imported>Aetherzix: /* See also */ WP:ORPHAN

2025-06-27T22:27:04Z

New page

{{Short description|Official list of the best college football players of 1948}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{sidebar
| width = 25em
| title = 1948 College Football All-America Team
| headingstyle = border-top:#aaa 1px solid
| content1style = border-top:1px #aaa solid
| content1 = [[College Football All-America Team]]
| heading2 =
| content2 = [[1948 college football season]]
| heading3 =
| content3 =
| content4style = border-top:1px #aaa solid
| content4 = [[1946 College Football All-America Team|1946]] [[1947 College Football All-America Team|1947]] ← → [[1949 College Football All-America Team|1949]] [[1950 College Football All-America Team|1950]]
}}
The '''1948 College Football All-America team''' is composed of [[college football]] players who were selected as [[All-America]]ns by various organizations and writers that chose [[College Football All-America Team]]s for the [[1948 college football season|1948]] season. The seven selectors recognized by the [[NCAA]] as "official" for the 1948 season are (1) the [[Associated Press]], (2) the [[United Press]], (3) the [[American Football Coaches Association]] (AFCA), (4) the [[Football Writers Association of America]] (FWAA), (5) the [[International News Service]] (INS), (6) the [[Newspaper Enterprise Association]] (NEA) and (7) ''[[Sporting News|The Sporting News]]''.

[[1948 SMU Mustangs football team|SMU Mustangs]] halfback [[Doak Walker]] and [[1948 Penn Quakers football team|Penn Quakers]] center [[Chuck Bednarik]] were the only players unanimously named by all seven official selectors as first-team All-Americans. Walker also won the 1948 [[Heisman Trophy]].

==Competition among the All-American selectors==
''[[Collier's Weekly]]'', which began picking All-American football teams in 1888, had employed [[Grantland Rice]] to select its All-American team for 22 years. After Rice wrote a feature story about college football for ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]'' magazine, ''Collier's'' replaced Rice in 1948, hiring eight college coaches (paying them $500 each) and billing them as the "Supreme Court of Football."<ref name=Time>{{cite news|title=All-American Scrimmage|publisher=Time|date=1948-09-06|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779972,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201165637/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779972,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 1, 2011}}</ref> The eight coaches were [[Frank Leahy]] (Notre Dame), [[Matty Bell]] (Southern Methodist), [[Tuss McLaughry]] (Dartmouth), [[Bernie Bierman]] (Minnesota), [[Wally Butts]] (Georgia), [[Jeff Cravath]] (Southern California), [[Harvey Harman]] (Rutgers), and [[Lou Little]] (Columbia).<ref name=Collier>{{cite news|title=Collier's Announce All-American Team|work=The Ogden Standard-Examiner|location=Ogden, Utah|date=1948-12-01}}</ref> One of the innovations touted by ''Collier's'' for 1948 was the use of news reels provided by Warner Pathe and university athletic departments to study each player. ''Collier's'' circulated an initial round of ballots to members of the [[American Football Coaches Association]] (AFCA), with their votes narrowing the selections to a group of 55 finalists. The panel of eight then studied the "motion pictures of the players in action" and selected the ''Collier's'' All-American team.<ref name=Collier/>

''Collier's'' new affiliation with the AFCA ended the ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'''s association with the group as its All-American selectors. The competition for All-American selectors led ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' to write an article in September 1948 about the "scrimmage" between the magazines: "No college football star hoping to make All-America takes it more seriously than the magazines which pick them. To the magazines All-Americas are a deadly business, an important piece of promotion involving the prestige of the magazines as well as their hired experts."<ref name=Time/>

The Associated Press based its selections on a poll of several hundred staff writers, newspaper sports editors and broadcasters. The AP reported that its voters overwhelming agreed on five of the first-team selections -- [[Dick Rifenberg]] of Michigan at end, [[Buddy Burris]] of Oklahoma at guard, [[Charlie Justice (halfback)|Charlie Justice]] of North Carolina at back, [[Doak Walker]] at quarterback, and [[Bill Fischer (American football)|Bill Fischer]] of Notre Dame at tackle.<ref name=AP/>

==The first selection of separate offensive and defensive All-American squads==
The biggest controversy in the 1948 All-American selection process concerned the widespread use of offensive and defensive specialists, resulting from the adoption of an unlimited substitution rule. The Associated Press considered selecting separate offensive and defensive teams, but opted to continue the tradition of picking a single squad of 11 All-Americans. The AP reported on its decision as follows:<blockquote>"Sharpest argument this year over bestowing All-America honors centered on the merit of recognizing men who played only offense or defense under the spreading 'two platoon' system. Separate defensive and offensive All-America first teams were proposed. Should the present cleavage widen this could become a possibility."<ref name=AP/></blockquote>
In the end, the AP named only three platoon players to its All-American teams—offensive specialists, Rifenberg, Justice and [[Bobby Stuart]].<ref name=AP/>

The [[Central Press Association]] noted that its 1948 All-American eleven "is not necessarily a true All-American team because of the present-day system of using two teams, an offensive and a defensive unit."<ref name=CP/>

It was the [[International News Service]] (the wire service operated by the Hearst newspapers) that in 1948 became the first to break with tradition by naming separate All-American teams on offense and defense. The INS described its decision in its article announcing the selections:<blockquote>"The days of selecting 11 men on an All-American first team are over, until such time as the unlimited substitution rules are altered. INS thus picks its All-America as the game is now played with the 22 man squad divided into an offensive team and a defensive team."<ref name=INS/></blockquote>
INS sports editor, Lawton Carver, wrote that the "era of [[One-platoon system|the iron man in football]] is rapidly passing," as an increasing number of players were being "tutored and geared to specialize for offense or defense and must be recognized for the part they play."<ref>{{cite news|author=Lawton Carver|title=INS Names 22-Man All-America|year=1948}}</ref>

==Consensus All-Americans==
For the year 1948, the NCAA recognizes seven published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received. The chart also reflects the published point total from the UP poll.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="15%" | Name
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Position
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | School
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | UP votes
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="10%" | Number
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="25%" | Official
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="17%" | Other
|- align="left"
|[[Doak Walker]]||[[Halfback (American football)|Halfback]]||[[1948 SMU Mustangs football team|SMU]]||2,820||7/7||AFCA, AP, FW, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CP, CT, LK, NYS, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Leo Nomellini]]||[[Tackle (American football)|Tackle]]||[[1948 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]||2,034||7/7||AFCA, AP, FW, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CP, CT, LK, NYS, WC
|- align="left"
| [[Chuck Bednarik]] ||[[Center (American football)|Center]] || [[1948 Penn Quakers football team|Penn]]||2,514||7/7||AFCA, AP, FW, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CP, CT, LK, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Charlie Justice (halfback)|Charlie Justice]]||[[Halfback (American football)|Halfback]] || [[1948 North Carolina Tar Heels football team|N. Carolina]] || 2,740 ||6/7||AFCA, AP, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CO, CP, CT, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Jackie Jensen]]||Halfback|| [[1948 California Golden Bears football team|California]] || 2,118 ||6/7||AFCA, FW, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CP, LK, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Dick Rifenberg]]||[[End (American football)|End]]||[[1948 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]||1,790||6/7||AP, FW, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CP, LK, NYS, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Bill Fischer (American football)|Bill Fischer]] ||[[Guard (American football)|Guard]]||[[1948 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]] ||2,335||5/7||AP, INS, NEA, TSN, UP||CP, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Buddy Burris]]||Guard||[[1948 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]]||1,512||5/7||AFCA, AP, INS, NEA, UP||CT, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Leon Hart]]||End||Notre Dame||1,926||4/7||FW, INS, TSN UP||CP, CT, LK, NYS, WC
|- align="left"
|[[Alvin Wistert]]||Tackle||Michigan||1,689||3/7||AFCA, TSN, UP||CP, CT, WC
|- align="left"
| [[Emil Sitko]]||Back||Notre Dame||na||2/7||FW, TSN||LK, NYS
|- align="left"
|}

==All-American selections for 1948==
===Ends===
*'''[[Dick Rifenberg]]''', Michigan (AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 [offense]; NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; LK; NYS; WC-1)
*'''[[Leon Hart]]''', Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; FW-1 [t]; INS-1 [defense]; NEA-2; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; CT; LK [t]; NYS [t]; WC-1)
*[[Barney Poole]], Mississippi (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; INS-1 [defense]; NEA-2; UP-2; CP-2; TSN-2; CT)
*[[Sam Tamburo]], Penn State (AFCA; AP-3; INS-1 [offense]; CP-2)
*George Brodnax, Georgia Tech (AFCA)
*[[Dan Foldberg]], Army (UP-2)
*Dale Armstrong, Dartmouth (AP-2; FW-2; NEA-1; CP-3)
*Mel Sheehan, Missouri (AP-2)
*[[Art Weiner]], North Carolina (College Football Hall of Fame) (FW-1; NEA-3; CP-3; TSN-2; LK; NYS)
*Jim Powell, Tennessee (NEA-3)
*Warren Huey, Michigan State (FW-2)
*Dan Garza, Oregon (FW-3)

===Tackles===
*'''[[Leo Nomellini]]''', Minnesota (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA; AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 [offensive guard]; NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; LK; CT [g]; NYS; WC-1)
*'''[[Alvin Wistert]]''', Michigan (College Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA; FW-2; NEA-2; UP-1; CP-1; TSN-1; CT; WC-1)
* Tim Turner, California (INS-1 [defense])
*[[Al DeRogatis]], Duke (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; UP-2; NEA-3; CP-3; CT)
*Phillip O'Reilly, Purdue (UP-2; TSN-2)
*[[Bill Kay (tackle)|Bill Kay]], Iowa (AP-2)
*Norman Meseroll, Tennessee (AP-3)
*[[Ernie Stautner]], Boston College (Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; NEA-3; CP-3)
*[[Nick Bolkovac]], Pittsburgh (NEA-2)
*[[Laurie Niemi]], Washington State (CP-2; INS-1 [offense])
*[[Paul Lea]], Tulane (CP-2; INS-1 [offense])
*[[Len Szafaryn]], North Carolina (FW-2)
*Chester Fritz, Missouri (FW-3; TSN-2)
*William Koch, Princeton (FW-3)

===Guards===
*'''[[Buddy Burris]]''', Oklahoma (AFCA; AP-1; FW-2; INS-1 [defense]; NEA-1; UP-1; CP-2; TSN-2; CT; WC-1)
*'''[[Bill Fischer (American football)|Bill Fischer]]''', Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1 [t]; INS-1 [defensive tackle]; NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; WC-1)
*[[Bill Healy]], Georgia Tech (AP-2; FW-1; INS-1 [defense]; NEA-1 [t]; TSN-1; UP-2; CP-1; FW-1; LK)
*[[Rod Franz]], California (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; UP-2; NEA-2; CP-2; TSN-2; NYS)
*[[Marty Wendell]], Notre Dame (AFCA; CP-3; FW-2)
*Don Mason, Michigan State (AP-2)
*Joseph Quinn, Cornell (AP-3)
*Vern Sterling, Santa Clara (AP-3; FW-3)
*Joe Henry, Army (NEA-2; INS-1 [offense]; FW-1; LK; NYS)
*Paul Kelly, Penn State (NEA-3)
*[[Dominic Tomasi]], Michigan (NEA-3; CP-3; FW-3)

===Centers===
*'''[[Chuck Bednarik]]''', Pennsylvania (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA; AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 [offense]; NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; LK; CT; WC-1)
*[[Alex Sarkisian]], Northwestern (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-2; NEA-2; CP-2; INS-1 [defense]; TSN-2; NYS)
*[[Dick Harris (center)|Dick Harris]], Texas (AP-2; CP-3)
*[[Tommy Thompson (linebacker)|Tommy Thompson]], William and Mary (AP-3; NEA-3)
*[[Bill Yeoman]], Army (FW-2)
*[[Clayton Tonnemaker]], Minnesota (FW-3)

===Backs===
*'''[[Doak Walker]]''', SMU (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA [qb]; AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 [defense]; NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; CT; LK; NYS [hb]; WC-1)
*'''[[Charlie Justice (halfback)|Charlie Justice]]''', North Carolina (College Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA [hb]; AP-1; FW-2; INS-1 [offense]; NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CO-1; CP-1; CT; WC-1)
*'''[[Jackie Jensen]]''', California (College Football Hall of Fame; 1958 [[American League]] MVP) (AFCA [fb]; AP-3; FW-1; NEA-1; INS-1 [offense]; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; CN; LK; WC-1)
*'''[[Emil Sitko]]''', Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; FW-1; TSN-1; UP-2; NEA-2; CP-2; LK; NYS [hb])
*'''[[Clyde Scott]]''', Arkansas (College Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA [hb]; AP-2; INS-1 [offense]; NEA-3; TSN-2; CT)
*[[Norm Van Brocklin]], Oregon (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; FW-2; INS-1 [offense]; NEA-2; UP-2; CP-3)
*[[John Rauch]], Georgia (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; FW-1; NEA-3; UP-2; CP-2; TSN-2; LK; WC-1)
*[[Jack Mitchell (American football)|Jack Mitchell]], Oklahoma (NEA-2; CP-1; NYS [qb])
*[[Stan Heath (American football)|Stan Heath]], [[University of Nevada]] (UP-1; CP-2; TSN-2)
*Bobby Stuart, Army (AP-1; CP-3; FW-3)
*[[Jack Cloud]], William & Mary (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-2; NEA-1; FW-3)
*[[Bobby Gage]], Clemson (AP-3; INS-1 [defense])
*[[Art Murakowski]], Northwestern (AP-1; FW-2)
* [[Lou Kusserow]], Columbia (NYS [fb])
*[[Pete Elliott]], Michigan (INS-1 [defense])
*[[George Taliaferro]], Indiana (INS-1 [defense])
*[[Chuck Ortmann]], Michigan (AP-2)
*[[Harry Szulborski]], Purdue (CP-2)
* Gil Stephenson, Army (TSN-2)
*[[Fran Rogel]], Penn State (NEA-2; FW-2)
*[[Eddie Price]], Tulane (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; NEA-3; CP-3)
*Joe Whisler, Ohio State (NEA-3; CP-3)
*[[Arnold Galiffa]], Army (FW-3)
*Elwood Petchel, Penn State (FW-3)

==Key==
{{smalldiv|1=
* '''Bold''' – Consensus All-American<ref name=CAA>{{cite web|title=Football Award Winners|publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)|year=2016|access-date=October 21, 2017|page=8|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2016/awards.pdf}}</ref>
* -1 – First-team selection
* -2 – Second-team selection
* -3 – Third-team selection
}}

===Official selectors===
{{smalldiv|1=
* AFCA = Balloting conducted in two stages by the [[American Football Coaches Association]] for ''Collier's Weekly''. The first stage of balloting was done at a sectional level, narrowing the slate to 55 players. The second stage of balloting was conducted by a panel of eight coaches: [[Frank Leahy]], [[Matty Bell]], [[Tuss McLaughry]], [[Bernie Bierman]], [[Wally Butts]], [[Jeff Cravath]], [[Harvey Harman]] and [[Lou Little]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Midwest, Southwest Each Place Three On Collier's Team|newspaper=Dunkirk (NY) Evening Observer|date=December 3, 1948|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4487146/midwest_southwest_each_place_three_on/}}</ref>
* AP = [[Associated Press]]<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=The 1948 AP All-America|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 1, 1948|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4486582/the_1948_ap_allamerica/}}</ref>
* FW = [[Football Writers Association of America]]<ref>{{cite web|title=FWAA All-America Since 1944|publisher=Football Writers Association of America|url=http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/allamerica/alltime.pdf|access-date=2009-03-21|archive-date=2019-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304073432/http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/allamerica/alltime.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* INS = [[International News Service]] (Hearst newspaper syndicate)<ref name=INS>{{cite news|title=INS Announces All-America: Jensen, Turner, Van Brocklin, Niemi Named From Coast|date=December 1948}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Lawton Carver|title=Seven Midwest Players Named To All-American|newspaper=The Daily Clintonian (Ind.)|date=November 29, 1948|page=5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4487001/seven_midwest_players_named_to/}}</ref>
* NEA = [[Newspaper Enterprise Association]], based on a consensus of coaches, scouts, officials, opposing players, and "others qualified to judge players and accurately weigh their value."<ref>{{cite news|author=Harry Grayson|author-link=Harry Grayson|title=Jensen Lone Coast Grid Star On NEA All-American Team|date=November 1948}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=NEA All-American Team|newspaper=The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune|date=November 27, 1948|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4486703/nea_allamerican_team/}}</ref>
* TSN = ''[[Sporting News]]''<ref name=ESPN>{{cite book|title=ESPN College Football Encyclopedia|page=1212|publisher=ESPN Books|year=2005|isbn=1401337031}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Walker Is Rated Most Outstanding|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=November 28, 1948|page=29|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4488035/walker_is_rated_most_outstanding/}}</ref>
* UP = [[United Press]]<ref>{{cite news|author=Leo H. Petersen|title=United Press Picks Annual All-American|work=The Ogden Standard-Examiner|location=Ogden, Utah|date=December 1, 1948|page=2B|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4486637/united_press_picks_annual_all_american/}}</ref>
}}

===Other selectors===
{{smalldiv|1=
* CP = [[Central Press Association]], selected with the assistance of the nation's football captains.<ref name=CP>{{cite news|author=Walter L. Johns|title=Five Midwest Players on Central Press All-American|work=Wisconsin State Journal|date=1948-12-05}}</ref>
* CT = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''<ref name=Rife>{{cite news|title=Rifenberg Named to 6 Elevens|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=December 12, 1948|page=2C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4487982/rifenberg_named_to_6_elevens/}}</ref>
* LK = ''Look'' magazine selected by [[Grantland Rice]] in cooperation with over 500 members of the FWAA<ref>{{cite news|title=Bob Nesbit's Newsbits|newspaper=The Terre Haute Tribune|date=December 15, 1948|page=12}}</ref>
* NYS = ''New York Sun''<ref>{{cite news|title=Midwest Tops Sun All-America|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=November 26, 1948|page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4488470/midwest_tops_allamerica/}}</ref>
* WC = [[Walter Camp Football Foundation]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Walter Camp Football Foundation All-American Selections |url=http://waltercamp.org/index.php/teams_and_awards/ |publisher=Walter Camp Football Foundation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218214203/http://waltercamp.org/index.php/teams_and_awards/ |archive-date=2007-12-18 }}</ref>
}}

==See also==
* [[1948 All-Big Seven Conference football team]]
* [[1948 All-Big Ten Conference football team]]
* [[1948 All-Pacific Coast Conference football team]]
* [[1948 All-SEC football team]]
* [[1948 All-Southwest Conference football team]]
* [[1948 All-Skyline Conference football team]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{1948 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{College Football All-America Teams}}

[[Category:1948 college football season|All-America Team]]
[[Category:College Football All-America Teams]]

1948 College Football All-America Team - Revision history

imported>Aetherzix: /* See also */ WP:ORPHAN