- Source: 1946 Thiel Tomcats football team
The 1946 Thiel Tomcats football team was an American football team that represented Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, as an independent during the 1946 college football season. In their eleventh year under head coach Jack Stoeber, the Tomcats compiled a perfect 7–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 88 to 33. The team played its home game at Packard Field in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
In the fall of 1946, Thiel College had a total enrollment of only 450 students with 30 of them playing for the football team. The players had an average weight of between 165 and 170 pounds, and all but two of them were World War II veterans. Thirteen of the 30 players were locals from Greenville, and only two were from out of state. In describing the strength of the squad, Coach Stoeber emphasized teamwork over raw talent: "Although I have a squad of 30, the quality is not too good, and there are no outstanding individuals. The boys play together, and that is the answer for our good season."
The 1941 Thiel team also compiled an undefeated record, but the football program ceased competition during World War II. After a four-year hiatus, six players from the 1941 team returned to the 1946 team, including Joe DeFebo who served as an assistant coach. In all, Thiel won 15 consecutive games from 1941 to 1948.
In 1981, the team was inducted into the Thiel Athletic Hall of Fame. In its memorial to the 1946 team, Thiel Athletics note that "the 1946 team was forced to claw its way through", squeaking out narrow wins in a series of "cliff-hangers".
Schedule
Roster
Sam Scava
Jim Trettle
John Bright
John Desport
Paul Stegkamper
David Spargo
Jack Beer
James Wallace
Pete Battisti
Emil Charles
Carl Maurana
Dale Bachman
Richard Dennison
Dom Ucchino
Tony Fahl
Burt Larsen
Robert Himmelman
Tony Donato
George Dietrich,
William Peterson
Dominic Benedetto
John Vitale
Robert Dell
Robert Driscole
James Miller
James Nichol
Guyton Thigpen
Bob Henderson
John Boliver
Ralph Demi
Robert Denniston