1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

The 1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 1944 college football season. The Wildcats were led by first-year head coach Herbert Snow and completed the season with a record of 1–3.[3] The team played its home games at Lewis Field (also known as Lewis Stadium) in Durham, New Hampshire.

1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football
Conference	New England Conference
1944 record	1–3 (1–1 New England)
Head coach	Herbert Snow (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing formation[1]
Captain	Claude Henry[2]
Home stadium	Lewis Field

1944 New England Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
New Hampshire +	1	–	1	–	0			1	–	3	–	0
Maine +	1	–	1	–	0			2	–	2	–	0
Connecticut	0	–	0	–	0			7	–	1	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

Head coach Herbert Snow, from the 1934 yearbook of Wellesley High School

Background

New Hampshire had not fielded a team in 1943, due to World War II.[4][3] In mid-September 1944, university administrators approved an "informal" team, limited to four games, with a roster consisting of 17-year-olds and returning veterans.[5] The program's most recent head coach, Charles M. Justice, had entered the Navy in April 1944.[6] Selected as his successor was Herbert Snow, a Springfield College graduate who had been the head coach at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts.[5] The team began practices in early October,[1] with only one player from their 1942 squad—Claude Henry, a reserve back who had returned to the university after serving in the Marine Corps.[1]

Roster

1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football team roster
Centers Everett Abbott Steven Morang (Portsmouth, NH) Richard Ravgiala (Methuen, MA) Roger Tyler (Durham, NH) Guards Morton Baum (Lynn, MA) Van Evangelou (Newport, NH) George Haselton Alfred Miles (Winthrop, MA) Leon Stevens (Farmington, NH) Tackles Robert Beauregard (Marlborough, NH) David Brown (Epsom, NH) Edward Gulubicky (Haverhill, MA) William Holleman (Springfield, NH) Calvin Jones Eugene Morrison Jack Richardson Daniel Rogers		Ends Howard Chandler Elliot Easterbrook Charles Kearney (Auburndale, MA) Leo Lajoie Edward Noyes (Manchester, NH) Edward "Red" Ryder (Durham, NH) Jack Stuart (Belmont, MA) Fred White (Wolfeboro, NH) Backs Steve Aliapoulios (Manchester, NH) Bill Black (Nashua, NH) Oliver Fifield Kenneth Friborg (Manchester, NH) John Hawke Claude Henry (Cambridge, MA) William Pizzano (Revere, MA) David Randall Henry Spear Joseph Swekla (Nashua, NH) Victor Szalucka (Claremont, NH) Charles Thayer (Epping, NH)

Source: [2][7]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 21		at Maine	Alumni Field Orono, ME (rivalry)	L 6–13		[7][8]
October 28		Middlebury*	Lewis Field Durham, NH	L 7–27		[9][10]
November 4		at Middlebury*	Porter Field Middlebury, VT	L 7–21		[11][12]
November 11	2:00 p.m.	Maine	Lewis Field Durham, NH (rivalry)	W 19–14	1,200[2]	[13][14]
*Non-conference game Source: [3][15]

The 1944 games remain the last time that the Middlebury and New Hampshire football programs have met.[16]

Game summaries

October 21: at Maine

New Hampshire at Maine – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	6	6
Black Bears	7	6	0	0	13

at Alumni Field, Orono, Maine

• Date: October 21
• Game weather: Rain
• Referee: Daley
• Newspaper: The Portsmouth Herald (October 23, 1944),[17] The Maine Campus (October 26, 1944)[18]

Game information
First quarter Maine – John Goff 4-yard run (Johnny Mayo conversion run good). Drive: 40 yards. Second quarter Maine – Gene Boutillier 43-yard run (conversion pass failed). Drive: 1 play, 48 yards. Fourth quarter UNH – Bill Pizzano 4-yard run (conversion run failed). Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards.

October 28: vs. Middlebury

Middlebury at New Hampshire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	0	7	13	27
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7

at Lewis Field, Durham, New Hampshire

• Date: October 28
• Referee: Marston
• Newspaper: The Portsmouth Herald (October 30, 1944),[19] Rutland Daily Herald (October 30, 1944)[20]

Game information

First quarter Middlebury – Joe Dineen run (Barrett conversion kick good). Drive: 19 yards. Second quarter UNH – Joe Swekla 5-yard run (Bill Black conversion kick good). Third quarter Middlebury – George Long 20-yard run (Barrett conversion kick good). Drive: 56 yards. Fourth quarter Middlebury – George Long 13-yard run (Barrett conversion kick good). Drive: 45 yards. Middlebury – Young 1-yard run (conversion failed). First downs Panthers – 20 Wildcats – 6 Rushing yards Panthers – 266 Wildcats – 78 Passing yards (comp–att) Panthers – 9 (1–2) Wildcats – 23 (5–10) Fumbles (total–lost) Panthers – 8–5 Wildcats – 4–2 Punting average yards Panthers – 33 Wildcats – 31.5 Yards penalized Panthers – 50 Wildcats – 10

November 4: at Middlebury

New Hampshire at Middlebury – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	7	7
Panthers	0	0	14	7	21

at Porter Field, Middlebury, Vermont

• Date: November 4
• Newspaper: The Portsmouth Herald (November 6, 1944),[21][22] Rutland Daily Herald (November 6, 1944)[23]

Game information
Third quarter Middlebury – Ronnie Richards 2-yard fumble recovery (Karambelas conversion kick good). Middlebury – Phil Barrett 3-yard run (Karambelas conversion kick good). Drive: 42 yards. Fourth quarter UNH – Joe Swekla 3-yard pass from Bill Black (Black conversion kick good). Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards. Middlebury – Karambelas 15-yard run (Karambelas conversion kick good).

November 11: vs. Maine

Maine at New Hampshire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Bears	0	0	14	0	14
Wildcats	0	6	0	13	19

at Lewis Field, Durham, New Hampshire

• Date: November 11
• Referee: Eugene Callahan
• Newspaper: The Portsmouth Herald (November 14, 1944),[24] The Maine Campus (November 16, 1944)[25]

Game information

Second quarter UNH – touchdown run (conversion failed). Third quarter Maine – Don Buckley 25-yard run (Lenny Plavin conversion kick good). Drive: 1 play, 25 yards. Maine – Roy Henderson 6-yard run (Lenny Plavin conversion kick good). Fourth quarter UNH – Bill Black 6-yard run (Black conversion kick good). UNH – touchdown run (conversion failed). touchdowns by Bill Black and Joe Swekla (order unknown)

Statistics

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total All opponents 14 6 35 20 75 New Hampshire 0 13 0 26 39

New Hampshire scoring

Player	Touchdowns	Conversions	Points
Bill Black	3	3	21
Joe Swekla	2	–	12
Bill Pizzano	1	–	6
Total	6	3	39

Honors

Quarterback Bill Pizzano was named to the All-New England Small College Team;[26] he was later inducted to the university's athletic hall of fame, in 2004.[27]

References

1. "Coach Herb Snow Greets Port City Grid Player Out For UNH Varsity". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 5, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
2. The Granite. Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire. 1945. pp. 137–138. Retrieved December 3, 2019 – via library.unh.edu.
3. "New Hampshire Game by Game Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.
4. "UNH Drops Intercollegiate Athletics". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. September 1, 1943. p. 18. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
5. "High School Coach Will Lead Wildcats". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. September 15, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
6. "Navy Commissions U. N. H. Grid Coach". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, Vermont. April 14, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
7. "UNH Wildcats Play First Grid Game Meeting Maine in Orono This Afternoon". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 21, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
8. "Maine Bears Tip Wildcats by Touchdown". The Boston Globe. October 22, 1944. p. 26. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
9. "Wildcats to Play Middlebury On Durham Field Tomorrow". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 27, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
10. "Middlebury Tames N. H. Wildcats, 27-7". The Boston Globe. AP. October 29, 1944. p. 22. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
11. "Wildcats Still Seek 1st Win". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 3, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
12. "Middlebury Eleven Belts Wildcats, 21-7". The Boston Globe. AP. November 5, 1944. p. 28. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
13. "Wildcats to Play Maine". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 10, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
14. "New Hampshire Rally Edges Maine by 19-14". Hartford Courant. AP. November 12, 1944. p. 46. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
15. "Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Maine Athletics. 2019: 86. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via goblackbears.com. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
16. "New Hampshire vs Middlebury (VT)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
17. "Wildcats Threaten Maine But Polar Bears Win 13-6". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 23, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
18. "Maine Upholds Tradition As Bears Drown Wildcats 13-6". The Maine Campus. Orono, Maine. October 26, 1944. p. 4. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via umaine.edu.
19. "Middlebury Tops UNH 27-7". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 30, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
20. "Middies Defeat New Hampshire Eleven, 27 to 7". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. AP. October 30, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
21. "Panthers Top UNH 21-7". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 6, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
22. "Panthers Top UNH 21-7 (cont'd)". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 6, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
23. "Panthers Again Cage Wildcats, Winning, 21 to 7". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. AP. November 6, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
24. "Wildcats 19, Maine 14". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 14, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
25. Skolfield, John (November 16, 1944). "Kenyonites Bow to N.H. In Hard Fought Battle". The Maine Campus. Orono, Maine. p. 4. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via umaine.edu.
26. "William P. Pizzano '49". unhwildcats.com. December 22, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
27. "Hall of Fame". unhwildcats.com. Retrieved November 28, 2019.

Further reading

• "Theofelos A. "Steve" Aliapoulios D.D.S." The Palm Beach Post. August 2013 – via Legacy.com.
• "Steven Morang". Cremation Society of New Hampshire. July 2002 – via tributes.com.
• "William P. Pizzano '49". unhwildcats.com. December 22, 2015.
• "Leon Stevens". New Hampshire Union Leader. July 2015 – via Legacy.com.
• "Joseph J. Swekla". Nashua Telegraph. November 26, 2013.
• "Charles L. Thayer M.D." New Hampshire Union Leader. November 2012 – via Legacy.com.