1944 Third Air Force Gremlins football team

American college football season

1944 Third Air Force Gremlins football

Conference| Independent
Record| 8–3
Head coach|

* J. Quinn Decker (1st season)

Seasons

<- 1943

1945 ->

1944 military service football records

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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. 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
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[edit]

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

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September 23| | Charleston Coast Guard| | Charlotte, NC| W 31–0| 12,000| [6]
October 1| | at Chatham Field| | Savannah, GA| W 45–0| 9,000| [7][8]
October 7| 3:30 p.m.| vs. Third Infantry| |

* Carolina Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| W 22–0| 12,000| [9][10][11]
October 15| | at Georgia Pre-Flight| |

* Sanford Stadium
* Athens, GA

| 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|

* Alamo Stadium
* San Antonio, TX

| L 0–19| 22,000| [15]
November 5| 2:30 p.m.| Georgia Pre-Flight| |

* American Legion Memorial Stadium
* Charlotte, NC

| W 34–12| | [16][17][18]
November 11| | at No. 14 Great Lakes Navy| |

* Ross Field
* Great Lakes, IL

| L 10–12| 25,000| [19]
November 19| | vs. Maxwell Field| |

* Phillips Field
* Tampa, FL

| W 41–7| 12,000| [20]
December 3| | vs. Fort Pierce| |

* Phillips Field
* Tampa, FL

| L 6–7| 11,000| [21]
December 10| | vs. No. 20 Second Air Force| |

* Grant Field
* Atlanta, GA

| W 14–7| 8,000| [22]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[23]

## Rankings[edit]

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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[edit]

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 .
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. ^ "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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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.

* 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