1946 Los Angeles Dons season explained

Team:Los Angeles Dons
Year:1946
Record:7–5–2
Division Place:3rd AAFC West
Coach:Dudley DeGroot
Stadium:Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Playoffs:Did not qualify
Previous:none
No Prevseason:true
Shortnavlink:Dons seasons

The 1946 Los Angeles Dons season was their inaugural season in the new eight-team All-America Football Conference. Led by head coach Dudley DeGroot, the Dons finished 7–5–2,[1] third in the West division, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Charlie O'Rourke with 1,250 passing yards, John Kimbrough with 473 rushing yards, Dale Gentry with 341 receiving yards, and Joe Aguirre with 55 points scored (31 extra points, four field goals, and two touchdowns).[2]

On September 13, 1946, in the first game in team history, the Dons defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 20-14, before a crowd of 18,995 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Bud Nygren scored the first points on a touchdown pass from quarterback Charlie O'Rourke. With the ball at the Don's 40-yard line, Nygren caught the ball at the Brooklyn 30-yard line and ran the remaining distance to the end zone.[3]

Season schedule

See main article: 1946 AAFC season.

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1Bye
2Brooklyn DodgersW 20–141–0Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
3Miami SeahawksW 30–142–0Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
4September 29at Buffalo BisonsT 21–212–0–1Civic StadiumRecap
5at Chicago RocketsW 21–93–0–1Soldier FieldRecap
6San Francisco 49ersL 14–233–1–1Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
7October 20at Cleveland BrownsL 14–313–2–1Cleveland Municipal StadiumRecap
8October 27New York YankeesL 17–313–3–1Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
9November 3Cleveland BrownsW 17–164–3–1Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
10November 10at New York YankeesL 12–174–4–1Yankee StadiumRecap
11November 17at Brooklyn DodgersW 19–145–4–1Ebbets FieldRecap
12at Miami SeahawksW 34–216–4–1Miami Orange BowlRecap
13December 1Buffalo BisonsW 62–147–4–1Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
14December 8at San Francisco 49ersL 7–487–5–1Kezar StadiumRecap
15December 15Chicago RocketsT 17–177–5–2Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Roster

Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage from the Los Angeles Times.

Notes and References

  1. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/lda/1946.htm 1946 Los Angeles Dons
  2. News: 1946 Los Angeles Dons Statistics & Players. Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com. March 2, 2020.
  3. News: Dons Defeat Dodgers. Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1946. 6. Newspapers.com.