American college football season
The 1939 Princeton Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Princeton University as an independent during the 1939 college football season . In its second season under head coach Tad Wieman , the team compiled a 7–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 132 to 65.[ 1] [ 2] Princeton played its 1939 home games at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey .
Princeton was ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll issued prior to its final game against Navy . Despite defeating Navy by a 28–0 score, the Tigers dropped out of the final AP Poll. Princeton's sole loss was to the 1939 Cornell Big Red football team that finished the season undefeated and ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll .
Princeton was not ranked in the final AP poll, but it was ranked at No. 14 in the 1939 Williamson System ratings,[ 3] and at No. 24 in the final Litkenhous Ratings .[ 4]
Tackle Bob Tierney was Princeton's team captain.[ 5] Guard James H. Worth received the John Prentiss Poe Cup, the team's highest award.[ 6]
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source October 7 Williams W 26–615,000 [ 7]
October 14 Cornell Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ L 7–2035,000 [ 8]
October 21 at Columbia New York, NY W 14–730,000 [ 9]
October 28 Brown Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ W 26–1225,000 [ 10]
November 4 Harvard Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ (rivalry ) W 9–6[ 11]
November 11 No. 14 Dartmouth Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ W 9–745,000 [ 12]
November 18 at Yale W 13–735,000 [ 13]
November 25 Navy No. 19 Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ W 28–035,000 [ 14]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
References
^ "1939 Princeton Tigers Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
^ "2008 Princeton Tigers Football Media Guide" (PDF) . Princeton University. p. 127. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
^ Paul Williamson (December 8, 1941). "Texas Aggies Ranked Nation's Top" . The Atlanta Constitution . p. 26 – via Newspapers.com .
^ E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth" . Johnson City Sunday Press . p. 11 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton Lettermen Name Tackle Tierney '39 Captain" . Chicago Tribune . November 23, 1938. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton's Poe Cup Awarded To Worth" . The Paterson Morning Call . December 6, 1939. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton Takes Williams, 26 to 6" . New York Daily News . October 8, 1939. p. 99 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cornell's Early Attack Routs Princeton, 20-7" . The Sunday Times . October 15, 1939. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Hy Turkin (October 22, 1939). "Princeton 'Airs' Columbia, 14-7" . New York Daily News . p. 89 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton Beats Brown, 26 to 12" . New York Daily News . October 29, 1939. p. C41 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Bob Sylvester (November 5, 1939). "Princeton Beats Harvard, 9 to 6" . New York Daily News . p. C38 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton Upsets Dartmouth" . The Sunday Times, New Brunswick, N.J . November 12, 1939. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton Comes From Behind In Final Period To Overcome Yale Team By 13-7: Tigers Get Two Quick Touchdowns" . The Hartford Courant . November 19, 1939. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Princeton Air Attack Crushes Middies, 28 to 0" . The Sunday Times, New Brunswick, N.J . November 26, 1939. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com .
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