Year-By-Year Summaries (1940s)
 |  Eddie Price led the Green Wave to the 1949 SEC title as a senior. It was one of three SEC titles won by Tulane from 1934 to 1949. |
1940 (5-5, 1-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Red Dawson
Hit hard by graduation, Tulane's 1940 team posted a 5-5 record, marking the first time since 1927 that the Green Wave did not field a winning football team. Coach Red Dawson rallied the troops after the season started 0-3, but a loss to LSU in the season finale prevented a winning campaign. Guard Tommy O'Boyle earned All-America recognition as he led the charge for Dawson's ground-oriented attack. The 1940 team still holds the season record for rushing attempts with 649.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceS28 Boston College New Orleans, La. 7-27 LO5 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 14-20 LO12 at Fordham Bronx, N.Y. 7-20 LO19 Rice New Orleans, La. 15-6 WO26 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. 14-13 WN2 Clemson New Orleans, La. NR/10 13-0 WN9 at Alabama* Birmingham, Ala. 6-13 LN16 Georgia* New Orleans, La. 21-13 WN23 Northwestern State New Orleans, La. 47-0 WN30 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 0-14 L 30,799
1941 (5-4, 2-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Red Dawson
The nation drifted toward World War II as Red Dawson delivered a winning record in his last season as Tulane head coach. The 1941 team finished 5-4 and displayed a bit more offense than Dawson's previous squads, scoring better than 30 points in four of their five wins.
Ernie Blandin led the way from his tackle spot and was named a consensus All-American after the season. Bobby Glass, who would be killed in action in World War II, led the rushing attack with 683 yards and eight TDs. Lou Thomas established a season record with an average of 6.8 yards total offense per play, and also returned a kickoff 100 yards in a 52-6 win over North Carolina.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceS27 Boston College New Orleans, La. 21-7 WO4 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 32-0 WO11 at Rice Houston, Texas 9-10 LO18 North Carolina New Orleans, La. 17/NR 52-6 WO25 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. 10/NR 13-20 LN1 at Vanderbilt* Nashville, Tenn. NR/10 34-14 WN8 Alabama* New Orleans, La. 14/NR 14-19 LN15 at New York New York, N.Y. 45-0 WN29 LSU* New Orleans, La. 0-19 L 50,764
1942 (4-5, 1-4 SEC)
Head Coach: Claude Simons, Jr.
Claude "Little Monk" Simons, an All-American for the Green Wave in 1934, took over the head coaching reins from Red Dawson and was faced with putting together a football team during the chaos of World War II. Players were leaving for military service, while others were coming to campus from other universities to participate in military training programs.
Simons led the Wave against a nine-game schedule and wound up with a 4-5 record, Tulane's first losing season since 1927. The season started off well as Tulane journeyed west to defeat the USC Trojans, 27-13. A three-game losing skid to conclude the season ended hopes of a winning campaign.
Lou Thomas led the team in rushing and passing.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceS26 at Southern Cal Los Angeles, Calif. 27-13 WO3 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 13-27 LO10 Rice New Orleans, La. 18-7 WO17 at Georgia* Athens, Ga. NR/2 0-40 LO24 North Carolina New Orleans, La. NR/19 29-14 WO31 Vanderbilt* New Orleans, La. 28-21 WN7 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 0-7 LN14 Georgia Navy P-F New Orleans, La. 0-7 LN26 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 6-18 L 30,071
1943 (3-3, 1-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Claude Simons, Jr.
The six games Tulane played in 1943 were the fewest since the wartime year of 1918, and Monk Simons led his second Green Wave squad to a 3-3 record. End Ray Olsen, guard Gaston Bourgeois, center Lester Gatewood and back Joe Renfroe all earned All-SEC recognition that fall. Bourgeois, a 16-year-old freshman, started for Tulane for four years and earned All-SEC recognition each season. The 1943 victories came over Rice, SMU and LSU.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceO2 Memphis Navy New Orleans, La. 7-41 LO9 at Rice Houston, Texas 33-0 WO23 SMU New Orleans, La. 12-6 WO30 Georgia Navy P-F New Orleans, La. 13-14 LN13 Georgia Tech* New Orleans, La. NR/19 0-33 LN20 LSU* New Orleans, La. 27-0 W 35,893
1944 (4-3, 1-2 SEC)
Head Coach: Claude Simons, Jr.
Monk Simons fielded his only winning team in 1944 as the squad finished another war-abbreviated schedule 4-3.
This team enjoyed considerable success on the ground as it rushed for more than 300 yards four times, the only Tulane team since 1940 to do so. The biggest victims of the Tulane running game were Clemson (504 yards) and SMU (417 yards). Dub Jones led Wave rushers with 700 yards and earned All-America recognition.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceO7 at Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 0-26 L 45,000O14 Rice New Orleans, La. 21-0 W 30,000O21 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 16-13 WO28 SMU New Orleans, La. 27-7 W 22,000N11 at Georgia Tech* Atlanta, Ga. NR/13 7-34 LN18 Clemson New Orleans, La. 36-20 W 10,000D2 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 6-25 L 25,248
1945 (2-6-1, 1-3-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Claude Simons, Jr.
The wartime shuffling of players on and off campus finally caught up with Tulane, and the 2-6-1 record in 1945 was the school's worst since 1910. Coach Monk Simons had his team off to a 2-2-1 start in his final season, but then saw his team suffer through a four-game losing streak at the end.
Ernest Crouch produced one of the highlights of the season by returning two interceptions for touchdowns in a 19-7 win over SMU, a single-game record that still stands.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceO6 Florida* New Orleans, La. 6-6 T 20,000O13 at Rice Houston, Texas 7-13 L 14,000O20 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 14-20 LO27 SMU New Orleans, La. 19-7 W 28,000N3 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. NR/15 14-13 W 25,000N10 Georgia Tech* New Orleans, La. 7-41 L 30,000N17 Clemson New Orleans, La. 20-47 L 18,000N24 Notre Dame New Orleans, La. NR/5 6-21 L 63,000D1 LSU* New Orleans, La. 0-33 L 52,644
1946 (3-7, 2-4 SEC)
Head Coach: Henry Frnka
Coach Henry Frnka moved to Tulane to take over the football program after leading Tulsa to four bowl games, including two Sugar Bowls. The initial results were disappointing, but Frnka was laying a foundation that would produce significant success for the Green Wave in the late 1940s.
One of the keys to that foundation was New Orleanian Eddie Price, just out of the Navy and about to become one of the most feared rushers in college football. Price played sparingly early in his freshman year, but still led Tulane in rushing with 309 yards.
The 1946 team ended with a 3-7 record as military veterans like Bennie Ellender, O.J. Key, Ken Tarzetti, Vic Klein and Don Fortier returned to campus to help Frnka rebuild Tulane football fortunes.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceS28 Alabama* New Orleans, La. 6-7 L 64,371O5 Florida* New Orleans, La. 27-13 W 35,000O12 Rice New Orleans, La. 6-25 L 45,000O19 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 32-0 W 35,000O26 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 7-14 L 45,000N9 Clemson New Orleans, La. 54-13 W 25,301N16 at Georgia Tech* Atlanta, Ga. NR/7 7-35 L 32,000N23 Notre Dame New Orleans, La. NR/2 0-41 L 65,841N30 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. NR/9 27-41 L 46,000D21 Southern California New Orleans, La. 13-20 L 25,000
1947 (2-5-2, 2-3-2 SEC)
Head Coach: Henry Frnka
Henry Frnka's second Green Wave team finished 2-5-2, but some of the pieces of the squad that exploded to success in 1948 were beginning to fall into place.
Sophomore Eddie Price led Tulane in rushing again. Against Auburn, Price rambled for 103 yards and Johnny Campora added 104 as Tulane rolled up 431 yards on the ground in a 40-0 win.
Against Alabama in the season opener, Price returned a kickoff 100 yards and Bennie Ellender came right back with a TD pass to Ray Prats as Tulane exploded for two quick TDs that keyed a 21-20 win.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score ResultS27 Alabama* New Orleans, La. 21-20 WO4 Georgia Tech* New Orleans, La. 0-20 LO11 at Rice Houston, Texas NR/16 0-3 LO18 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. 14-27 LO25 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 40-0 WN1 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 0-20 LN15 Florida* New Orleans, La. 7-7 TN22 at Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. NR/2 6-59 LD6 LSU* New Orleans, La. 6-6 T
1948 (9-1, 5-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Henry Frnka
Junior Eddie Price led the Green Wave to a 9-1 record with 1,178 yards rushing, as he gained at least 100 yards in seven of the team's 10 games.
Coach Henry Frnka also crafted a strong passing attack that fall, as sophomore Joe Ernst threw for 809 yards and Dick Sheffield set a season record that lasted 22 years by averaging 18.6 yards per catch.
Operating behind a forward wall that included All-SEC tackle Paul Lea and center Stan Kottemann, Price and Ernst helped the Wave end the season on an eight-game winning streak as the only loss came to Georgia Tech in game two.
Defensively, linebacker Bill Svoboda and defensive back Bobby Jones led a unit that shut out four opponents and did not allow anyone to score more than twice. The season ended on a pleasant note as Tulane swamped LSU 46-0 in Baton Rouge. The team was richly deserving of a bowl invite but got none.
FINAL RANKING: 13th AP
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score ResultS25 Alabama* New Orleans, La. 21-14 WO2 at Georgia Tech* Atlanta, Ga. 7-13 LO9 South Carolina New Orleans, La. 14-0 WO16 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. NR/10 20-7 WO23 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 17/NR 21-6 WO30 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 19/NR 9-0 WN6 VMI New Orleans, La. 20/NR 28-7 WN13 Baylor New Orleans, La. 35-13 WN20 at Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 14/NR 6-0 WN27 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 14/NR 46-0 W
1949 (7-2-1, 5-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Henry Frnka
All-American Eddie Price ran wild again, rushing for 1,137 yards in only nine games as Tulane finished 7-2-1. Price ended his fabulous career as the NCAA's all-time leading rusher with 3,095 career yards. He rushed for 238 yards against Navy that season in his finest career performance, and had five games over 100 yards in the nine he played.
The team won its first three games to stretch the school's winning streak to 11. The only losses were to Notre Dame and LSU. A big upset by LSU in the season finale probably cost Tulane a bowl berth.
Tackle Paul Lea was named All-SEC for the second season in a row, and Jimmy Glisson set school records in the secondary with four interceptions in one game and nine in a season.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceS24 vs. Alabama* Mobile, Ala. 28-14 WO1 Georgia Tech* New Orleans, La. 18-0 WO8 Southeastern Louisiana New Orleans, La. 4/NR 40-0 WO15 at Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 4/1 7-46 LO22 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 20/NR 14-6 WO29 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 54-6 WN5 Navy New Orleans, La. 21-21 TN12 at Vanderbilt* Nashville, Tenn. 41-14 WN19 at Virginia Charlottesville, Va. 19/NR 28-14 WN26 LSU* New Orleans, La. 10/13 0-21 L 79,292
