1944 Randolph Field Ramblers football team

American college football season

1944 Randolph Field Ramblers football

Treasury Bond Bowl, W 13–6 vs. Second Air Force

Conference| Independent
Ranking
AP| No. 3
Record| 11–0
Head coach|

* Frank Tritico (2nd season)

Home stadium| Grater Field, Alamo Stadium

Seasons

<- 1943

1945 ->

1944 military service football records

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | 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 Randolph Field Ramblers football team was an American football team represented the airmen of the United States Army Air Forces stationed at Randolph Field during the 1944 college football season. Randolph Field was located about 15 miles east-northeast of San Antonio. In their second season under head coach Frank Tritico, the Ramblers compiled a perfect 11–0 record with eight shout victories, outscored opponents by a total of 441 to 19, and were ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll.[1] Football statistician and historian Dr. L. H. Baker selected Randolph Field as national champions for 1944.[2]

Players (with the positions and prior teams in parentheses) included Glenn Dobbs (back, Tulsa), Bill Dudley (back, Pittsburgh Steelers), Pete Layden (fullback, Texas), Fred Evans (back, Notre Dame), Bob Cifers (back, Tennessee), Jake Leicht (back, Oregon), Don Looney (end, Pittsburgh Steelers), Jack Russell (end, Baylor), Harold Newman (end, Alabama), Martin Ruby (tackle, Texas A&M), Walt Merrill (tackle, Alabama), Bill Bagwell (guard, Rice), Jack Freeman (guard, Texas), and Ken Holley (center, Holy Cross).[3]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Randolph Field ranked second among the nation's college and service teams and first out of 63 United States Army teams with a rating of 124.2.[4][5]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 30| at Rice| |

* Rice Field
* Houston, TX

| W 59–0| 20,000| [6][7]
October 7| at Texas| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Austin, TX

| W 42–6| 19,000| [8]
October 14| SMU| No. 4|

* Alamo Stadium
* San Antonio, TX

| W 41–0| 18,000| [9]
October 22| vs. 7th Armored, Camp Polk| No. 3| Fort Worth, TX| W 67–0| 10,000| [10]
October 28| Third Air Force| No. 3|

* Alamo Stadium
* San Antonio, TX

| W 19–0| 22,000| [11]
November 4| North Texas Aggies| No. 4|

* Alamo Stadium
* San Antonio, TX

| W 68–0| | [12]
November 11| Maxwell Field| No. 4|

* Alamo Stadium
* San Antonio, TX

| W 25–0| | [13]
November 18| Southwestern (TX)| No. 2|

* Alamo Stadium
* San Antonio, TX

| W 54–0| 652| [14]
November 26| vs. Amarillo AAF| No. 4|

* Farrington Field
* Fort Worth, TX

| W 33–0| 11,000| [15]
December 10| vs. No. 14 March Field| No. 3|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 20–7| 50,000| [16]
December 16| vs. No. 20 Second Air Force| No. 3|

* Polo Grounds
* New York, New York (Treasury Bond Bowl)

| W 13–6| 8,356| [17]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Rankings

[edit]

See also: 1944 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes| Week

|

Poll| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| Final
AP| 4 (22)| 3 (21.58)| 3 (23)| 4 (18)| 4 (18)| 2 (15)| 4 (11.33)| 3т (5.33)| 3 (17)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1944 Randolph Field Ramblers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
2. ^ Baker, Dr. L. H. (1945). "The Nation's Leading Teams, 1869–1944 | College and Service Teams' 1944 Ratings and Ranks (Compiled by Dr. L. H. Baker)". Football: Facts & Figures. New York: Farrar & Rinehart. pp. 644–645\. "No. 1 Randolph Field 958, No. 2 Army 951 — The ratings listed here have been computed by a method devised by the author. It consists of a combination of a modification of the Dickinson method plus one used by the author for several years. This combination has proved highly accurate."644-645&rft.pub=Farrar+&+Rinehart&rft.date=1945&rft.aulast=Baker&rft.aufirst=Dr.+L.+H.&rft_id=https://archive.org/details/footballfactsfig0000drlh/page/644/mode/2up&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1944+Randolph+Field+Ramblers+football+team" class="Z3988">
3. ^ "Randolph Field To Shoot All-Star Lineup at Rice". Abilene Reporter-News. September 24, 1944. p. 15 - 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 .
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 .
6. ^ "Powerful Ramblers Invade Rice Stadium Tonight". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. Associated Press. September 30, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved April 15, 2023 - via Newspapers.com .
7. ^ "Randolph Field Smothers Rice Institute 55 to 0". Valley Morning Star. October 1, 1944. p. 13 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Longhorns Take 42-6 Trouncing From Randolph". Valley Evening Monitor. October 8, 1944. p. 8 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Ramblers Smother SMU 41-0: Bill Dudley Stars Again For Randolph". Valley Morning Star. October 15, 1944. p. 12 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Ramblers Kick Polk Team 67-0". The Abilene Reporter-News. October 23, 1944. p. 2 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Randolph Field Turns Back Gremlins, 19-0". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 1944. p. 20 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Ramblers Romp Over N. T. Aggies, 68-0". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. November 5, 1944. p. 5 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Randolph Defeats Maxwell 25 to 0". Valley Evening Monitor. November 12, 1944. p. 9 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Randolph Beats Navy Boys, 54-0". Longview Daily News. November 19, 1944. p. 10 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Ramblers Rumble Over Sky Giants 33-0: Dudley Leads Fliers To Win". The Amarillo Daily News. November 27, 1944. p. 7 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "Ramblers Down Flyers, 20-7, Before 50,000: March Field Eleven Gives Texans Toughest Test of Grid Campaign". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1944. p. II-8 - via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "Ramblers Nip Bombers, 13-6". Los Angeles Times. December 17, 1944. p. II-5, II-6 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

World War II military service football teams

Bowl games|

* 1943 Sun Bowl
* 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic

All-Service|

* 1943 All-Service football team
* 1944 All-Service football team

1942|

* Army
* Navy
* Great Lakes Navy (AP Service [APS] No. 1)
* Iowa Pre-Flight (APS No. 2)
* Georgia Pre-Flight (APS No. 3)
* North Carolina Pre-Flight (APS No. 4)
* Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (APS No. 5)
* Jacksonville NAS (APS No. 6)
* Camp Grant (APS No. 7)
* Pensacola NAS (APS No. 8)
* Manhattan Beach Coast Guard (APS No. 9)
* Corpus Christi NAS (APS No. 10)
* Second Air Force (APS No. 11)
* Fort Knox (APS No. 12)
* Lakehurst NAS (APS No. 13)
* Fort Monmouth (APS No. 14)
* Fort Riley (APS No. 15)
* Camp Davis (APS No. 16)
* March Field (APS No. 17)
* Fort Totten (APS T-No. 18)
* Spence Field (APS T-No. 18)
* Daniel Field (APS T-No. 20)
* Fort Douglas (APS T-No. 20)
* Alameda Coast Guard
* Albuquerque AAB
* Santa Ana AAB
* Will Rogers AB

1943|

* Iowa Pre-Flight (AP No. 2)
* Navy (AP No. 4)
* Great Lakes Navy (AP No. 6)
* Del Monte Pre-Flight (AP No. 8)
* March Field (AP No. 10)
* Army (AP No. 11)
* Bainbridge (AP No. 17)
* 124th Infantry
* 176th Infantry
* 300th Infantry
* Alameda Coast Guard
* Atlantic City NAS
* Blackland AAF
* Bowman Field
* Bryan AAF
* Bunker Hill NAS
* Camp Davis
* Camp Edwards
* Camp Grant
* Camp Gordon
* Camp Kilmer
* Camp Lee
* Camp Lejeune
* Charleston Coast Guard
* Cherry Point Marines
* Curtis Bay Coast Guard
* Daniel Field
* Fort Douglas
* Fort Knox
* Fort Monroe
* Fort Riley
* Fort Sheridan
* Fort Warren
* Georgia Pre-Flight
* Greensboro
* Greenville AAB
* Jacksonville NATTC
* Kearns Field
* Keesler Field
* Kirtland Field
* Lakehurst NAS
* Logan Navy
* Lowry Field
* Lubbock AAF
* Memphis NATTC
* Norfolk Fleet Marines
* Norman NAS
* North Carolina Pre-Flight
* Ottumwa NAS
* Patterson Field
* Pocatello AAB
* Randolph Field
* Richmond AAB
* St. Mary's Pre-Flight
* Salt Lake AAB
* Sampson NTS
* San Diego NTS
* South Plains AAF
* Spokane Air Service
* Ward Island Marines
* Wright Field

1944|

* Army (AP No. 1)
* Randolph Field (AP No. 3)
* Navy (AP No. 4)
* Bainbridge (AP No. 5)
* Iowa Pre-Flight (AP No. 6)
* March Field (AP No. 10)
* Norman NAS (AP No. 13)
* El Toro Marines (AP No. 16)
* Great Lakes Navy (AP No. 17)
* Fort Pierce (AP No. 18)
* Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (AP No. 19)
* Second Air Force (AP No. 20)
* Alameda Coast Guard
* Amarillo AAF
* Atlantic City NAS
* Bergstrom Field
* Blackland AAF
* Bryan AAF
* Bunker Hill NAS
* Camp Beale
* Camp Ellis
* Camp Lee
* Camp Peary
* Chatham Field
* Cherry Point Marines
* Coronado Amphibious
* Daniel Field
* Ellington Field
* Fairfield-Suisun AAB
* Fleet City
* Fort Monroe
* Fort Warren
* Fourth Infantry
* Galveston AAF
* Georgia Pre-Flight
* Hondo AAF
* Jacksonville NAS
* Keesler Field
* Klamath Falls Marine Barracks
* Lincoln AAF
* Lubbock AAF
* Maxwell Field
* Miami NTC
* Minter Field
* North Carolina Pre-Flight
* Olathe NAS
* Ottumwa NAS
* Richmond AAB
* Sampton NTS
* San Diego NTS
* San Francisco Coast Guard
* Selman Field
* South Plains AAF
* Third Air Force
* Third Infantry
* Tonopah AAF

1945|

* Army (AP No. 1)
* Navy (AP No. 3)
* Air Transport Command
* Amarillo AAF
* AAF Training Command
* Albany Navy
* Atlantic City NAS
* Bainbridge
* Barksdale Field
* Bergstrom Field
* Camp Beale
* Camp Blanding
* Camp Detrick
* Camp Lee
* Camp Peary
* Cherry Point Marines
* Dalhart AAF
* Corpus Christi NAS
* Eastern Flying Training Command
* El Toro Marines
* Ellington Field
* Farragut NTS
* First Air Force
* Fleet City
* Fort Benning
* Fort McClellan
* Fort Monroe
* Fort Pierce
* Fort Riley
* Fort Warren
* Fourth Air Force
* Great Bend AAF
* Great Lakes Navy
* Gulfport AAF
* Homestead AAB
* Hondo AAF
* Hutchinson NAS
* Jacksonville NAS
* Kearney AAF
* Keesler Field
* Lake Charles AAF
* Little Creek
* Luke Field
* Miami NAS
* Miami NTC
* Minter Field
* North Camp Hood
* Oceana NAS
* Olathe NAS
* Pensacola NAS
* Personnel Distribution Command
* Saint Mary's Pre-Flight
* San Diego NTS
* Santa Barbara Marines
* Second Air Force
* Selman Field
* South Camp Hood
* Stockton AAF
* Third Air Force
* Williams Field

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number