By Darin The 1944 American football season was heavily shaped by World War II, as military drafts depleted rosters while service-academy teams dominated the landscape. Despite these wartime constraints, both the professional and collegiate levels produced historically dominant champions.
Professional Football: The NFL
The 1944 NFL season featured 10 teams playing a 10-game schedule. Due to wartime player shortages, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals merged for a single season to play as Card-Pitt (who notoriously finished 0-10).
- The Champions: The Green Bay Packers (8-2) won the Western Division, while the New York Giants (8-1-1) took the Eastern Division.
- The Title Game: On December 17, 1944, at the Polo Grounds in New York, head coach Curly Lambeau led the Green Bay Packers to a 14-7 victory over the Giants to capture their sixth league title.
- Key Statistical Leaders: Green Bay’s Irv Comp led the league in passing (1,159 yards), the legendary Don Hutson led in receiving (866 yards), and the Giants’ Bill Paschal led the league in rushing (737 yards).
College Football
The college season was utterly dominated by military service teams and academies, as traditional powerhouse programs struggled to field experienced civilian rosters.
- The National Champion: The Army Cadets (9-0) were voted the undisputed national champions in the final AP Poll. Led by head coach Red Blaik and the iconic backfield duo of Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, Army fielded what is widely considered one of the greatest teams in college football history. They set an NCAA record by averaging 56.0 points per game while allowing just 3.9 points per game defensively.
- The Heisman Trophy: Despite Army’s dominance, the Heisman Trophy was awarded to Les Horvath, a halfback/quarterback who led a similarly undefeated Ohio State (9-0) team to the Big Ten title.
- The Service Teams: Military base teams like Randolph Field (9-0) and Bainbridge Naval Training Station (10-0) populated the upper echelons of the national rankings, frequently playing and defeating traditional college programs.
A Deep Dive into 1944 Football History and Highlights
- January 1, 1944 – In the 30th edition of the Rose Bowl Game, it was an all-West Coast affair due to the way. The USC Trojans battled their rival, the Washington Huskies. Southern Cal won handily, 29-0.
- April 19, 1944 – Angelo Bertelli from the University of Notre Dame was the first player selected in the 1944 NFL Draft by the Boston Yanks.
- April 20, 1944 – The NFL legalized coaching from the bench.
- April 21, 1944 – Philadelphia, PA – The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals agreed to merge for the 1944 NFL season due to manpower shortages caused by WWII. The group would form one of the notoriously worst football teams ever, fondly remembered as the Card-Pitt or Carpets.
- November 25, 1944 – Civic Stadium, Hamilton – The 32nd Grey Cup was played, with the St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Navy defeating the Hamilton Flying Wildcats by the score of 7-6.
- December 2, 1944 – Ohio State halfback/quarterback Les Horvath won the 10th Heisman Trophy, becoming the first Buckeye recipient of the award.
- December 3, 1944 – It was the last game for the Card-Pitt team, a 49-0 loss to the Chicago Bears to end an 0-10 campaign. Due to a shortage of players during World War II, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals temporarily merged their operations for the 1944 season, then dissolved the agreement before the 1945 season began.
- December 17, 1944 – Polo Grounds, New York City – The NFL Championship game had the Green Bay Packers visiting the New York Football Giants. The website GoldenRankings.com has a superb write-up on the game. According to the article, World War II stripped many fine players from the rosters of all NFL teams as they served their country. Retired players who were not in the military were recruited by all teams just to field enough players. It was the Packers who won this tightly contested game 14-7, securing their 6th and final championship title under their legendary coach, Curly Lambeau.