1944 Army Cadets football team American college football season
The 1944 Army Cadets football team was an American football team that represented the United States Military Academy as an independent during the 1944 college football season . In their fourth season under head coach Earl Blaik , the Cadets compiled a perfect 9โ0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 504 to 35.[ 1] Army's 1944 season was part of a 32-game undefeated streak that included the entire 1944, 1945, and 1946 seasons.
In the final AP Poll released on December 5, Army was ranked No. 1 nationally with 1,165 points, more than 200 points ahead of No. 2 Ohio State .[ 2] In retroactive analyses, Army has also been recognized as the 1944 national champion by most other selectors, including the Billingsley Report , Boand System , College Football Researchers Association , Dunkel System , Helms Athletic Foundation , Houlgate System , National Championship Foundation , Poling System , and Sagarin Ratings .[ 3] Army also won the Lambert Trophy as the best football team in the east.[ 4]
Army halfback Glenn Davis received the Maxwell Award as the best college football player of 1944.[ 5] Davis and fullback Doc Blanchard were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1944 All-America college football team .[ 6]
Six persons affiliated with the 1944 Army team were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame : head coach Blaik (inducted 1964);[ 7] Blanchard (inducted 1959);[ 8] Davis (inducted 1961);[ 9] end Barney Poole (inducted 1974);[ 10] quarterback Doug Kenna (inducted 1984);[ 11] and guard John Green (inducted 1989).[ 12]
The team captain was Tom Lombardo. Other notable players included tackle Tex Coulter , guard Joe Stanowicz , and center Robert St. Onge.
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 30 North Carolina W 46โ07,000 [ 13]
October 7 Brown Michie Stadium West Point, NY W 59โ73,500 [ 14]
October 14 Pittsburgh No. 3 Michie Stadium West Point, NY W 69โ710,000 [ 15] [ 16]
October 21 Coast Guard No. 2 Michie Stadium West Point, NY W 76โ03,000 [ 17]
October 28 vs. Duke No. 2 W 27โ745,000 [ 18]
November 4 Villanova No. 1 Michie Stadium West Point, NY W 83โ0[ 19]
November 11 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame No. 1 W 59โ074,437 [ 20]
November 18 at Penn No. 1 W 62โ765,000 [ 21]
December 2 vs. No. 2 Navy No. 1 W 23โ770,000 [ 22] [ 23]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: โโ Increase in ranking โโ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Final AP 3 (3) 2 (11.67) 2 (30) 1 (41) 1 (58) 1 (77) 1 (65.33) 1 (55.33) 1 (95)
References
^ "1944 Army Black Knights Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ "Army and Randolph Field Are Top Teams Of Year" . Durham Morning Herald . December 6, 1944. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com .
^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF) . Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112โ 114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021 .
^ "Army Wins Lambert Grid Trophy" . The Austin American . December 6, 1944. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army's Glenn Davis Gets Maxwell Trophy" . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . December 8, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017 .
^ "Earl Blaik" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ "Doc Blanchard" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ "Glenn Davis" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ "Barney Poole" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ "Doug Kenna" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ "John Green" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^ Jack Smith (October 1, 1944). "Army Routs Carolina, 46-0; Davis Scores 3" . New York Daily News . p. 73 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army Batters Brown Bear" . New York Daily News . October 8, 1944. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com .
^ Whitney Martin (October 15, 1944). "Mighty Army Pummels Pitt, 69-7" . Rochester Democrat and Chronicle . p. 3C – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army Slugs Pitt, 69-7; Panthers' Worst Rout" . New York Daily News . October 15, 1944. p. 78 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Dick Young (October 22, 1944). "Army Panzers Crush CG, 76-0, in 11 TD Parade" . New York Daily News . p. 25C – via Newspapers.com .
^ Jack Smith (October 29, 1944). "Army Crushes Duke, 27-7; All Backs Star" . New York Daily News . p. 76 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army Swamps Villanova, 83-0; 2d Half Cut Short" . New York Daily News . November 5, 1944. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army Outclasses Notre Dame, 59 To 0: 74,437 See Irish Meet Worst Gridiron Defeat" . New York Daily News . November 12, 1944. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army Crushes Penn, 62-7, for 8th in Row" . The New York Daily News . November 19, 1944. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Army Defeats Navy, 23 To 7, Before 70,000 In Stadium" . The Baltimore Sun . Baltimore, Maryland . December 3, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Grantland Rice (December 3, 1944). "Victory Over Navy Gives Army First Perfect Grid Season Since 1916" . The Baltimore Sun . p. 2A – via Newspapers.com .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936โ1949 1950s 1960s
1960 : Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 : Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 : USC
1963 : Texas
1964 : Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 : Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 : Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
1967 : USC
1968 : Ohio State
1969 : Texas
1970s 1980โ1991
Bowl games All-Service 1942 1943 1944 1945