu., Feb. 1, 1940
no, no
at Syracuse L 3338  4-7
Archbold Gymnasium 
Syracuse, NY
Fri., Feb. 2, 1940
no, no
at Colgate L 3439  4-8
Huntington Gymnasium 
Hamilton, NY
Wed., Feb. 7, 1940
no, no
Temple W 3431  5-8
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Mon., Feb. 12, 1940
no, no
West Virginia L 3840  5-9
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Thu., Feb. 15, 1940
no, no
American W 4232  6-9
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Wed, Feb. 21, 1940
no, no
Penn State W 3835  7-9
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
Wed., Feb. 28, 1940
no, no
at New York University L 2750  7-10
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
Wed., Mar. 6, 1940
no, no
George Washington W 4339  8-10
Tech Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

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