| Team: | Chicago Rockets |
| Year: | 1946 |
| Record: | 5–6–3 |
| Division Place: | 4th AAFC West |
| Coach: | Dick Hanley, Pat Boland, Bob Dove, Ned Mathews, and Willie Wilkin |
| Stadium: | Soldier Field |
| Playoffs: | did not qualify |
| Previous: | none |
| No Prevseason: | true |
| Shortnavlink: | Rockets seasons |
The 1946 Chicago Rockets season was the inaugural season for both the Chicago Rockets and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in which they played. The Rockets compiled a 5-6-3 record, were outscored by a total of 315 to 263, and finished in last place in the AAFC's West Division.[1]
Dick Hanley, who had been the head coach at Northwestern from 1927 to 1934, was the head coach at the start of the season. After the first three games, the players voted 32-to-1 to remove Hanley. The team felt that Hanley's double-wing system was outdated. After a two-hour meeting between the players and team owner John L. Keeshin, Keeshin fired Hanley. Three of the players (Ned Mathews, Bob Dove, and Willie Wilkin) took over as player-coaches.[2] The "self-coached experiment" ended on October 29 when Pat Boland was hired as head coach.[3]
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bob Hoernschemeyer with 1,266 passing yards and 375 rushing yards, halfback Elroy Hirsch with 347 receiving yards, and backup quarterback (and placekicker) Steve Nemeth with 59 points scored (32 extra points, 9 field goals).[1] Hoernschemeyer was the only Chicago player named to the All-AAFC team, receiving second-team honors from both the United Press and on the official All-AAFC team.[4] [5]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 18 | vs. Brooklyn Dodgers | T 14–14 | 0–0–1 | Multnomah Stadium | |
| 2 | September 1 | at San Francisco 49ers | T 14–14 | 0–0–2 | Kezar Stadium |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Game recap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | |||||||
| 2 | Cleveland Browns | L 6–20 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | Recap | |||
| 3 | New York Yankees | T 17–17 | 0–1–1 | Soldier Field | Recap | |||
| 3 | Buffalo Bisons | W 38–35 | 1–1–1 | Soldier Field | Recap | |||
| 4 | September 29 | San Francisco 49ers | W 24–7 | 2–1–1 | Soldier Field | Recap | ||
| 5 | Los Angeles Dons | L 9–21 | 2–2–1 | Soldier Field | Recap | |||
| 6 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | T 21–21 | 2–2–2 | Ebbets Field | Recap | |||
| 7 | Miami Seahawks | W 28–7 | 3–2–2 | Soldier Field | Recap | |||
| 8 | October 27 | at Buffalo Bisons | L 17–49 | 3–3–2 | Civic Stadium | Recap | ||
| 9 | Brooklyn Dodgers | L 14–21 | 3–4–2 | Soldier Field | Recap | |||
| 10 | W 20–7 | 4–4–2 | Burdine Stadium | Recap | ||||
| 11 | November 17 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–51 | 4–5–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap | ||
| 12 | November 24 | at New York Yankees | W 38–28 | 5–5–2 | Yankee Stadium | Recap | ||
| 13 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 0–14 | 5–6–2 | Kezar Stadium | Recap | |||
| 14 | Bye | |||||||
| 15 | December 15 | at Los Angeles Dons | T 17–17 | 5–6–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage.