1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

American college football season

1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football

Orange Bowl champion

Orange Bowl, W 26–12 vs. Georgia Tech

Conference| Missouri Valley Conference
Record| 8–2 (0–1 MVC)
Head coach|

* Henry Frnka (4th season)

Home stadium| Skelly Field

Seasons

<- 1943

1945 ->

1944 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
Oklahoma A&M $  | 1  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 1  | - | 0
Tulsa | 0  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 2  | - | 0
Drake | 0  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 2  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

The 1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1944 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Henry Frnka, the Golden Hurricane compiled an 8–2 record (0–1 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents) and defeated Georgia Tech in the 1945 Orange Bowl.

Tulsa was ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll after defeating Texas Tech (34–7) and Ole Miss (47–0), but then lost back-to-back games against Oklahoma State and Iowa Pre-Flight. Later in the season, Tulsa also defeated Arkansas (33–2) and the Miami Hurricanes (48–2).[1]

Center Felto Prewitt was selected as a first-team All-American by Football News,[2] and guard Ellis Jones was selected as a first-team All-American by Look magazine.[3]

## Schedule[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 23| North Texas Agricultural*| |

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK

| W 47–6| 12,000|
October 7| Kansas*| |

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK

| W 27–0| 12,000| [4]
October 14| Texas Tech*| No. 13|

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK

| W 34–7| 8,500–9,000|
October 21| vs. Ole Miss*| No. 13|

* Crump Stadium
* Memphis, TN

| W 47–0| 8,000| [5]
October 28| Oklahoma A&M| No. 7|

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK (rivalry)

| L 40–46| 12,063|
November 4| No. 7 Iowa Pre-Flight*| |

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK

| L 27–47| 18,000| [6]
November 11| Southwestern (TX)*| |

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK

| W 51–6| 8,000|
November 23| Arkansas*| |

* Skelly Field
* Tulsa, OK

| W 33–2| 16,000|
December 1| at Miami (FL)*| |

* Burdine Stadium
* Miami, FL

| W 48–2| 11,234|
January 1, 1945| vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech| |

* Burdine Stadium
* Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)

| W 26–12| 29,426| [7]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[8]

## Rankings[edit]

The AP released their first rankings on October 9, the Golden Hurricane were ranked 13th.

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| 13| 13| 7т| —| —| —| —| —| —

## After the season[edit]

### 1945 NFL draft[edit]

Main article: 1945 NFL Draft

The following Golden Hurriane players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[9][10]

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | NFL club

|
|
|
|

3 | 27 | Clyde Goodnight | End | Green Bay Packers
5 | 34 | Al Kowalski | Back | Brooklyn Tigers
7 | 60 | Glen Burgeis | Tackle | Chicago Bears
8 | 69 | Ellis Jones | Guard | Boston Yanks
8 | 76 | Toby Collins | Tackle | Green Bay Packers
19 | 194 | Clyde LeForce | Quarterback | Detroit Lions
25 | 263 | Nolan Luhn | End | Green Bay Packers
27 | 280 | Dell Taylor | Back | Detroit Lions

## References[edit]

1. ^ "1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
2. ^ ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1196\. ISBN 1401337031.
3. ^ Hal Sayles (November 30, 1944). "Speaking of Sports". Abilene Reporter-News.
4. ^ Edward D. Burks (October 8, 1944). "Tulsa Hurricane Blasts Kansas, 27 to 0". Tulsa World. p. Sports 1 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Big Tulsa 'Bowl' Veterans Smother Ole Miss 47 to 0". Clarion-Ledger. October 22, 1944. p. 12.
6. ^ Sec Taylor (November 5, 1944). "Cadets Romp, 47-27". The Des Moines Register. p. 17 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Tulsa batters Georgia Tech's Wrecks, 26–12". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 2, 1945. Retrieved October 1, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. pp. 180–181. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
9. ^ "1945 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
10. ^ "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.

* v
* t
* e

Tulsa Golden Hurricane football

Venues|

* South Main Park (1912–1914)
* Association Park (1915–1917)
* McNulty Park (1919–1929)
* Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Houston
* Oklahoma State

Culture & lore|

* Captain Cane
* "Hurricane Spirit"
* The Sound of the Golden Hurricane Marching Band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties