1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team

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.[1][2]

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

1944 military service football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Randolph Field			–					12	–	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
Bunker Hill NAS			–					6	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Great Lakes Navy			–					9	–	2	–	1
No. 10 March Field			–					7	–	2	–	2
North Carolina Pre-Flight			–					6	–	2	–	1
No. 20 Second Air Force			–					10	–	4	–	1
Camp Peary			–					5	–	2	–	0
Third Air Force			–					7	–	3	–	1
Alameda Coast Guard			–					4	–	2	–	2
No. 19 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight			–					4	–	4	–	0
Rankings from 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.[3]

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).[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Fort Sheridan		Ross Field Great Lakes, IL	W 62–0	25,000	[4]
September 23	Purdue		Ross Field Great Lakes, LI	W 27–18	25,000	[5]
September 30	Illinois		Ross Field Great Lakes, LI	W 27–18	25,000	[6]
October 7	at Northwestern		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 25–0	35,000	[7]
October 14	Western Michigan	No. 5	Ross Field Great Lakes, LI	W 38–0	25,000	[8]
October 21	at No. 4 Ohio State	No. 6	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 6–26	73,477	[9]
October 28	at Wisconsin	No. 16	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 40–12	24,000	[10]
November 5	at Marquette	No. 14	Marquette Stadium Milwaukee	W 45–7	12,000	[11]
November 11	Third Air Force	No. 14	Ross Field Great Lakes, LI	W 12–10	25,000	[12]
November 18	Marquette	No. 13	Ross Field Great Lakes, LI	W 32–0	25,000	[13]
November 25	Fort Warren	No. 12	Ross Field Great Lakes, LI	W 28–7	23,000	[14]
December 2	at No. 9 Notre Dame	No. 12	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	L 7–28	38,000	[15]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	Not released	5	6	16	14	14	13	12	12	17

References

1. "1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
2. "1944 Great Lakes" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2018-02-28 – via LA84 Foundation.
3. "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.
4. "Fort Sheridan Loses, 62-0, To Bluejackets". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
5. 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.
6. "Illinois Holds Bluejackets to 26 to 26 Tie". Chicago Tribune. October 1, 1944. p. II-1, II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Great Lakes Trips Wildcats". The Palladium-Item and Sun-Telegram (Richmond, IN). October 8, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Great Lakers Navigate 4th Victory, 38-0". The Des Moines Register. October 15, 1944. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Edward Burns. "Ohio Beats Great Lakes, 26-6: 73,477 Watch Buckeye Rally in 4th Quarter". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Great Lakes Washes Over Badgers, 40-12". The Eau Claire Leader. October 29, 1944. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Marquette Put To Rout, 45-7, By Great Lakes". Chicago Tribune. November 6, 1944. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Sailors Tally Twice in 4th, Win, 12-10". The Des Moines Register. November 12, 1944. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Marquette Is Beaten, 32 to 0, By Great Lakes". Chicago Tribune. November 19, 1944. p. II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Bluejackets Beat Soldiers Easily, 28 to 7". Chicago Tribune. November 26, 1944. p. II-3 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Notre Dame Wins: Irish Trounce Great Lakes' Eleven, 28 to 7". Chicago Tribune. December 3, 1944. p. II-1, II-2 – via Newspapers.com.