Conference Independent Head coach Ed Danowski (2nd year) | 1947 record 1–6–1 Offensive scheme T formation | |
The 1947 Fordham Rams football team represented Fordham University during the 1947 college football season. Rams offense scored 44 points while the defense allowed 245 points.
After a disastrous 1946 season, the Fordham boosters raised money for thirty new scholarships. In addition, the school made several additions to its coaching staff, including the hiring of Vince Lombardi. Lombardi would be responsible for coaching the freshman team. In addition, he would help the varsity team implement the T-Formation on offense. Lombardi would do this for a salary of $3,500 a year. Athletic director Jack Coffey stated that he thought Lombardi would one day become head coach of the varsity team.
Freshman team
The freshman team would be Vince Lombardi's first experience as a head coach above the high school level. Many of the freshmen on the team were in their twenties. Three of the freshmen were players that Lombardi had coached in high school: Dick Doheny, Billy White and Larry Higgins. Twenty-three-year-old freshman Herb Seidell was elected as captain of the freshman team. He had served in the Navy with Leo Paquin, who was one of Lombardi’s teammates on Fordham’s Seven Blocks of Granite. Andy Doheny was the starting quarterback. One of the highlights for the team was defeating Rutgers freshman team by a score of 12-0. The Rams held the Scarlet Knights to negative yards, while the Rams gained 400 yards on the ground. After a 33-0 defeat of New York University’s freshman team, the New York Herald Tribune stated that Lombardi should feel proud for a job well done. Other members in the media were very optimistic about Lombardi because the varsity team finished the season with a record of 1-6-1.