1938 Princeton Tigers football team
{{short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
| year = 1938
| team = Princeton Tigers
| sport = football
| image =
| image_size =
| conference = Independent
| record = 3–4–1
| head_coach= Tad Wieman
| hc_year = 1st
| captain = Tom Mountain
| stadium = Palmer Stadium
}}
{{1938 Eastern college football independents records}}
The 1938 Princeton Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Princeton University as an independent during the 1938 college football season. In its first season under head coach Tad Wieman, the team compiled a 3–4–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 117 to 107.{{cite web|title=1938 Princeton Tigers Schedule and Results|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=SR/College Football|access-date=April 9, 2020|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/princeton/1938-schedule.html}}{{cite web|title=2008 Princeton Tigers Football Media Guide|publisher=Princeton University |page=127 |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/princeton.sidearmsports.com/documents/2008/8/7/135152.pdf |access-date=April 9, 2020}} The team played its home games at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.
Tom Mountain was the team captain. He also received the John Prentiss Poe Cup, the team's highest award.2008 Media Guide, p. 106.
On February 9, 1938, Fritz Crisler announced his resignation as Princeton's head football coach in order to assume the same position at Michigan.{{cite news| title=Crisler Named Michigan Football Coach| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| date=February 10, 1938|page=2-1| url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1938/02/10/page/17/article/crisler-named-michigan-football-coach}}{{cite news| title=Post at Michigan Taken by Crisler: Coach of 2 Unbeaten Teams in 6 Years at Princeton Will Succeed Kipke| newspaper=The New York Times| author=Allison Danzig|date=February 10, 1939| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/02/10/archives/post-at-michigan-taken-by-crisler-coach-of-2-unbeaten-elevens-in-6.html|url-access=subscription }} Tad Wieman, who had served as an assistant coach under Crisler, was named days later as the school's new head coach.{{cite news|title=Wieman Appointed Tiger Grid Mentor|newspaper=The Daily Home News, New Brunswick, N.J.|date=February 22, 1938|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48339897/wieman-appointed-tiger-grid-mentor/|via=Newspapers.com}}
Schedule
{{CFB schedule
| attend = y
| source = y
|October 1||{{cfb link |year=1938 |team=Williams Ephs|title=Williams}}|Palmer Stadium|Princeton, NJ|W 39-0||
|October 8||Dartmouth|Palmer Stadium|Princeton, NJ|L 0-22||
|October 15||Penn|Palmer Stadium|Princeton, NJ|W 13-0||
|October 22|at|Navy|Thompson Stadium|Annapolis, MD|T 13-13||
|October 29|at|Harvard|Harvard Stadium|Boston, MA (rivalry)|L 7-26||{{cite news|title=Harvard Rips Tiger In Big 3 Clash, 26-7|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=October 30, 1938|agency=United Press|page=39C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-harvard-rips-tiger-in-big-3-c/133719648/|via=Newspapers.com}}
|November 5|at|Rutgers| |New Brunswick, NJ (rivalry)|L 18-20|22,500|{{cite news|title=Rutgers Ends Historic Jinx By Defeating Tiger Eleven|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=November 6, 1938|page=C1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5575562/rutgers_ends_historic_jinx_by_defeating/}}{{cite news|title=Rutgers Eleven Downs Princeton First Time in 69 Years, 20–18|newspaper=Asbury Park Press|date=November 6, 1938|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5575594/rutgers_ends_historic_jinx_by_defeating/}}
|November 12||Yale|Palmer Stadium|Princeton, NJ (rivalry)|W 20-7||
|November 19||Army|Palmer Stadium|Princeton, NJ|L 7-19||
}}