1950s
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was hired as athletic director and he in turn hired an old friend from the University of Tennessee to coach his football team. That friend was Ralph Hatley. Upon Hatley's hiring, the coaching staff searched for ideas to improve Tiger football after the four-year delay caused by World War II. To put players in game situations, Hatley and his staff created the first Blue-Gray Spring Game. It was played in April of 1947. The 1947 roster featured all new players. No football lettermen from prior to World War II returned and for only the second time in the school's history, a coach was forced to start from scratch. The first and only other time was Clyde Wilson's first team in 1912. With the help of a young assistant coach who had returned from the War as a decorated Marine, Hatley set out to sign new players. He and assistant Billy J. Murphy inked 37 players from Memphis, the most ever signed in one year from Memphis. By 1949, the Tigers were rolling, scoring 385 points and allowing just 87 by opponents. Memphis State was ranked second in the nation in scoring offense in 1949 and again in 1950. The 21-14 victory over Kansas State University in 1949 was considered the first major victory for Memphis State College.
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West Tennessee State Teachers College became Memphis State College in 1941. Ed Molinski, a three-time all-American at the University of Tennessee, became an assistant for Humphreys in 1941 and helped guide the team to seven wins. However, the winds of war loomed in the not too distant future. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and on the morning of December 8, 1941, C.C. Humphreys joined the FBI, accepting a position in counterintelligence. Most of the players enlisted in the armed forces after the 1942 season and football was disbanded until the 1947 season. When football returned to Memphis State's campus in 1947, Cecil C. Humphreys
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1940s
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Skeeter Ellis was a standout halfback in 1938.
ers College had five buildings, 698 students and an annual budget of Cecil Humphreys $56,000. The 1938 season became WTSTC's only undefeated and untied campaign in the school's history. After posting a perfect 10-0-0 record, the Associated Press in New York (November 21, 1938) declared WTSTC as the nation's scoring champions with San Jose State second. McKeen's Teachers were invited to play San Jose State in the Prune Bowl in California but due to a limited budget, school officials asked for a financial guarantee before taking the team to California. The guarantee never came and the boys from Memphis stayed home in 1938. Allyn McKeen did not return as coach in 1939. He was hired by Mississippi State College as head football coach and has since been enshrined in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame for his accomplishments at the two schools. Cecil Humphreys was named head coach at a salary of $200 per month.
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kicked seven PATs to lead the Teachers to a 730 victory. In 1935, West Tennessee State Teachers College left the Mississippi Valley Conference and joined the SIAA (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) along with Middle Tennessee State College, Louisiana College, Delta State College, Troy State Teachers College, TPI (Tennessee Tech), Union University and Murray State Normal. After an 0-9-0 record in 1936, Curlin stepped down as head football coach to devote his attention to his job as intramural director. Allyn McKeen Allyn McKeen was brought back to become head coach and he immediately hired a friend from Tennessee as his assistant line coach. That assistant was Cecil C. "Sonny" Humphreys. In an effort to increase a very small athletic budget, each faculty member pledged a week's salary to support the athletic program. In 1937, West Tennessee State TeachSam Johnson
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Tiger History
Andy Nelson went on to play in the NFL for the Colts.