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1940 Massillon Tigers
Record: 10-0
Combined Statistics: Link
Head Coach: Paul Brown (9th year)
Record To-Date at Massillon: 80-8-2
Team Captains: Ray Getz, Horace Gillom
All-Ohio: AP and UPI Selections: Horace Gillom (1st), Tommy James (1st), Jim Russell (1st), Bill Wallace (1st); UPI Selections: Dick Kingham (1st), Ray Getz (1st), Pokey Blunt (1st), Herman Robinson (1st), Larry Cardinal (1st), Gordon Appleby (1st), Eli Broglio (1st)
State Champion by Popular Acclaim: Massillon (also National Champion)
All-Time Record: 240-110-20
Series Record vs. Canton McKinley: 20-22-3
Noteworthy Items: (1) Prior to the season, Massillon defeated Kent State University in a scrimmage, 47-0. (2) Cleveland Cathedral Latin suffered its only loss of the year to the Tigers, 64-0. (3) Weirton was awarded the West Virginia State Championship after being soundly defeated by Massillon, 48-0. (4) Erie East, PA suffered its worst defeat in 20 years, to the Tigers 74-0. (5) The contest against Alliance was the first high school game ever played at the Akron Rubber Bowl. (6) Toledo Waite had hopes for claiming the state title at the conclusion of the season, but Massillon effectively settled the matter, defeating them handily, 28-0, It broke Waite’s 19-game winning streak. (7) This was the second highest scoring team in Massillon history. Defensively, the Tigers surrendered a lone touchdown, to Canton McKinley. So dominant were the Tigers that the entire starting lineup was awarded First-Team All-Ohio. It was noted that Brown’s teams never lost a game when they were attired in black football pants. (8) Coach Paul Brown left Massillon after nine years to become head coach at Ohio State, winning the national championship in 1942; he would later coach the Cleveland Browns (winning four AAC championships) and the Cincinnati Bengals. Assistant Coach Bud Houghton would take over in 1941, but leave for the war after just one year, then return to the post after the war had ended; he would later become head coach for the University of Akron. Junior High Coach Elwood Kammer would become head coach in Houghton’s interim. Assistant Coach Carroll Widdoes would follow Brown to OSU and eventually become their head coach, claiming the national runner-up spot in his first year. Assistant Coach Fritz Heisler became an assistant coach for both OSU and the Cleveland Browns. Junior High Coach Mel Knowlton would become a long-time head coach at Alliance. Junior High Coach Howard Brinker went on to become an assistant coach in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.
| Opponent | Record | H/A | Mass. | Opp. | W/L | Atttendance | Media Links | Game Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Cathedral Latin | 9-1 | H | 64 | 0 | W | 16,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| Weirton, WV | 9-1 | H | 48 | 0 | W | 16,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| Warren Harding | 5-5 | H | 59 | 0 | W | 10,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| Erie East, PA | A | 74 | 0 | W | 22,000 | Game Story | Game Stats | |
| Alliance | 8-2-1 | N | 40 | 0 | W | 33,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| Steubenville | 3-6 | H | 66 | 0 | W | 13,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| Mansfield | A | 38 | 0 | W | 8,500 | Game Story | Game Stats | |
| Toledo Waite | 9-1 | H | 28 | 0 | W | 22,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| Youngstown East | A | 26 | 0 | W | 12,000 | Game Story | Game Stats | |
| Canton McKinley | 8-1-1 | H | 34 | 6 | W | 22,000 | Game Story | Game Stats |
| TOTAL | 477 | 6 | 174,500 | Season Stats |
The Alliance game was played at the Akron Rubber Bowl.
