1940 Mississippi College Choctaws football team

The 1940 Mississippi College Choctaws football team was an American football team that represented Mississippi College as a member of the Dixie Conference and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1940 college football season. In their 16th year under head coach Stanley L. Robinson, the Choctaws compiled a 5–1–1 overall record. Against Dixie Conference opponents, they had a 3–0–1 record and tied with Chattanooga for the conference championship.^[1] They were 2–0 against SIAA opponents, but did not play enough conference games to qualify for the SIAA championship.

1940 Mississippi College Choctaws football
Dixie co-champion
Conference	Dixie Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	5–1–1 (3–0–1 Dixie, 2–0 SIAA)
Head coach	Stanley L. Robinson (16th season)
Home stadium	Provine Field
Seasons ← 1939 1941 →

1940 Dixie Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Chattanooga +	3	–	0	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Mississippi College +	3	–	0	–	1			5	–	1	–	1
Howard (AL)	4	–	1	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Spring Hill	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Southwestern (TN)	0	–	1	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Millsaps	0	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Mercer	0	–	3	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

1940 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Rollins $	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Newberry	4	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
Mississippi College	2	–	0	–	0			5	–	1	–	1
Eastern Kentucky	1	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	0
Western Kentucky State Teachers	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Louisiana Normal	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
SW Louisiana	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Union (TN)	3	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Georgetown (KY)	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	3	–	2
Murray State	4	–	2	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Centre	2	–	1	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)	2	–	1	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Presbyterian	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Mississippi Southern	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Louisiana Tech	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
West Tennessee State Teachers	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Morehead State	1	–	1	–	2			3	–	3	–	2
Wofford	2	–	2	–	1			3	–	4	–	2
Middle Tennessee State Teachers	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Tampa	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Oglethorpe	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
Tennessee Tech	1	–	2	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
Transylvania	1	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Stetson	2	–	5	–	1			2	–	5	–	1
Troy State	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Louisiana College	1	–	4	–	2			2	–	5	–	2
Union (KY)	0	–	1	–	1			5	–	1	–	1
Centenary	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Louisville	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Jacksonville State	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Erskine	0	–	5	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Delta State	0	–	5	–	1			0	–	8	–	2
$ – Conference champion

With 61 points (nine touchdowns and seven points after touchdown), the Choctaws' fullback Charlie Armstrong led the Dixie Conference in scoring.^[2][3] His longest scoring play was a 59-yard run against Spring Hill.

Mississippi College was ranked at No. 78 (out of 687 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1940.^[4]

The team played its home games at Provine Field in Clinton, Mississippi.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	Centre	Provine Field Clinton, MS	W 20–13		^[5]
October 4	at Chattanooga	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	T 7–7	3,600	^[6]
October 12	Spring Hill	Provine Field Clinton, MS	W 41–7		^[7]
October 26	at Colgate*	Colgate Athletic Field Hamilton, NY	L 0–31	5,000	^[8]^[9]^[10]
November 2	Millsaps	Provine Field Clinton, MS	W 27–0	4,000	^[11]^[12]^[13]
November 9	at Mercer	Centennial Stadium Macon, GA	W 27–6	2,500	^[14]
November 16	Louisiana College	Provine Field Clinton, MS	W 32–6		^[15]^[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

References

1. "Chattanooga Ties Miss. College". The Tampa Daily Times. Associated Press. December 3, 1940. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Mocassins Crowd Choctaws in Race for Top Position". The Times. November 20, 1940. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Grid Scorers Hold Posts". Des Moines Tribune. December 2, 1940. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tribe 20-13: Chocs Flash For Triumph Over Centre". Daily Clarion-Ledger. September 29, 1940. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Chocs score early, suffer 7–7 deadlock". The Clarion-Ledger. October 5, 1940. Retrieved September 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Fast Mississippi College Choctaws run roughshod over Spring Hill, 41–7". The Clarion-Ledger. October 13, 1940. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Raiders Fear Choctaw Air Drive Today: Unbeaten Mississippi College Tests Colgate". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. October 26, 1940. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Bill Beeney (October 27, 1940). "Colgate Scores 31 Points To Rout Mississippi Club: Victims Blanked By Win-Hungry Raiders; Winners Employ Straight Brand Of Football". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Tribe Routed; Colgate Game Detailed Here By Quarter". Daily Clarion-Ledger. October 27, 1940. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Confident Majors Challenge Great Tribe Team Tonight". Clarion-Ledger. November 2, 1940. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
12. James Spotswood (November 3, 1940). "Choctaws Dazzle Majors And 4,000 Fans; Win 27-0". Daily Clarion-Ledger. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. James Spotswood (November 3, 1940). "Choctaws Dazzle Majors And 4,000 Fans; Win 27-0 (part 2)". Daily Clarion-Ledger. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Choctaws crush Mercer with brilliant running of Clinton grid stars". The Clarion-Ledger. November 10, 1940. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Paul Tiblier (November 17, 1940). "State's Major Elevens Romp Over Minor Foes: Wildcats Subdued 32-6 by Mississippi College Speedsters". Daily Clarion-Ledger. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Paul Tiblier (November 17, 1940). "Wildcats Subdued 32-6 by Mississippi College Speedsters (part 2)". Daily Clarion-Ledger. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.