1946 Los Angeles Dons season


The 1946 Los Angeles Dons season was their inaugural season in the new eight-team All-America Football Conference. Led by head coach Dudley DeGroot, the Dons finished 7–5–2, 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.
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.

Season schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecord
1September 13Brooklyn DodgersW 20–141–0
2September 20Miami SeahawksW 30–142–0
3September 29at Buffalo BisonsT 21–212–0–1
4October 5at Chicago RocketsW 21–93–0–1
5October 12San Francisco 49ersL 23–143–1–1
6October 20at Cleveland BrownsL 31–143–2–1
7October 27New York YankeesL 31–173–3–1
8November 3Cleveland BrownsW 17–164–3–1
9November 10at New York YankeesL 17–124–4–1
10November 17at Brooklyn DodgersW 19–145–4–1
11November 25at Miami SeahawksW 34–216–4–1
12December 1Buffalo BisonsW 62–147–4–1
13December 8at San Francisco 49ersL 48–77–5–1
14December 15Chicago RocketsT 17–177–5–2

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.