1945 Wiley Wildcats football team
The 1945 Wiley Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Wiley College in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1945 college football season. In their 23rd season under head coach Fred T. Long, the Wildcats compiled a 10–0 record (6–0 against SWAC opponents), defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, won the SWAC championship, shut out seven of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 356 to 19. The Wiley team was also recognized as the 1945 black college national champion.
| 1945 Wiley Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
Black college national co-champion SWAC champion | |
Orange Blossom Classic, W 32–6 vs. Florida A&M | |
| Conference | Southwestern Athletic Conference |
| 1945 record | 10–0 (6–0 SWAC) |
| Head coach |
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| 1945 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wiley $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas College | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ? | – | ? | – | ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Langston | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samuel Huston | 1 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ? | – | ? | – | ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prairie View | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas AM&N | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Assistant coach Harry Long, the brother of head coach Fred T. Long, suffered a heart attack in the first quarter of the Orange Blossom Classic. He died in an ambulance en route to a hospital. The victory sealed the Wildcats' national championship, but, after the game, the team sprawled out on the bench and the ground and wept over the Long's death.[1]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 29 | Philander Smith* |
| W 53–0 | ||||
| October 6 | at Arkansas AM&N | Pine Bluff, AR | W 31–0 | [2] | |||
| October 15 | Prairie View | W 35–7 | |||||
| October 20 | Tillotson* |
| W 62–0 | ||||
| October 29 | vs. Randolph Field* | Shreveport, LA | W 26–0 | ||||
| November 10 | Langston |
| W 20–0 | 3,000 | |||
| November 17 | Southern | W 33–0 | 6,000 | ||||
| November 24 | Samuel Huston |
| W 56–0 | ||||
| December 1 | Texas College |
| W 8–6 | ||||
| December 8 | vs. Florida A&M* | W 32–6 | 8,000 | [1] | |||
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References
- "Wiley Downs Aggies To Win Negro Crown". Tampa Sunday Tribune. December 9, 1945. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
- "Wiley Wallops Arkanasas". The Pittsburgh Courier. October 13, 1945. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.