# 1946 Washington Huskies football team

The 1946 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1946 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Ralph "Pest" Welch, the team compiled a 5–4 record (5–3 against PCC opponents), finished in fourth place in the PCC, and outscored its opponents by a total of 144 to 140.
Guard "Pappy" John Zeger was elected as the honorary team captain. Halfback Freddy Provo, who suffered severe shrapnel wounds in World War II, won the award as the team's most inspirational player. Two Washington players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-Pacific Coast football team: Zegar at guard and Dick Hagen at end.
Washington was ranked at No. 70 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | Saint Mary's (CA)* | University of Washington StadiumSeattle, WA | L 20–24 | 43,000 |
| October 5 | UCLA | University of Washington StadiumSeattle, WA | L 13–39 | 43,000 |
| October 12 | at Washington State | Rogers FieldPullman, WA (rivalry) | W 21–7 | 26,000 |
| October 19 | at USC | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | L 0–28 | 42,500 |
| October 26 | California | University of Washington StadiumSeattle, WA | W 20–6 | 35,000 |
| November 9 | at Stanford | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | W 21–15 | 25,000 |
| November 16 | Oregon | University of Washington StadiumSeattle, WA (rivalry) | W 16–0 | 34,000 |
| November 23 | Montana | University of Washington StadiumSeattle, WA | W 21–0 | 7,000 |
| November 30 | vs. Oregon State | Multnomah StadiumPortland, OR | L 12–21 | 26,808 |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

## Personnel
### Players

* Hjalmer Anderson, end
* Gerry Austin, quarterback
* George Bayer, tackle
* Gordon Berlin, center
* Gail Bruce, end
* Wes Carlson, guard
* Chuck Coatney, tackle
* Marshall Dallas, fullback
* Carl Fennema, center
* Pete Foster, tackle
* Dick Hagen, end
* Herb Harlow, halfback
* Alf Hemstad, quarterback
* Gordon Hungar, halfback
* Bruce Jaton, center
* Whitey King, halfback
* Bob Levenhagen, guard
* Bill McGovern, center
* Hank Melusky, end
* George Meyers, guard
* Bob Mikalson, fullback
* Bob Nelson, end
* Fred Osterhout, guard
* Dick Ottele, quarterback
* Fred Provo, halfback
* Harry Rice, tackle
* Sam Robinson, halfback
* Ernie Stein, end
* Dmitri Tadich, tackle
* Jim Thompson, quarterback
* Jack Tracy, end
* Dick Watson, guard
* Arnie Weinmeister, fullback
* John Zeger, guard

### Coaching staff

* Head coach: Ralph "Pest" Welch
* Assistant coaches: Roy Sandberg (assistant coach), Red Badgro (end coach), Art McLarney (assistant coach), Johnny Cherberg (backfield coach), Bill Haroldson (line coach)

## Professional football draft selections

Four University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1947 NFL draft, which lasted 32 rounds with 300 selections. One of those Huskies was also selected in the 1947 AAFC Draft, which lasted 25 rounds with 186 selections.
* = Husky Hall of Fame
| League | Player | Position | Round | Pick | Club |
| NFL | Bill McGovern | Center | 8 | 8 | Los Angeles Rams |
| NFL | Larry Hatch | Back | 11 | 10 | Chicago Bears |
| NFL | Dick Hagen | End | 14 | 1 | Detroit Lions |
| NFL | Gordon Berlin | Center | 24 | 10 | Chicago Bears |
| AAFC | Dick Hagen | End | 19 | 3 | Brooklyn Dodgers |