1939 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

1939 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	4–5–1 (2–1–1 MVC)
Head coach	Chet Benefiel (1st season)
Home stadium	Skelly Field

1939 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Washington University $	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Oklahoma A&M	3	–	1	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Tulsa	2	–	1	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Drake	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Saint Louis	1	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	2
Creighton	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Washburn	1	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1939 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1939 college football season. In their first year under head coach Chet Benefiel, the Golden Hurricane compiled a 4–5–1 record (2–1–1 against conference opponents) and finished in third place in the Missouri Valley Conference.[1]

Tulsa was ranked at No. 100 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	Wichita*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	W 23–6	10,000	[3]
October 7	at Creighton	Creighton Stadium Omaha, NE	W 21–14	12,000	[4]
October 14	Oklahoma A&M	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK (rivalry)	L 7–9	11,000
October 21	Centenary*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	W 15–7	9,500	[5]
October 28	Detroit*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 7–16	8,500	[6]
November 4	at Catholic University*	Brookland Stadium Washington, DC	L 7–13
November 11	at TCU*	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 0–16	5,000
November 18	Saint Louis	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	T 0–0	6,500	[7]
November 25	Drake	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	W 14–0	5,000	[8]
November 30	Arkansas*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 0–23	12,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming

[9]

After the season

The 1940 NFL draft was held on December 9, 1939. The following Golden Hurricane players were selected.[10][11]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
11	100	John McKibben	End	New York Giants
15	140	Othel Turner	Tackle	New York Giants

References

1. "1939 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
2. E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Tulsa Scores Victory Over Wichita Shockers, 23 to 6". The Wichita Eagle. October 1, 1939. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Howard Wolff (October 8, 1939). "Tulsa Smashes Creighton, 21 to 14". Sunday World-Herald. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Bynum almost beats Tulsa for Centenary". The Daily Oklahoman. October 22, 1939. Retrieved July 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Slovisky Star as Titans Win". Detroit Free Press. October 29, 1939. p. 45 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Jack Charvat (November 19, 1939). "St. Louis Billikens Battle Tulsa Hurricane to 0-0 Tie: Tulsa Drive Fails". Tulsa Tribune. p. 7C – via Newspapers.com.
8. Roger Devlin (November 26, 1939). "Hurricane Defeats Drake Eleven, 14-6". Tulsa Tribune. pp. 1S, 2S – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 180. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
10. "1940 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
11. "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.