1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team

American college football season

1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 17
Record	9–2–1
Head coach	Paul Brown (1st season)
Home stadium	Ross Field
Seasons← 1943 1945 →

1944 military service football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 3 Randolph Field		–		11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Bainbridge		–		10	–	0	–	0
No. 18 Fort Pierce		–		9	–	0	–	0
No. 13 Norman NAS		–		6	–	0	–	0
No. 6 Iowa Pre-Flight		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 El Toro Marines		–		8	–	1	–	0
Hondo AAF		–		7	–	1	–	0
Bunker Hill NAS		–		6	–	1	–	0
Lincoln AAF		–		6	–	1	–	0
Blackland AAF		–		7	–	1	–	1
Keesler Field		–		8	–	1	–	2
No. 17 Great Lakes Navy		–		9	–	2	–	1
No. 10 March Field		–		7	–	2	–	2
Third Air Force		–		8	–	3	–	0
North Carolina Pre-Flight		–		6	–	2	–	1
Atlantic City NAS		–		5	–	2	–	0
Camp Peary		–		5	–	2	–	0
Tonopah AAF		–		5	–	2	–	0
Daniel Field		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Second Air Force		–		10	–	4	–	1
San Francisco Coast Guard		–		4	–	2	–	1
Ellington Field		–		6	–	3	–	2
Amarillo AAF		–		5	–	3	–	0
Alameda Coast Guard		–		4	–	2	–	2
Coronado Amphibious		–		2	–	1	–	1
Olathe NAS		–		4	–	2	–	2
Selman Field		–		4	–	2	–	2
Galveston AAF		–		5	–	3	–	2
Fleet City		–		6	–	4	–	1
Jacksonville NAS		–		4	–	3	–	0
San Diego NTS		–		4	–	3	–	1
Camp Beale		–		5	–	4	–	0
Lubbock AAF		–		5	–	4	–	0
Fort Warren		–		5	–	4	–	1
Fort Monroe		–		5	–	5	–	0
Klamath Falls Marines		–		2	–	2	–	1
Maxwell Field		–		5	–	5	–	0
Minter Field		–		3	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight		–		4	–	4	–	0
Fourth Infantry		–		3	–	4	–	2
Georgia Pre-Flight		–		4	–	5	–	0
Third Infantry		–		4	–	5	–	0
Bergstrom Field		–		3	–	4	–	0
Ottumwa NAS		–		3	–	4	–	0
Camp Lee		–		3	–	5	–	0
Cherry Point Marines		–		3	–	6	–	0
Chatham Field		–		2	–	8	–	1
Sampton NTS		–		2	–	7	–	0
Miami NTC		–		2	–	8	–	0
Bryan AAF		–		1	–	7	–	0
Fairfield-Suisun AAB		–		1	–	7	–	0
Richmond AAB		–		0	–	10	–	1
Camp Ellis		–		0	–	5	–	0
South Plains AAF		–		0	–	8	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team represented Great Lakes Naval Training Station during the 1944 college football season. The team compiled a 9–2–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 348 to 134, and was ranked No. 17 in the final AP Poll.

In April 1944, Paul Brown, who coached at Ohio State before the war, was commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to coach the Great Lakes football team.

The players on the 1944 Great Lakes team included backs Jim Youel (quarterback, Iowa), Eddie Saenz (left halfback, USC), Chuck Avery (right halfback, Minnesota), Jim Mello (fullback, Notre Dame), Don Lesher (halfback), Don Manglold (Indiana), Bob Hanlon, and Ara Parseghian (Miami (OH)), ends Cecil Souders and George Young (Georgia), and linemen Pete Krivonak (guard), Jesse Hahn (guard), and Carmen Izzo (center).

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Great Lakes Navy ranked 11th among the nation's college and service teams and second out of 28 United States Navy teams with a rating of 112.4.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 16	Fort Sheridan		Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 62–0	25,000
September 23	Purdue		Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 27–18	25,000
September 30	Illinois		Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	T 26–26	25,000
October 7	at Northwestern		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 25–0	35,000
October 14	Western Michigan	No. 5	Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 38–0	25,000
October 21	at No. 4 Ohio State	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 6–26	73,477
October 28	at Wisconsin	No. 16	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 40–12	24,000
November 5	at Marquette	No. 14	Marquette Stadium Milwaukee, WI	W 45–7	12,000
November 11	Third Air Force	No. 14	Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 12–10	25,000
November 18	Marquette	No. 13	Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 32–0	25,000
November 25	Fort Warren	No. 12	Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 28–7	23,000
December 2	at No. 9 Notre Dame	No. 12	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	L 7–28	38,000
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	5 (3)	6 (1)	16	14	14	13	12	12	17

References

"1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
^ "1944 Great Lakes" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2018 – via LA84 Foundation.
"Buckeye Coach To Great Lakes: Paul Brown Ordered to Report Monday; May Be Bluejacket Grid Mentor". Lafayette Journal and Courier. April 14, 1944. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
Litkenhous, E. E. (December 10, 1944). "Big Ten Circuit Repeats As King of College Leagues". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City Utah. p. 8B. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1944). "Army, Randolph Field One-Two in Final Litkenhouse Ratings". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 4, section 2. Retrieved April 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
"Fort Sheridan Loses, 62-0, To Bluejackets". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
Bert McGrane (September 24, 1944). "Youel Fires Sailors Over Purdue, 27-18: Iowan Runs 93 and Hurls for 3 Tallies". The Des Moines Register. p. 1S, 2S – via Newspapers.com.
"Illinois Holds Bluejackets to 26 to 26 Tie". Chicago Tribune. October 1, 1944. p. II-1, II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
"Great Lakes Trips Wildcats". The Palladium-Item and Sun-Telegram (Richmond, IN). October 8, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
"Great Lakers Navigate 4th Victory, 38-0". The Des Moines Register. October 15, 1944. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
Edward Burns. "Ohio Beats Great Lakes, 26-6: 73,477 Watch Buckeye Rally in 4th Quarter". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Great Lakes Washes Over Badgers, 40-12". The Eau Claire Leader. October 29, 1944. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
"Marquette Put To Rout, 45-7, By Great Lakes". Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1944. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Sailors Tally Twice in 4th, Win, 12-10". The Des Moines Register. November 12, 1944. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com.
"Marquette Is Beaten, 32 to 0, By Great Lakes". Chicago Tribune. November 19, 1944. p. II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
"Bluejackets Beat Soldiers Easily, 28 to 7". Chicago Tribune. November 26, 1944. p. II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
"Notre Dame Wins: Irish Trounce Great Lakes' Eleven, 28 to 7". Chicago Tribune. December 3, 1944. p. II-1, II-2 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e World War II military service football teams
Bowl games	1943 Sun Bowl 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic
All-Service	1943 All-Service football team 1944 All-Service football team
1942	Army Navy Great Lakes Navy (AP Service No. 1) Iowa Pre-Flight (APS No. 2) Georgia Pre-Flight (APS No. 3) North Carolina Pre-Flight (APS No. 4) Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (APS No. 5) Jacksonville NAS (APS No. 6) Camp Grant (APS No. 7) Pensacola NAS (APS No. 8) Manhattan Beach Coast Guard (APS No. 9) Corpus Christi NAS (APS No. 10) Second Air Force (APS No. 11) Fort Knox (APS No. 12) Lakehurst NAS (APS No. 13) Fort Monmouth (APS No. 14) Fort Riley (APS No. 15) Camp Davis (APS No. 16) March Field (APS No. 17) Fort Totten (APS T-No. 18) Spence Field (APS T-No. 18) Daniel Field (APS T-No. 20) Fort Douglas (APS T-No. 20) Alameda Coast Guard Albuquerque AAB Santa Ana AAB Will Rogers AB
1943	Iowa Pre-Flight (AP No. 2) Navy (AP No. 4) Great Lakes Navy (AP No. 6) Del Monte Pre-Flight (AP No. 8) March Field (AP No. 10) Army (AP No. 11) Bainbridge (AP No. 17) 124th Infantry 176th Infantry 300th Infantry Alameda Coast Guard Atlantic City NAS Blackland AAF Bowman Field Bryan AAF Bunker Hill NAS Camp Davis Camp Edwards Camp Grant Camp Gordon Camp Kilmer Camp Lee Camp Lejeune Charleston Coast Guard Cherry Point Marines Curtis Bay Coast Guard Daniel Field Fort Douglas Fort Knox Fort Monroe Fort Riley Fort Sheridan Fort Warren Georgia Pre-Flight Greensboro Greenville AAB Jacksonville NATTC Kearns Field Keesler Field Kirtland Field Lakehurst NAS Logan Navy Lowry Field Lubbock AAF Memphis NATTC Norfolk Fleet Marines Norman NAS North Carolina Pre-Flight Ottumwa NAS Patterson Field Pocatello AAB Randolph Field Richmond AAB St. Mary's Pre-Flight Salt Lake AAB Sampson NTS San Diego NTS South Plains AAF Spokane Air Service Ward Island Marines Wright Field
1944	Army (AP No. 1) Randolph Field (AP No. 3) Navy (AP No. 4) Bainbridge (AP No. 5) Iowa Pre-Flight (AP No. 6) March Field (AP No. 10) Norman NAS (AP No. 13) El Toro Marines (AP No. 16) Great Lakes Navy (AP No. 17) Fort Pierce (AP No. 18) Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (AP No. 19) Second Air Force (AP No. 20) Alameda Coast Guard Amarillo AAF Atlantic City NAS Bergstrom Field Blackland AAF Bryan AAF Bunker Hill NAS Camp Beale Camp Ellis Camp Lee Camp Peary Chatham Field Cherry Point Marines Coronado Amphibious Daniel Field Ellington Field Fairfield-Suisun AAB Fleet City Fort Monroe Fort Warren Fourth Infantry Galveston AAF Georgia Pre-Flight Hondo AAF Jacksonville NAS Keesler Field Klamath Falls Marine Barracks Lincoln AAF Lubbock AAF Maxwell Field Miami NTC Minter Field North Carolina Pre-Flight Olathe NAS Ottumwa NAS Richmond AAB Sampton NTS San Diego NTS San Francisco Coast Guard Selman Field South Plains AAF Third Air Force Third Infantry Tonopah AAF
1945	Army (AP No. 1) Navy (AP No. 3) Air Transport Command Amarillo AAF AAF Training Command Albany Navy Atlantic City NAS Bainbridge Barksdale Field Bergstrom Field Camp Beale Camp Blanding Camp Detrick Camp Lee Camp Peary Cherry Point Marines Dalhart AAF Corpus Christi NAS Eastern Flying Training Command El Toro Marines Ellington Field Farragut NTS First Air Force Fleet City Fort Benning Fort McClellan Fort Monroe Fort Pierce Fort Riley Fort Warren Fourth Air Force Great Bend AAF Great Lakes Navy Gulfport AAF Homestead AAB Hondo AAF Hutchinson NAS Jacksonville NAS Kearney AAF Keesler Field Lake Charles AAF Little Creek Luke Field Miami NAS Miami NTC Minter Field North Camp Hood Oceana NAS Olathe NAS Pensacola NAS Personnel Distribution Command Saint Mary's Pre-Flight San Diego NTS Santa Barbara Marines Second Air Force Selman Field South Camp Hood Stockton AAF Third Air Force Williams Field

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