1944 Army Cadets football
Consensus national champion
Eastern champion
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 1
Record9–0
Head coach
CaptainTom Lombardo
Home stadiumMichie Stadium
Seasons
← 1943
1945 →
1944 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Army   –   9 – 0 – 0
Yale   –   7 – 0 – 1
Harvard   –   5 – 1 – 0
Bucknell   –   7 – 2 – 1
Penn State   –   6 – 3 – 0
Penn   –   5 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   4 – 3 – 0
Cornell   –   5 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   4 – 4 – 0
Drexel   –   2 – 2 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   4 – 5 – 0
Brown   –   3 – 4 – 1
Temple   –   2 – 4 – 2
Syracuse   –   2 – 4 – 1
Princeton   –   1 – 2 – 0
Dartmouth   –   2 – 5 – 1
Colgate   –   2 – 5 – 0
NYU   –   2 – 5 – 0
Columbia   –   2 – 6 – 0
Tufts   –   1 – 4 – 1
Franklin & Marshall   –   1 – 8 – 0
CCNY   –   0 – 7 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Army Cadets football team was an American football team that represented the United States Military Academy as an independent during the 1944 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Earl Blaik, the Cadets compiled a perfect 9–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 504 to 35.[1] Army's 1944 season was part of a 32-game undefeated streak that included the entire 1944, 1945, and 1946 seasons.

In the final AP Poll released on December 5, Army was ranked No. 1 nationally with 1,165 points, more than 200 points ahead of No. 2 Ohio State.[2] In retroactive analyses, Army has also been recognized as the 1944 national champion by most other selectors, including the Billingsley Report, Boand System, College Football Researchers Association, Dunkel System, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, and Sagarin Ratings.[3] Army also won the Lambert Trophy as the best football team in the east.[4]

Army halfback Glenn Davis received the Maxwell Award as the best college football player of 1944.[5] Davis and fullback Doc Blanchard were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1944 All-America college football team.[6]

Six persons affiliated with the 1944 Army team were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: head coach Blaik (inducted 1964);[7] Blanchard (inducted 1959);[8] Davis (inducted 1961);[9] end Barney Poole (inducted 1974);[10] quarterback Doug Kenna (inducted 1984);[11] and guard John Green (inducted 1989).[12]

The team captain was Tom Lombardo. Other notable players included tackle Tex Coulter, guard Joe Stanowicz, and center Robert St. Onge.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30North Carolina
W 46–07,000[13]
October 7Brown
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 59–73,500[14]
October 14PittsburghNo. 3
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 69–710,000[15][16]
October 21Coast GuardNo. 2
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 76–03,000[17]
October 28vs. DukeNo. 2
W 27–745,000[18]
November 4VillanovaNo. 1
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 83–0[19]
November 11vs. No. 5 Notre DameNo. 1
W 59–074,437[20]
November 18at PennNo. 1
W 62–765,000[21]
December 2vs. No. 2 NavyNo. 1
W 23–770,000[22][23]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP3 (3)2 (11.67)2 (30)1 (41)1 (58)1 (77)1 (65.33)1 (55.33)1 (95)

References

  1. ^ "1944 Army Black Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. ^ "Army and Randolph Field Are Top Teams Of Year". Durham Morning Herald. December 6, 1944. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "Army Wins Lambert Grid Trophy". The Austin American. December 6, 1944. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Army's Glenn Davis Gets Maxwell Trophy". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 8, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  7. ^ "Earl Blaik". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "Doc Blanchard". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  9. ^ "Glenn Davis". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Barney Poole". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "Doug Kenna". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "John Green". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  13. ^ Jack Smith (October 1, 1944). "Army Routs Carolina, 46-0; Davis Scores 3". New York Daily News. p. 73 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Army Batters Brown Bear". New York Daily News. October 8, 1944. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Whitney Martin (October 15, 1944). "Mighty Army Pummels Pitt, 69-7". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Army Slugs Pitt, 69-7; Panthers' Worst Rout". New York Daily News. October 15, 1944. p. 78 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Dick Young (October 22, 1944). "Army Panzers Crush CG, 76-0, in 11 TD Parade". New York Daily News. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Jack Smith (October 29, 1944). "Army Crushes Duke, 27-7; All Backs Star". New York Daily News. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Army Swamps Villanova, 83-0; 2d Half Cut Short". New York Daily News. November 5, 1944. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Army Outclasses Notre Dame, 59 To 0: 74,437 See Irish Meet Worst Gridiron Defeat". New York Daily News. November 12, 1944. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Army Crushes Penn, 62-7, for 8th in Row". The New York Daily News. November 19, 1944. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Army Defeats Navy, 23 To 7, Before 70,000 In Stadium". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. December 3, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  23. ^ Grantland Rice (December 3, 1944). "Victory Over Navy Gives Army First Perfect Grid Season Since 1916". The Baltimore Sun. p. 2A – via Newspapers.com.


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