1936 Fordham Rams football team

rdf:langString 1936 Fordham Rams football team

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rdf:langString Fordham Rams

rdf:langString The 1936 Fordham Rams football team represented Fordham University during the 1936 college football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Jim Crowley, the Rams' offense scored 128 over eight games, while the defense allowed no more than seven points in any game, and shut out three teams, including second-ranked Pittsburgh. This team is best remembered for its offensive line, the Seven Blocks of Granite, which included future National Football League (NFL) head coach Vince Lombardi. The line coach was Frank Leahy. By mid-November, the Rams were 5–0–1 and ranked third with two games to play, and the leading candidate for a Rose Bowl invitation, but a tie with Georgia at the Polo Grounds dropped them to eighth. Five days later at Yankee Stadium on Thanksgiving, the NYU Violets handed the Rams a 7–6 defeat. Right guard Lombardi called it "the most devastating loss of my life," dashing the hopes of a bowl game. (The previous year, Fordham had spoiled NYU's undefeated season and bowl hopes with a 21–0 shutout.) Fordham ended up 15th in the final AP rankings in the first year for the poll.