1946 Los Angeles Dons season
{{short description|American football team season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox NFL season
| team = Los Angeles Dons
| logo = Dons-logo-1947.jpg
| year = 1946
| record = 7–5–2
| division_place = 3rd AAFC West
| coach = Dudley DeGroot
| stadium = Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
| playoffs = Did not qualify
| previous = none
| no_prevseason = true
| shortnavlink = Dons seasons
}}
The 1946 Los Angeles Dons season was the inaugural season of the Los Angeles Dons in the All-America Football Conference. Led by head coach Dudley DeGroot, the Dons finished 7–5–2,[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/lda/1946.htm 1946 Los Angeles Dons] third in the West division, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Charlie O'Rourke with 1,250 passing yards, John Kimbrough with 473 rushing yards, Dale Gentry with 341 receiving yards, and Joe Aguirre with 55 points scored (31 extra points, four field goals, and two touchdowns).{{cite news|title=1946 Los Angeles Dons Statistics & Players|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|accessdate=March 2, 2020|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/lda/1946.htm}}
On September 13, 1946, in the first game in team history, the Dons defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 20-14, before a crowd of 18,995 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Bud Nygren scored the first points on a touchdown pass from quarterback Charlie O'Rourke. With the ball at the Don's 40-yard line, Nygren caught the ball at the Brooklyn 30-yard line and ran the remaining distance to the end zone.{{cite news|title=Dons Defeat Dodgers|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 14, 1946|page=6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45802221/dons-defeat-dodgers/|via=Newspapers.com}}
Season schedule
{{main|1946 AAFC season}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Week
!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Date !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Opponent !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Result !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Record !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Attendance !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Venue !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Recap !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"| Sources |
|---|
| 1
| colspan=8 align=center | Bye |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 2 | {{dow tooltip|September 13, 1946}} | W 20–14 | 1–0 | 19,153 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194609130lda.htm Recap] |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 3 | {{dow tooltip|September 20, 1946}} | W 30–14 | 2–0 | 19,585 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194609200lda.htm Recap] |
| style="background:#ffc"
! 4 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bisons | T 21–21 | 2–0–1 | 18,163 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194609290bba.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 5 | {{dow tooltip|October 5, 1946}} | at Chicago Rockets | W 21–9 | 3–0–1 | 31,076 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194610050cra.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#fcc"
! 6 | {{dow tooltip|October 12, 1946}} | L 14–23 | 3–1–1 | 11,736 | Gilmore Stadium (LA) | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194610130lda.htm Recap] |
| style="background:#fcc"
! 7 | October 20 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–31 | 3–2–1 | 71,134 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194610200cle.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#fcc"
! 8 | October 27 | L 17–31 | 3–3–1 | 12,123 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194610270lda.htm Recap] |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 9 | November 3 | W 17–16 | 4–3–1 | 21,576 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194611030lda.htm Recap] |
| style="background:#fcc"
! 10 | November 10 | at New York Yankees | L 12–17 | 4–4–1 | 30,765 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194611100naa.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 11 | November 17 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | W 19–14 | 5–4–1 | 7,500 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194611170bda.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 12 | {{dow tooltip|November 25, 1946}} | at Miami Seahawks | W 34–21 | 6–4–1 | 9,987 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194611250msa.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#cfc"
! 13 | December 1 | W 62–14 | 7–4–1 | 22,496 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194612010lda.htm Recap] |
| style="background:#fcc"
! 14 | December 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 7–48 | 7–5–1 | 25,000 | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194612080sfo.htm Recap] | |
| style="background:#ffc"
! 15 | December 15 | T 17–17 | 7–5–2 | 17,458 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/194612150lda.htm Recap] |
| style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Los Angeles Dons|year=1946|border=2}}"
|colspan="9"| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Division standings
{{1946 AAFC Western standings}}
{{1946 AAFC Eastern standings}}
Roster
Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage from the Los Angeles Times.
| class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;" |
| colspan="7" style="background-color:;color:;text-align:center;" | Los Angeles Dons 1946 roster |
|---|
style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | Quarterbacks
Fullbacks
Halfbacks
| style="width: 25px;" | | style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | Ends
Tackles
Guards
Centers
|
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Los Angeles Dons seasons}}
{{1946 AAFC season by team}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1946 Los Angeles Dons Season}}