1944 Third Air Force Gremlins football team American college football season
The 1944 Third Air Force Gremlins football team represented the Third Air Force during the 1944 college football season . The team compiled a 8–3 record. The Third Air Force was part of the United States Army Air Forces and was based in 1944 at Morris Field in Charlotte, North Carolina .
The team played a 10-game schedule against other military service teams and defeated the Second Air Force team that was ranked No. 20 in the final 1944 AP Poll . Its three losses were against teams ranked in the top 20 in the final poll: Randolph Field (No. 3); Great Lakes (No. 17); and Fort Pierce (No. 18).
J. Quinn Decker , who coached at Centre College before the war, was the team's head coach.[ 1] The team's key players included backs Charley Trippi (left halfback), Ernie Bonelli (right halfback), Bob Kennedy (fullback), and Frank Gnup (quarterback), and linemen Art Brandau (center), Walt Barnes , and Jack Karwales .[ 2] Trippi was named as a first-team player on the Associated Press ' 1944 Service All-America team .[ 3]
In the final Litkenhous Ratings , Third Air Force ranked 27th among the nation's college and service teams and sixth out of 63 United States Army teams with a rating of 99.4.[ 4] [ 5]
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 23 Charleston Coast Guard Charlotte, NC W 31–012,000 [ 6]
October 1 at Chatham Field Savannah, GA W 45–09,000 [ 7] [ 8]
October 7 3:30 p.m. vs. Third Infantry W 22–012,000 [ 9] [ 10] [ 11]
October 15 at Georgia Pre-Flight W 19–7[ 12] [ 13]
October 22 Cherry Point Marines Charlotte, NC W 29–7[ 14]
October 28 at No. 3 Randolph Field No. 19 L 0–1922,000 [ 15]
November 5 2:30 p.m. Georgia Pre-Flight W 34–12[ 16] [ 17] [ 18]
November 11 at No. 14 Great Lakes Navy L 10–1225,000 [ 19]
November 19 vs. Maxwell Field W 41–712,000 [ 20]
December 3 vs. Fort Pierce L 6–711,000 [ 21]
December 10 vs. No. 20 Second Air Force W 14–78,000 [ 22]
[ 23]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below Week Poll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Final AP — — 19т — — — — — —
References
^ "Quinn Decker Building Grid Titan" . The Nashville Tennessean . July 20, 1944. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Here Are Two Powerful Grid Arrays Which Meet Here Sunday Afternoon" . The Tampa Daily Times . November 18, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Navy Places Four on AP Service All-America; Trippi in Backfield" . The St. Petersburgh Times . December 12, 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 .
^ "Trippi Leads 3rd Air Force To 31-0 Win" . September 24, 1944 . p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins To Face Chatham Eleven Today" . Tampa Sunday Tribune . Tampa, Florida . October 1, 1944. p. 2, part 2. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Campbell, Walt (October 2, 1944). "Morris Field Wins 45 to 0" . The Columbus Enquirer . Columbus, Georgia . Associated Press . p. 5. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins, Ft. Benning Grid Powerhouses Meet at Stadium Today" . The State . Columbia, South Carolina . October 7, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Third Air Force Gremlins Down Ft. Benning Cockades 22-0" . The State . Columbia, South Carolina . October 8, 1944. p. 11B. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins Trample Benning Powerhouse Eleven By 22-0" . Tampa Sunday Tribune . October 8, 1944. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com .
^ William, F. M. (October 16, 1944). "Trippi Stars as Gremlins Beat Georgia Navy, 19-7" . The Atlanta Constitution . Atlanta, Georgia . p. 7. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "3rd Air Force Gridders Top Georgia Navy" . The Troy Record . October 16, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins Trample On Cherry Point" . The Ashville Citizen . October 23, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Randolph Field Turns Back Gremlins, 19-0" . Los Angeles Times . October 29, 1944. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Allen, Eddie (November 5, 1944). "Gremlins Tackle 'Crackers Today" . The Charlotte Observer . Charlotte, North Carolina . p. 9, section 2. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Allen, Eddie (November 5, 1944). "More On Gremlins (continued)" . The Charlotte Observer . Charlotte, North Carolina . p. 11, section 2. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins Trounce Georgia Pre-Flight" . The Tampa Tribune . November 6, 1944. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sailors Tally Twice in 4th, Win, 12-10" . The Des Moines Register . November 12, 1944. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins Crush Marauders Gridders by 41-7 Score" . Tampa Morning Tribune . November 20, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Daley Races 61 as Amphibs Win" . The Des Moines Register . December 4, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gremlins Bump Superbombers to Tune of 14-7" . Los Angeles Times . December 11, 1944. p. II-8 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Daye, John (2014). Encyclopedia of Armed Forces Football . Haworth, New Jersey : St. Johann Press. pp. 178– 179. ISBN 978-1-937943-21-9 .
Bowl games All-Service 1942 1943 1944 1945