1944 Third Air Force Gremlins football team

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1944 Third Air Force Gremlins football
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–3
Head coach
1944 military service football records
Conf.Overall
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. T–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
Melville PT Boats – 3–0–0
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 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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23Charleston Coast GuardCharlotte, NCW 31–012,000[6]
October 1at Chatham FieldSavannah, GAW 45–09,000[7][8]
October 73:30 p.m.vs. Third Infantry
W 22–012,000[9][10][11]
October 15at Georgia Pre-Flight
W 19–7[12][13]
October 22Cherry Point MarinesCharlotte, NCW 29–7[14]
October 28at No. 3 Randolph FieldNo. 19
L 0–1922,000[15]
November 52:30 p.m.Georgia Pre-Flight
W 34–12[16][17][18]
November 11at No. 14 Great Lakes Navy
L 10–1225,000[19]
November 19vs. Maxwell Field
W 41–712,000[20]
December 3vs. Fort Pierce
  • Phillips Field
  • Tampa, FL
L 6–711,000[21]
December 10vs. No. 20 Second Air Force
W 14–78,000[22]

[23]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP——19т——————

References

  1. "Quinn Decker Building Grid Titan". The Nashville Tennessean. July 20, 1944. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Here Are Two Powerful Grid Arrays Which Meet Here Sunday Afternoon". The Tampa Daily Times. November 18, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Navy Places Four on AP Service All-America; Trippi in Backfield". The St. Petersburgh Times. December 12, 1944. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  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 icon.
  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 icon.
  6. "Trippi Leads 3rd Air Force To 31-0 Win". September 24, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "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 Open access icon.
  8. 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 Open access icon.
  9. "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 Open access icon.
  10. "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 Open access icon.
  11. "Gremlins Trample Benning Powerhouse Eleven By 22-0". Tampa Sunday Tribune. October 8, 1944. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 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 Open access icon.
  13. "3rd Air Force Gridders Top Georgia Navy". The Troy Record. October 16, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Gremlins Trample On Cherry Point". The Ashville Citizen. October 23, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Randolph Field Turns Back Gremlins, 19-0". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 1944. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 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 Open access icon.
  17. 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 Open access icon.
  18. "Gremlins Trounce Georgia Pre-Flight". The Tampa Tribune. November 6, 1944. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Sailors Tally Twice in 4th, Win, 12-10". The Des Moines Register. November 12, 1944. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Gremlins Crush Marauders Gridders by 41-7 Score". Tampa Morning Tribune. November 20, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Daley Races 61 as Amphibs Win". The Des Moines Register. December 4, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Gremlins Bump Superbombers to Tune of 14-7". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1944. p. II-8 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. Daye, John (2014). Encyclopedia of Armed Forces Football. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press. pp. 178–179. ISBN 978-1-937943-21-9.