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Topic: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950

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medinabuckeye1

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90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« on: January 27, 2026, 10:29:56 PM »
All data from College Poll Archive.  

I've broken the 90 years of AP Polls in six 15 year segments and I plan to make a post like this each week for six weeks, one for each segment.  Each week I'll list the top 25 programs of that segment as measured by total appearances, top-10 appearances, and top-5 appearances.  For this first week I'm showing the top-25 from 1936-1950 along with all of the teams that are top-25 for the entire 90 years just so you can see how good or bad they were in the early days so here goes:

AP Poll Appearances:

There are 38 schools listed above.  12 are pulling double-duty as they were top-25 from 1936-1950 and they are also top-25 for the entire 90 years of the poll.  The other 26 schools are 13 that were top-25 in the early days but have fallen off and 13 that are top-25 overall but were not back in the early days.  

AP top-10 Appearances:


On the above list are 41 teams with only 9 top-25 both from 1936-1950 and from 1936-2025.  The other 32 are 16 that were great back in the early days but have fallen off or in the case of Iowa Pre-Flight, ceased to exist.  There are also 16 that are top-25 for the last 90 years but were not so good from 1936-1950.  

AP Top-5 Appearances:


Another list of 41 teams.  

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medinabuckeye1

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2026, 10:31:36 PM »
Note that the first 15 years of the AP Poll are a little hokey because it is the last few years of the depression, the WWII years, and the immediate postwar era.  
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2026, 11:29:31 PM »
duly noted
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Brutus Buckeye

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2026, 07:10:10 AM »
Northwestern at 12? :o
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FearlessF

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2026, 07:30:37 AM »
I was lookin for the University of Chicago

just happy UNL was on the page
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medinabuckeye1

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2026, 03:00:56 PM »
Quote from: FearlessF on January 28, 2026, 07:30:37 AM
I was lookin for the University of Chicago
Chicago's athletic decline came before the AP Poll got started.  They stopped playing major CFB after the 1939 season so their last four seasons were the first four of the AP Poll and they went:
  • 2-5-1 in 1936 including 1-4 in the league
  • 1-6 in 1937 including 0-4 in the league (the lone win was over Beloit)
  • 1-6-1 in 1938 including 0-4 in the league
  • 2-6 in 1939 including 0-3 in the league.  All three league losses were shutouts, 85-0 vs M, 61-0 vs tOSU, and 46-0 vs IL.  

Their last points in a League game scored against Ohio State in a 42-7 loss on October 22, 1938 and their last League win was a 7-6 decision in Madison on Halloween, 1936.  
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Brutus Buckeye

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2026, 07:42:11 PM »
I didn't know that the Ivy League teams or the Wolverines were still good by the 30s. I had thought that they had peaked well before then. 
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OrangeAfroMan

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #7 on: Today at 12:32:34 AM »
IOWA PRE-FLIGHT!!!

I have no idea why, but I have a strong affinity for them.  They lost by 1 to ND after their QB got hurt which cost them a NC in 1943. 
Dammit.

Today's wild-west of NIL and TP is exactly like the military teams of WWII, except that everyone is like those teams instead of there just being a handful.

Iowa Pre-Flight, Randolph Field (see above), March Field, and Great Lakes Navy had the best team-seasons.  But there were many others.  Getting other programs' best players, as they were enrolled in the military, just like now.  
« Last Edit: Today at 12:38:39 AM by OrangeAfroMan »
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ManHawk

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Re: 90 Years of AP Polls, the first 15: 1936-1950
« Reply #8 on: Today at 08:33:39 AM »
Quote from: medinabuckeye1 on January 28, 2026, 03:00:56 PM
Chicago's athletic decline came before the AP Poll got started.  They stopped playing major CFB after the 1939 season so their last four seasons were the first four of the AP Poll and they went:
  • 2-5-1 in 1936 including 1-4 in the league
  • 1-6 in 1937 including 0-4 in the league (the lone win was over Beloit)
  • 1-6-1 in 1938 including 0-4 in the league
  • 2-6 in 1939 including 0-3 in the league.  All three league losses were shutouts, 85-0 vs M, 61-0 vs tOSU, and 46-0 vs IL. 

Their last points in a League game scored against Ohio State in a 42-7 loss on October 22, 1938 and their last League win was a 7-6 decision in Madison on Halloween, 1936. 
Yet Chicago still managed to have the first Heisman trophy winner in 1935 with Jay Berwanger.   Then by the end of 1939 Chicago football was gone.
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