Coach Bernie Moore

Coach John Barnhill

Clyde "Smackover" Scott

Alton Baldwin

Wren Worley

Walter "Piggy" Barnes

Ray Bullock

Mel Lyle

Fred Land

Dale Gray

Carroll Griffith

Leon Campbell

Aubrey Fowler

Buck Ballard

Gene "Red" Knight

John Hoffman

Clyde Lindsey

Aubrey Fowler (43) of Arkansas defends against a pass to Jim Cason on the last play of the first half. (NEA Photo)

Zolllie Toth

Fred Land

Jeff Adams

Willard Landry

Fred Hall

Holly Heard

The 1946 LSU roster included twelve players who would play in the National Football League or the new All-America Football Conference. And HB Joe Glamp is not one of them. After lettering in 1942, he entered the military. When he returned from the war, he surveyed the talent Bernie Moore had assembled and decided he had a better chance to make the Pittsburgh Steelers, the perennial doormats of the NFL. His choice proved wise as he started for three years for the Steelers.

LSU's Season

• In 1946, the Tigers, loaded with military veterans as well as young talent, finished 9-1. The veterans could attend school without a football scholarship because of the "G.I. Bill." That freed money for the youngsters.
• The loss came to Georgia Tech in the fourth game, 26-7 at Tiger Stadium. Unfortunately, that defeat cost the Tigers a share of the SEC crown as Wally Butts' Georgia Bulldogs defeated Tech 35-7 in the annual finale to finish 10-0.
  John Ferguson, longtime radio voice of the Tigers, said the loss to the Yellow Jackets was "just one of those games." Two late INTs were returned for TDs. Ferguson rated the '46 contingent as the best LSU team of all time.
• The Tigers were led by junior QB Y. A. Tittle, a member of the United Press All-SEC team, and a deep corps of RBs led by Jim Cason and Dan Sandifer. G Wren Worley made the AP all-conference eleven while T Walter "Piggy" Barnes earned a spot on sportscaster Bill Stern's All-American team.
• LSU ranked #8 in the final AP poll, which was conducted before the bowl games.

LSU 1946 Opponent Score @Rice 7-6 Mississippi State 13-6 Texas A&M 33-9 Georgia Tech 7-26 @Vanderbilt 14-0 Ole Miss 34-21 Alabama 31-21 @Miami (FL) 20-7 Fordham 40-0 Tulane 41-27

Arkansas 1946 Opponent Score Northwestern State 21-14 @Oklahoma A&M 21-21 @TCU 34-14 Baylor 13-0 @Texas 0-20 Ole Miss 7-9 @Texas A&M 7-0 Rice 7-0 SMU 13-0 @Tulsa 13-14

The Opponent

• John Barnhill finished his first season as Arkansas coach with a 6-3-1 record.
• The 16th-ranked Razorbacks went 5-1 in the Southwest Conference to share the championship with Rice. UA's lone league loss came at Texas 20-0. With the 8-2 Owls accepting a bid to the Orange Bowl, Arkansas took the conference's Cotton berth.

Pre-game Prospects

• Coach Moore had a problem motivating his team for the Cotton Bowl, which guaranteed LSU $62,000. First of all, the players had their hopes set on a shot at Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to show that they were better than the SEC champions. But the Crescent City bowl chose North Carolina and its star HB "Choo Choo" Justice as the Bulldogs' opposition.
• Before practice could begin for the bowl game, Moore and AD Thomas "Skipper" Heard had to deal with an insurrection by the older players, who wanted $600 each to play in Dallas. When the administration flatly denied the request, the squad met before practice and took a vote on whether to play in the Cotton Bowl. When a close vote favored striking if their demands weren't met, the players refused to practice and returned to their dormitory, expecting someone from the athletic department to come and talk to them. Tittle, who opposed the plan, recalled, Nobody came to us. They just let us sleep on it. Eventually, a counterproposal appeared: $100 a man if LSU won the Cotton Bowl. That was enough to end the walkout.
  None of this story made the newspapers at the time. Marty Mule recounted it in Tiger Rag 4/22/14.
• The Tigers worked hard on their passing game since the Arkansas defense had been vulnerable to air attacks.
• Moore announced a change in the original travel plans. Instead of arriving in Dallas December 26, the Tigers would wait until the 29th. Whether the players' insurrection contributed to the delay is anyone's guess.
• The Tigers flew to Dallas on four separate flights. Moore, who preferred to stay earthbound, made the trip by automobile. Newspaper stories focused on E Clyde Lindsey, who got married the day before the team left for Dallas. Not distracted, Clyde would play all 60 minutes New Year's Day.
• On the eve of the game, Moore admitted knowing little about Arkansas.

  We not only didn't scout each other but have little information from others who saw our teams in action. One fellow wrote from Oklahoma that he could give me the lowdown on Arkansas, but I didn't know him so I didn't take advantage of the offer.

• Bernie knew that Arkansas had a fast team led by the running of Clyde "Smackover" Scott and the pass receiving of big Alton Baldwin, a four-year letter winner and second-team All-American E.
  Scott was from Smackover AK, which posted a large sign at the entrance to the town proclaiming it his home. He played two years at the Naval Academy before transferring to Arkansas for the 1946 season.
• Seven Tigers looked forward to the Cotton Bowl with extra anticipation - the players from Arkansas: Ends Ray Bullock, Sam Coots, and Mel Lyle, T Fred Land, G Worley, and HBs Dale Gray and Carroll Griffith.

Dan Sandifer, Y.A. Tittle, Ray Coates, Jim Cason, Rip Collins, Al Heroman

• The oddsmakers installed LSU as a 10-point favorite. Both squads reported no significant injuries.
  The game was broadcast over the Mutual network with Jim Britt, who did the 1946 World Series, handling the play by play.
• A United Press article the day before the game proclaimed: "Weather fore­casts were that it would be cold and cloudy but that no rain or snow was expected." Unfortunately, that prediction didn't pan out. The game day report said: Sub-freezing temperatures and a blanket of snow today furnished a frigid setting for the 11th Cotton bowl football game ... The condition of the field remained an unknown quantity until the huge tarpaulin protecting it from Tuesday's snow was removed shortly before the kickoff.
  The Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, 278 miles south, was postponed for four days because of the sleet storm that moved across the Lone Star State.
  The LSU cheerleaders took 600-pound Mike the Tiger in his cage on their trip to Dallas but, fearing the effect the icy weather would have on him, decided to leave him in a warehouse in Shreveport. "He's too old - eleven years - to risk catching pneumonia," said T. Kelly McKnight, LSU alumni secretary.
• Nevertheless, the Cotton Bowl went on as planned. 38,000 of the 45,000 ticket holders showed up. They sloshed through foot-deep snow in the aisles and sat in a misty rain that eventually turned to sleet to watch what came to be known as "The Ice Bowl" 30 years before Dallas's own Cowboys played in another "Ice Bowl" in Green Bay for the NFL Championship. Some spectators set fires in the stands to keep warm.
• Moore sent trainer Jules Roux to the store to buy long underwear for the players and several charcoal heaters, which were placed on the sideline. For the only time anyone could remember, the LSU linemen all wore gloves. LSU procured several oil drums, filled them with charcoal, and started a fire to produce heat on the sideline. AD Heard brought in 25 bales of hay to spread in front of the bench to keep the players' feet warm. Assistant coach Harry Rabenhorst remembers that "the cold brought tears to everyone's eyes. I went up to Bernie one time and, sure enough, the tears had frozen on his cheeks."
• On the sidelines patches of snow which had melted, frozen again, then melted and froze a second time covered all but the playing field, which had been protected by tarpaulins. Game time temperature was reported as 29°.
  Fur coats, rain coats, blankets, parkas, umbrellas, cowboy boots, and galoshes were the basic costumes of the spectators.
  Both Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis and Arkansas Governor Ben Laney shivered in the stands.
  Two Arkansas bandsmen wore the flaring bells of their sousaphones as rain hats. A stylishly-clad brunette from the Bayou encased her lovely legs in brown paper bags.

STARTING LINEUPS

LSU			Arkansas
Player	Hometown	Pos.	Player
Clyde Lindsey	Kilgore TX	LE	Alton Baldwin
Hubert Shurtz	Pinckneyville IL	LT	Charles Lively
Fred Hall	Haynesville LA	LG	Bill Franklin
Shelton Ballard	Bogalusa LA	C	Billy Ray Thomas
Wren Worley	El Dorado AK	RG	Theron Roberts
Fred Land	North Little Rock AK	RT	James Minor
Abner Wimberly	Oak Ridge LA	RE	Eugene Canada
Y. A. Tittle	Marshall TX	QB	Aubrey Fowler
Jim Cason	Victoria TX	LH	Clyde Scott
Dan Sandifer	Shreveport LA	RH	Joyce Pipkin
Gene Knight	Bossier City LA	FB	Leon Campbell

The Game

• Never before or since has an LSU team so dominated its opponent yet failed to win.

Category	LSU	Ark.
First Downs	15	1
Yards Rushing	255	54
Passing	5-17/16y	0-4/0y
Total Yards	271	54
Offensive Plays	104	35
Fumbles Lost	2	3
Penalties-Yards	8-50	1-5
Punts-Average	9-30.4	11-36.0

• In the only statistic that counts, LSU and Arkansas tied 0-0. The Razorbacks stopped the Tigers inside the 10 three times.
• A major reason Arkansas gained only one first down is the poor field position they constantly faced. Even in good weather, coaches in that era preferred to punt the ball on first or second down from deep in their own territory rather than risk a fumble or INT.

• Q1: The game began in a light sprinkle that gradually increased to a steady drizzle. The Arkansas Gazette article on the game said, "Arkansas won the toss and chose the South Pole - rather, south goal - and Louisiana decided to kick off." After an exchange of punts, Arkansas started a possession on its 20. Freshman FB Leon "Muscles" Campbell pounded over center, bounced off LB Shelton "Buck" Ballard, and gained 18y for what would turn out to be the Hogs' one and only first down of the day. After T Walter "Piggy" Barnes dropped Campbell for a 1y gain, Aubrey Fowler quick-kicked to the LSU 3. Gene "Red" Knight immediately punted back, Fowler returning to the Tiger 37. However, the Razorbacks could go no further than the 29 and punted into the EZ. Little did anyone know that Arkansas had achieved its deepest penetration of the game and would gain only 18 more yards for the afternoon. As one writer put it, "The rest of the game found the Porkers too busy warding off Tiger thrusts to even think about putting on a drive."
  Sandifer, Ray Coates, and Rip Collins combined for two first downs to the Arkansas 48, Gordon Long, the last defender, dropping Rip after a gain of 12. With the rain coming down harder, Tittle tossed a 3rd-and-13 screen pass to Rip for 12y. With LSU going for it on 4th-and-1, Tittle's handoff to Red fell loose, and John Hoffman recovered for the Razorbacks on their 42.
  But two plays later, Hoffman fumbled right back, Tittle recovering at the LSU 48. Cason gained 4 to end the period.
  Hoffman had replaced Campbell, who left the field limping. Leon returned for the second half but played only on defense the rest of the way, Barnhill deciding not to risk him on offense.

• Q2: Cason, Al Heroman, and Knight pounded the line for a first down on the UA 38, but the Hogs forced a punt by smothering Heroman for a 5y loss on a Statue of Liberty play. One account of the game contains a sentence at this point that explains a difference in the 1946 rules from today's regulations: "Knight got off a great punt which rolled to the Arkansas three, but Jeff Adams raced in and fell on the ball, thus making it an automatic touchback and pulling the Porkers out of a big hole ..."
  But Barnhart didn't want the ball deep in his own territory. So Fowler quick-kicked to the LSU 40 to implement a plan the Hogs would follow all day. Knight plunged for 16y, but again Arkansas threw the Tigers back, and on fourth down Charles Lively blocked Knight's punt. Baldwin, wearing a pair of brown carpenter's gloves like many of his teammates, picked up the ball near the LSU sideline and set sail for the Tiger goal, but "little Jim Cason dove right over a blocker and pulled him down from behind on the LSU 44 to save a very probable touchdown."
  The Razorbacks couldn't take advantage of the good field position. First, Long threw a beautiful pass that just missed Baldwin on the 5. Then Scott, taking the ball on a reverse, fumbled the frigid pigskin, and Lindsey recovered for the Tigers on the 45. After three plays failed to gain a first down, Knight kicked to the 18.
  Long immediately tried to hit Baldwin 20y down the sidelines. Alton juggled the ball for 5y before dropping it. Fowler came in and tried to find Bud Canada down the right sideline, but Tittle intercepted and returned to the 16 to give LSU a great chance to score right before halftime. Y.A. chose to pass twice unsuccessfully, to Sandifer, then to E Abner Wimberly, the second being knocked down by Scott in the end zone. Cason took a lateral around RE for 7y, but on 4th-and-3 from the 9, Knight fell inches short of the line to gain off the right side, and Arkansas took over on their 7. Fowler immediately tried to punt out of danger, but Cason took it on the 42 and returned beautifully back to the 19, where Hoffman made the tackle.
  With another chance to get on the scoreboard, the Tigers sputtered again. After Cason got 4 up the middle and Knight picked up a yard over the right side, Tittle tried a pass to Lindsey, who fumbled the ball into a Razorback's hands, but the play was called back and LSU penalized 5y for offsides. With the rain slacking a bit, Sandifer gained 10 on a double reverse to make it 4th and 5. This time Knight pushed past the first down marker to gain to the 8 for first-and-goal with 40 seconds left in the half. But the Tigers let another scoring opportunity slip out of their grasp. First, the defense dropped Knight for a 2y loss. Then LSU was penalized 5y for excessive time-outs. On the last play of the half, Tittle threw incomplete in the end zone.
• Q3: The rain picked up again, rapidly changing to sleet. LSU took the kickoff but didn't keep the ball long. Knight quick-kicked on 3rd down to Fowler, who returned nicely from his 28 to the LSU 44, where the punter took him down.
  When three runs gained only 8, Holland kicked out on the 8.
  From there, the Bengals surged all the way to the Arkansas 18 with Coates and Sandifer pounding out most of the yardage. With the Razorback LBs continuing to play wide, Ray ripped off a gain of 18 while Dan burst for 19. Three snaps later, Knight banged for a first down at the 21. But the Hogs dug in again, stuffing Red for no gain and holding Sandifer to 2 before Coates tried a pass that went awry. On fourth down, Kenny Holland batted Tittle's pass out of Sandifer's hands at the goal line.
  After Fowler kicked out, Moore sent in some fresh backs. Zollie Toth cracked the line for 18 to the UA 47. But on third down, Cason fumbled a lateral when hit by Herman Lubker and James Minor. Minor recovered a yard short of midfield.
  Lubker was one of many 1946 players whose college career had been interrupted by World War II. He had lettered for Arkansas in 1942 before entering the service.
  The Razorbacks could gain only eight, and Fowler kicked yet again, this time to Cason who ran it back to the 26 as the period came to a close.
• Q4: Would the beleaguered Arkansas defense be able to repel the Tigers for 15 more minutes? Toth plowed over RG for a first down. Then Tittle connected with Lyle to the 28, but the play was nullified by offensive interference on Sam for pushing defender Alvin Duke. Two snaps later, Scott caught a punt on his 35 but fumbled, and Fred Land recovered for LSU at the 41. But when the Tigers went backward from there, Collins punted dead on the 9.
  Not surprisingly, Arkansas kicked right back, Coates making a fine return to the UA 41.
  The Tigers then started still another march into the red zone. Sandifer for 6, Collins for 16, and Coates for 10 put the pigskin on the 9. After gaining zilch at RG, Rip pushed to the 6. Tittle then flipped a pass to Jeff Adams, but Scott drove him out of bounds on the 1 just as he caught the ball. It would prove to be a game-saving tackle because, on fourth down, Toth banged into the middle of the line only to be stopped a foot short by a gang of Razorbacks.
  Not bothering to run several plays to at least take time off the clock, Fowler kicked out, but Dale Gray ran the ball back 8y to the 31.
  With six minutes left, Moore now had fresh legs in the backfield in the persons of Gray and Willard Landry to mount what might be a final push. Following Gray's 2y gain, Landry fumbled, but Adams recovered for a first down on the 20. Willard slipped through LG for 9, then hit the same hole to make it 1st-and-goal on the 9. Once again, the embattled Razorbacks drew the line. Running behind LT Barnes and LG Fred "Skinny" Hall, Gray got 4, then Toth made 2 as the clock ticked under three minutes. But Duke dropped Landry for a 2y loss as he tried to turn LE. Moore finally decided to try a FG. Holly Heard lined up at the 15, but Coates' chilly fingers couldn't corral the snap. Heard picked up the pigskin but was swarmed under on the 16 as the Arkansas fans roared.
  This time, the Razorbacks tried to run some clock, but the effort almost backfired. After gaining 4 on 1st down, Fowler fumbled but recovered for a 10y loss. So Aubrey booted out of bounds on the LSU 49 with 1:35 on the clock.
  Having to pass now, Tittle misfired to Lyle. Then Scott broke up a long one aimed at Bullock. After another throw to Lyle failed to connect, Moore decided not to go for it on 4th down. Instead, Tittle punted to Fowler who was stopped in his tracks on the 12.
  Fowler ran for 7 on the last play of the game.
  FINAL: LSU 0 ARKANSAS 0

Postgame

• Coates gained more yards than Arkansas as he romped for 61 on 7 carries. Sandifer added 56 on 9 tries, with Tittle racking up 38 on 7 runs. Despite playing less than a half of offense, Campbell topped Arkansas with 21y on 7 attempts.
• The media selected Tittle as LSU's outstanding player, with Baldwin the top Razorback.
• An Associated Press article included this passage: "Arkansas and Louisiana players shivering in the dressing rooms after the game all commented on Dallas weather, for the most part unprintable."
• Bernie Moore called it "the worst football weather I've seen in 35 years of coaching. Of course, it affected the passing, ball handling, and receiving, both for us and for Arkansas." He commended Campbell, Fowler, Scott, and Duke for their defensive play for the Razorbacks. He cited Ballard, Tittle, Coates, and Wimberly as outstanding for his own squad.
• Barnhill: "My boys played a great defensive game. LSU's trap play through the middle of the line was the only thing that gave us any real trouble." He added that he would rank LSU right up there with the better Southwest Conference teams his Razorbacks had faced.
• The Cotton Bowl Committee decided to present a trophy to each side. At the banquet for the teams that night, Barnhill won the coin toss and departed Dallas with the original Cotton Bowl Trophy. LSU would have to wait for a duplicate to be ordered and shipped to Baton Rouge.
• Each player on the two teams went home with a new wrist watch.
• Despite the weather, the game grossed the largest gate in the gridiron classic's history, more than $150,000. So each school could expect to get the $60,000 it was promised.