1940–41 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

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1940–41 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
Georgetown Hoyas logo.svg
ConferenceIndependent
1940–41 record16–4
Head coach
CaptainIrv Rizzi (1st year)
Home arenaRiverside Stadium
Seasons

The 1940–41 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1940–41 NCAA college basketball season. Elmer Ripley coached it in his fifth of ten seasons as head coach; it was also the third season of his second of three stints at the helm. For the first time, the team played its home games at Riverside Stadium in Washington, D.C.[1] It finished the season with a record of 16-4 and had no postseason play.

Season recap[]

In its previous ten seasons, Georgetown had a combined record of 32 games under .500, and going into this season the Georgetown student yearbook, Ye Domesday Book, opined that the school would deemphasize or eliminate basketball by 1942 if the team's performance did not see significant improvement. The 1940–41 team rose to the yearbook's challenge, achieving the highest win total in history for a Georgetown men's basketball team.[2]

Junior guard Buddy O'Grady returned for his second varsity season and led the team. He scored a season-high 14 points against Army.[3]

Also starring for the team was sophomore center Bill Bornheimer. The tallest player in Georgetown history at the time at 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm), he had been the starting center of the freshman team the previous season and joined the varsity this year. A strong defender, rebounder, and inside shooter, he led the team in scoring, averaging 8.4 points per game. Before 7,000 fans at Riverside Stadium – a record home crowd for a Georgetown basketball game – he had a season-high 15 points as the Hoyas upset Temple 57–49 on February 10, 1941.[2]

Following a season-opening loss, the Hoyas won 11 games in a row and then five of their last eight, finishing with a record of 16–4. They narrowly missed invitations to the NCAA Tournament and National Invitation Tournament and had no postseason play.[3]

Roster[]

Sources[2][3][4][5]

Two future Georgetown head coaches played on the team. Sophomore forward Ken Engles would leave school for World War II military service after the 1941-42 season, but would return to play for the 1945-46 team and also served as its head coach that season, the only player-coach in Georgetown men's basketball history. Junior guard Buddy O'Grady would coach the Hoyas from 1949 to 1952.[6]

Junior guard Don Martin served as head coach at Boston College from 1953 to 1962.[7][8]

# Name Height Weight (lbs.) Position Class Hometown Previous Team(s)
3 Jim Kiernan 6'0" N/A F Jr. New York, NY, U.S.
5 Charles Schmidli 6'4" N/A F Jr. West New York, NJ, U.S. Memorial HS
7 Don Martin 5'8" N/A G Jr. Newport, RI, U.S. La Salle Academy
8 Francis "Buddy" O'Grady N/A 160 G Jr. New York, NY, U.S. St. Peter's Boys HS
11 Russ Miller N/A N/A F/C Jr. Passaic, NJ, U.S. Passaic HS
12 Jim Giebel N/A N/A G Sr. Bethesda, MD, U.S. St. John's College HS (Washington, DC)
13 George Pajak 6'0" N/A G/F Sr. Ware, MA, U.S. Ware HS
17 Ken Engles 6'2" N/A F Jr. Staten Island, NY, U.S. Port Richmond HS
18 Bill Bornheimer 6'5" 200 C So. New Brunswick, NJ, U.S. St. Peter's Preparatory School
20 Irv Rizzi N/A N/A G Sr. West New York, NJ, U.S. Memorial HS
24 Al Matuza 6'2" N/A F Sr. Shenandoah, PA, U.S.

1940–41 schedule and results[]

Sources[9][10][11][12]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
Thu., Dec. 5, 1940
no, no
at Loyola Maryland L 32–36  0-1
 (N/A)
Baltimore, MD
Tue., Dec. 10, 1940
no, no
Western Maryland W 41–29  1-1
Riverside Stadium (N/A)
Washington, DC
Thu., Dec. 12, 1940
no, no
at American W 41–35  2-1
 (N/A)
Washington, DC
Mon., Dec. 16, 1940
no, no
George Washington W 50–42  3-1
Riverside Stadium (N/A)
Washington, DC
Wed., Dec. 18, 1940
no, no
at Loyola Chicago W 38–35  4-1
Chicago Stadium (N/A)
Chicago, IL
Wed, Jan. 8, 1941
no, no
at Canisius W 53–35  5-1
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (N/A)
Buffalo, NY
Fri., Jan. 10, 1941
no, no
at Temple W 46–45  6-1
Philadelphia Convention Hall (N/A)
Philadelphia, PA
Wed., Jan 15, 1941
no, no
at Army W 40–28  7-1
Hayes Gymnasium (N/A)
West Point, NY
Thu., Jan. 16, 1941
no, no
New York University W 36–27  8-1
Riverside Stadium (N/A)
Washington, DC
Fri., Jan. 17, 1941
no, no
at Maryland W 51–34  9-1
Ritchie Coliseum (N/A)
College Park, MD
Wed., Jan. 22, 1941
no, no
at Navy W 38–18  10-1
Dahlgren Hall (N/A)
Annapolis, MD
Wed, Jan. 29, 1941
no, no
Penn State W 28–24 OT 11-1
Riverside Stadium (N/A)
Washington, DC
Wed., Feb. 5, 1941
no, no
at Syracuse L 43–49  11-2
Archbold Gymnasium (N/A)
Syracuse, NY
Thu., Feb. 6, 1941
no, no
at Colgate W 39–36  12-2
 (N/A)
Hamilton, NY
Fri., Feb. 7, 1941
no, no
at Yale W 41–39  13-2
Payne Whitney Gymnasium (N/A)
New Haven, CT
Mon, Feb. 10, 1941
no, no
Temple W 57–49  14-2
Riverside Stadium (7,000[2])
Washington, DC
Wed., Feb. 19, 1941
no, no
at Penn State L 38–45  14-3
Recreation Hall (N/A)
State College, PA
Thu., Feb. 20, 1941
no, no
at Scranton W 51–40  15-3
 (N/A)
Scranton, PA
Fri., Feb. 28, 1941
no, no
at Fordham L 42–52  15-4
Madison Square Garden (N/A)
New York, NY
Thu., Mar. 6, 1941
no, no
at George Washington W 41–34  16-4
Riverside Stadium (N/A)
Washington, DC
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References[]

  1. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Home Courts
  2. ^ a b c d "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 98. Bill Bornheimer". Archived from the original on 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  3. ^ a b c "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Francis (Buddy) O'Grady". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  4. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1940-41 to 1949-1950". Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  5. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers
  6. ^ "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  7. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Don Martin[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Reagan, John, "Forgotten Rivals," The Georgetown Basketball History Project, June 4, 2018 Accessed 26 June 2021
  9. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1940s Seasons
  10. ^ The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. All Opponents
  11. ^ sports-reference.com 1940-41 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results
  12. ^ 2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, pp. 59-60.
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