1940 Lafayette Leopards football team
{{short description|American football club}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
| year = 1940
| team = Lafayette Leopards
| sport = football
| image =
| image_size =
| conference = Middle Three Conference
| short_conf = Middle Three
| APRank = 19
| record = 9–0
| conf_record = 2–0
| head_coach = Edward Mylin
| hc_year = 4th
| captain = George Moyer
| stadium = Fisher Field
| champion = Middle Three champion
}}
{{1940 Middle Three Conference football standings}}
The 1940 Lafayette Leopards football team was an American football team that represented Lafayette College in the Middle Three Conference during the 1940 college football season. In its fourth season under head coach Edward Mylin, the team compiled a 9–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 237 to 33.{{cite web|title=2018 Lafayette Football Media Guide|publisher=Lafayette University|accessdate=June 14, 2020|page=127|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/goleopards.com/documents/2018/8/28/2018LCFBmediaguide.pdf}} The team was ranked No. 19 in the final AP poll.{{cite news|title=Minnesota Is Voted Number One College Football Team for 1940|newspaper=The Morning Call|date=December 3, 1940|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-minnesota-is-voted-numb/166437121/|via=Newspapers.com}}
Lafayette led the country in both rushing offense (306.4 yards per game) and total offense (368.2 yards per game). They tallied 2,758 rushing yards, 556 passing yards, and 3,314 yards of total offense.{{cite news|title=Lafayette Takes National Ground Gaining Laurels|newspaper=Meriden Record|date=December 6, 1940|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/record-journal-lafayette-takes-national/166434957/Ѕ|via=Newspapers.com}}
Halfback George Moyer was the team captain.{{cite web|title=Football Captains|publisher=Lafayette University|accessdate=June 15, 2020|url=https://goleopards.com/sports/2018/7/27/sports-m-footbl-spec-rel-lafa-m-footbl-captains-html.aspx}} Tackle Bill Collins was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as a second-team player on the 1940 All-Eastern football team.{{cite news|title=Bucknell, Nittany Stars All-Eastern Runners Up|newspaper=The Daily Item|date=December 5, 1940|page=20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/48354851/bucknell-nittany-stars-all-eastern/|via=Newspapers.com}} Six Lafayette players received first-team honors from the conference coaches on the All-Middle Three team: halfbacks George "Sammy" Moyer and Walter Zirinsky; center Walter Wermuth; end John Svenson; tackle Bill Collins; and guard William Kresge.{{cite news|title=Rutgers Places Four On Middle Three Team|newspaper=The Daily Home News|date=December 4, 1940|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-rutgers/166432971/|via=Newspapers.com}}
The team played home games at Fisher Field in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Schedule
{{CFB schedule
| rankyear = 1940
| poll = AP
| rank = y
| attend = y
| source = y
|September 28||{{cfb link|year=1940|team=Ursinus Bears|title=Ursinus}}
|October 5|at|NYU
|October 12|at|{{cfb link|year=1940|team=Muhlenberg Mules|title=Muhlenberg}}
|October 19||{{cfb link|year=1940|team=Gettysburg Bullets|title=Gettysburg}}
|October 26|at|Army
|November 2||{{cfb link|year=1940|team=Washington & Jefferson Presidents|title=Washington & Jefferson}}
|November 9|at|Rutgers|18|Rutgers Stadium|Piscataway, NJ|W 7-6|19,000|{{cite news|title=Rutgers Tumbles To Lafayette by Score of 7 to 6|newspaper=The Sunday Times|author=Jack Casey|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|date=November 10, 1940|pages=1, 11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120282244/rutgers-tumbles-to-lafayette-by-score/|via=Newspapers.com}}
|November 16||{{cfb link|year=1940|team=Western Maryland Green Terror|title=Western Maryland}}
|November 23||Lehigh||Fisher Field|Easton, PA (rivalry)|W 46-0| 15,000 | {{cite news |title=Lafayette Finishes Second Perfect Season in Four Years by Routing Lehigh |first=Kingsley |last=Childs |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York, N.Y. |date=November 24, 1940 |page=S2}}
}}