From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American college football season
The 1944 Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football team represented the United States Navy pre-flight school at the University of Iowa as an independent during the 1944 college football season . In its third season, the team compiled a 10–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 313 to 96, and was ranked No. 6 in the final AP Poll .[ 1] [ 2]
In June 1944, Jack Meagher —the head football coach at Auburn from 1934 to 1942—was assigned to replace Don Faurot as the pre-fight school's head coach. Faurot had been transferred to Monmouth College in January. Meagher was serving as a lieutenant commander in the Navy
and had been assigned previously to the technical training center in Norman, Oklahoma .[ 3] Meagher's assistant coaches in 1944 included Bud Wilkinson (who later coached at Oklahoma), Steve Sinko , and Chuck Jaskwhich . Harvey Harman was the athletic director.[ 4] [ 5]
In the final Litkenhous Ratings , Iowa Pre-Flight ranked eighth among the nation's college and service teams and first out of 28 United States Navy teams with a rating of 115.9.[ 6] [ 7]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 16 at Michigan L 7–1220,243
September 23 at Minnesota W 19–1331,600 [ 8]
September 30 Olathe NAS W 45–125,000 [ 9]
October 7 vs. Second Air Force W 12–629,500 [ 10]
October 14 at No. 7 Purdue No. 11 W 13–618,000 [ 11]
October 22 Fort Warren No. 5 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA W 30–08,000 [ 12]
October 29 at Marquette No. 6 W 26–08,000 [ 13]
November 4 at Tulsa No. 7 W 47–2718,000 [ 14]
November 11 Bunker Hill NAS No. 7 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA W 33–74,000 [ 15]
November 18 at Missouri No. 7 W 51–7[ 16]
November 25 vs. Iowa No. 7 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA W 30–62,500 [ 17]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Final AP 11 (1) 5 (0.25) 6 7 7 7 7 (2) 6 (1) 6 (1)
Player
Position
Arthur Guepe
Back
John Herriman
End
Lou King
Back
Bus Mertes
Back
Randle Rushing
Back
Don Samuels
Back
Vic Schleich
Tackle
Bob Smith
Back
Jimmy Smith
Back
Warren Smith
Tackle
George Strohmeyer
Center
Dick Sullivan
Back
Dell Taylor
Back
Don Waldron
Back
Charles Woodward
Back
^ "1944 Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC . Retrieved February 23, 2018 .
^ John B. Scott. "1944 Iowa Pre-Flight" (PDF) . College Football Historical Society – via LA84 Foundation .
^ "Meagher to Coach Iowa's Pre-Flight Football Team" . Muscatine Journal and NewsTribune . June 16, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Name Aides To Meagher At Iowa Navy" . The Des Moines Tribune . July 15, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Seahawks Open Grid Drills" . The Des Moines Register . July 18, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ Sec Taylor (September 24, 1944). "Seahawks' Rallies Tip Gophers, 19-13" . The Des Moines Register . p. 19 – via Newspapers.com .
^ George Mills (October 1, 1944). "Iowa Seahawks Shellac Olathe Flyers 45-12" . The Des Moines Sunday Register . p. 4S – via Newspapers.com .
^ George Mills (October 8, 1944). "Pre-Flights Stop Dobbs, Win, 12 to 6" . The Des Moines Register . p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Sec Taylor (October 15, 1944). "Seahawks Surprise Purdue, 13-6" . The Des Moines Sunday Register . p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Bert McGrane (October 23, 1944). "Seahawks Tame Broncos, 30-0" . The Des Moines Register . p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cadets Slap Marquette, 26-0" . The Des Moines Register . October 30, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Sec Taylor (November 5, 1944). "Cadets Romp, 47-27" . The Des Moines Register . p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Seahawks Swoop, 33 to 7" . The Des Moines Sunday Register . November 12, 1944. p. 2S – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Seahawks Grind Missouri, 51-7" . The Des Moines Sunday Register . November 19, 1944. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Iowa Wilts in 4th, Bows, 30-6" . The Des Moines Sunday Register . November 26, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com .
Bowl games All-Service 1942 1943 1944 1945