Re: Hill Watch...86 days!!!

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86 Seasons Ago Clemson Football Finished 9-1 in 1939

Jun 5, 2025, 12:00 AM

The good times continue. After a one-loss season in 1938, Clemson achieves a second straight 1-loss season!

This post is quite long. This season was a big one for sure! This strong season culminated in Clemson’s first official bowl game appearance!

If you prefer the TLDR Version:
- Great season at 9-1!
- Clemson accepts its first bowl bid – then wins the January 1, 1940 Cotton Bowl over BC!
- Clemson finishes in the AP rankings for the first time ever!
- Banks Fadden is an amazing multi-sport athlete!!
- Meanwhile the world breaks out in a horrific war!!

Overview:

According to Wikipedia:

“The 1939 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson College in the Southern Conference during the 1939 college football season. In their ninth and final season under head coach Jess Neely, the Tigers compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 165 to 40, and defeated Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Worthy of Note:

According to Wikipedia:

“Joe Payne was the team captain. The team's statistical leaders included tailback Banks McFadden with 581 passing yards, fullback Charlie Timmons with 556 rushing yards, and wingback Shad Bryant with 32 points scored (4 touchdowns, 8 extra points). McFadden remained with Clemson for more than 40 years as a coach and administrator and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.

Five Clemson players were named to the All-Southern team: tailback Banks McFadden; wingback Shad Bryant; center Bob Sharpe; end Joe Blalock; and tackle George Fritts.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Sept. 23, 1939 – Banks McFadden ran 90 yards for a touchdown in Clemson’s 18-0 win over Presbyterian. It is still tied for the longest run in Clemson history. McFadden had a career high 173 yards in 15 attempts on this day.

Sept. 30, 1939 – Clemson suffered its only loss of the season to a revenge minded Tulane 11. The Tigers had beaten the Green Wave the previous year by a 13-10 score. This season, however, Tulane defeated Clemson 7-6. Despite the loss, it was a game that brought acclaim to Clemson for its ability to play so close with the team that would end the year ranked fifth in the nation. McFadden was all over the field on this day, throwing for Clemson’s only touchdown and defending enemy passes from the secondary. His punting kept Tulane bottled up in their own territory. He had 12 punts for 504 yards, including a record six punts of at least 50 yards. Unfortunately, he was involved in what proved to be the game’s deciding play, as his extra point attempt after Clemson’s only touchdown was blocked.

Oct. 19, 1939 – Clemson outgained South Carolina 402-90 in a 27-0 win. Banks McFadden threw for 85 yards and rushed for 76 in just 14 attempts.

Oct. 26, 1939 – Clemson showed it was a deep enough team to win without All-American Banks McFadden, who missed the Navy game with an injury. Shad Bryant had a 40-yard run for a score in Clemson’s 15-7 win at Annapolis.

Nov. 3, 1939 – Clemson won in the Washington, D.C. area for the second straight week, defeating George Washington, 13-6. Bryant had 127 yards rushing and scored Clemson’s only touchdown. The game was played on a Friday evening.

Nov. 11, 1939 – McFadden completed just four passes against Wake Forest, but three were to Joe Blalock for 105 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game in Tiger history. It was the final home game for McFadden and the rest of the Tiger seniors.

Nov. 13, 1939 – Clemson was ranked in the AP poll for the first time. The Tigers beat Wake Forest 20-7 to improve to 6-1. Clemson had 33 poll points on that November 13 ranking and one first-place vote out of the 85 votes in the poll that week. Clemson remained in the top 20 over the next three weeks and each week Clemson had exactly one first-place vote. However, in the final poll, even though Clemson had run the table to finish 8-1 in the regular season, that individual failed to vote Clemson No. 1, as the Tigers did not have a first-place vote in the December 11 (final) poll.

Nov. 18, 1939 – Clemson won away from home for the fourth straight time, a 21-6 win over Rhodes. Banks McFadden and George Floyd combined for 126 yards rushing.

Nov. 25, 1939 – Clemson concluded its 8-1 regular season with a 14-3 victory over Furman. Shad Bryant ran for 94 yards and gained 75 more in punt returns. McFadden scored two touchdowns and had 10 punts for a 42-yard average, intercepted a pass and completed a pass.

Dec. 8, 1939 – Clemson accepted a bid to play in the Cotton Bowl. It was Clemson’s first postseason bowl game appearance. Clemson did meet Cumberland in a postseason “Championship of the South” game in 1903, but it was not considered an established bowl.

Dec. 11, 1939 – Clemson ranked 12th in the final poll by the Associated Press, Clemson’s first appearance in a final season AP poll. The Tigers had 112 poll points, just behind Boston College, who had 120.5 poll points for 11th place. Clemson would defeat Boston College in the Cotton Bowl, but the AP did not have a poll after the bowls. In fact, for whatever the reason, the AP did not have a final poll after the bowls until after the 1968 season. Thus, Clemson actually would have had a much higher ranking by today’s standards if there would have been a poll in January 1940.

Dec. 15, 1939 – Banks McFadden was named a first-team All-American by AP and a third-team selection by UPI. He was the first Clemson player honored by the AP. Later that year he was named the Nation’s Most Versatile Athlete for 1939. Earlier in the year he had led Clemson to the 1939 Southern Conference Championship in basketball, still the only postseason championship in Clemson history.

Jan. 1, 1940 – In Clemson’s first bowl appearance, it defeated Boston College 6-3. Charlie Timmons scored the game’s lone touchdown from two yards out and rushed for 115 yards. Banks McFadden keyed the defense with four pass deflections of Boston College passes and he also averaged 43 yards per punt. Boston College drove to the Clemson eight with three minutes left, but Shad Bryant and McFadden knocked away third and fourth-down passes to save the day for the Tigers.

“Clemson is every bit as good as they were cracked up to be,” said Boston College Coach Frank Leahy, still the second winningest coach in college football history on a percentage basis. “We lost to a great team, one of the best I have ever seen. I have the satisfaction of knowing that while we were beaten, the game wasn’t lost on a fluke.”

https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-football-historical-timeline/

Clemson star Banks McFadden:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banks_McFadden)

Clemson star Charlie Timmons:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Timmons)

Results:

September 23: Presbyterian* W 18–0
September 30: at Tulane* L 6–7
October 7: vs. NC State (Charlotte) W 25–6
October 19: at South Carolina W 27–0
October 28: at Navy* W 15–7
November 3: at George Washington* W 13–6
November 11: Wake Forest W 20–7
November 18: at Southwestern (Memphis)* W 21–6
November 25: at Furman W 10–7
January 1, 1940: vs. No. 11 Boston College* (Cotton Bowl: Dallas) W 6–3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Yet another shutout over the Gamechickens! FWIW: At this point, there has been a LOT of Clemson-Gamechicken games in which the Chickens put up a score of “0.”

With this latest shutout, Clemson’s record vs the Gamechickens improves to 25-11-1. It is Clemson’s 6th straight win over the Chickens. That is a winning streak that the Chickens have NEVER accomplished against Clemson.

Cotton Bowl: January 1, 1940:
Banks McFadden carrying the ball vs BC:

Also in 1939: Clemson’s only official Men’s Basketball Conference Championship:

According to ClemsonWiki:

“Led by All-American player Banks McFadden, Clemson wins its first conference basketball championship.”

https://clemsonwiki.com/wiki/1939

And, Wikipedia reports the following world events in 1939:

“Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 brought many countries into the war. This event, and the declaration of war by France and Britain two days later, mark the beginning of World War II. After the declaration of war, Western Europe saw minimal land and air warfare, leading to this time period being termed the "Phoney War". At sea, this time period saw the opening stages of the Battle of the Atlantic.

In eastern Europe, however, the agreement between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed on 23 August opened the way in September for the Soviet Union's invasion of eastern Poland, which was divided between the two countries before the end of the month. The Soviet Union began a new military offensive by invading Finland at the end of November. France and Britain provided minimal physical support to Poland during the invasion.

The war in East Asia among the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan reached a stalemate, while increasing clashes between Japan and the Soviet Union ended when the two parties agreed in September on a ceasefire.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_World_War_II_(1939)

The horror of World War 2 has begun!!

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Clemson: Academic Excellence! Athletic Excellence!

Hill Watch...86 days!!!