1944 Camp Peary Pirates football team

The 1944 Camp Peary Pirates football team represented Camp Peary during the 1944 college football season. The team compiled a 5–2 record.[1] Red Strader, who was coach of the Saint Mary's Gaels football team before the war, was the head coach.

1944 Camp Peary Pirates football
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–2
Head coach
1944 military service football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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 team garnered attention when, shortly before the season began, the Navy assigned eight former NFL players to Camp Peary. The eight included halfbacks Joe Vodicka, Andy Uram, Len Janiak, and Bob Morrow, fullback Joe Bokant, center Al Matuza, and tackle Bob Bjorklund. Other notable players on the team included ends Ralph Schilling and Gregg Browning and tackle Russ Letlow who was later named to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team.[2]

The Richmond Army Air Base Thunderbyrds originally scheduled two games with Camp Peary, on September 23 and October 29, but cancelled those games in early September.[3]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, March Field ranked 39th among the nation's college and service teams and eighth out of 63 United States Army teams with a rating of 94.2.[4][5]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 24 Washington Redskins rookiesWilliamsburg, VAW 33–2712,500[6]
September 30at Cherry Point MarinesCherry Point, NCW 20–0 [6]
October 8vs. Camp Lee
W 38–010,000[7]
October 14Camp LejeuneCancelled
October 22 No. 18 Bainbridge Williamsburg, VAL 0–7 [8]
October 29at Richmond AABCancelled
November 5at Camp LeeCamp Lee, GAW 41–0[9]
November 12Fort MonroeCancelled
November 18at North Carolina Pre-Flight
W 19–7[10]
November 25at No. 5 Bainbridge
L 13–2113,000[11]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References
  1. 14 Oct 1944, Page 4 - The Coshocton Tribune at Newspapers.com
  2. "Sports Spotlight Focuses On Camp Peary Naval Base". The Jackson Sun. September 13, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Thunderbyrds Cancel 2 Game With Peary". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. September 8, 1944. p. 16. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  4. 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 open access.
  5. 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 open access.
  6. "Strader's Navy Squad Outplays' Smith's Marines". The Fresno Bee. October 1, 1944. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Camp Peary Swamps Lee". Daily Press (Newport News, VA). October 9, 1944. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Camp Peary Bows To Bainbridge, 7-0". The Baltimore Sun. October 23, 1944. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Camp Peary Gridders Bow To Lee By 41-0". The Baltimore Sun. November 6, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Camp Peary Nips N. C. Pre-Flight". The Greenville News. November 19, 1944. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Bainbridge Continues Undefeated With 21-13 Victory Over Camp Peary". The Baltimore Sun. November 26, 1944. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.