The 1943 All-Service football team was composed of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

players who were selected as by various organizations and writers as the best football players at their respective positions who were serving in the military and playing on military service football teams in 1943.

Ends

Bob Fitch Robert E. Fitch (July 28, 1919 – April 15, 2003) was an American athlete and coach. He broke the world record in the discus throw in 1946 with a mark of 54.93 m (180 ft in). He developed a rotational technique referred to ...

, Camp Lejeune (AP-1) * Jack Russell, Blackland (AP-1) *

Perry Schwartz Perry Schwartz (April 27, 1915 – January 4, 2001) Son of Henry & Maude (nee Perry) Swartz, was a professional American football end. He played five seasons with the National Football League's Brooklyn Dodgers (1938–1942) and the All-America F ...

, Iowa Pre-Flight (AP-2) *

George Poschner George Poschner (January 15, 1919 – May 2, 2004) was an American football end who played for the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1942. During his tenure with the Bulldogs, he participated in the 1942 Orange Bowl and the 1943 Rose Bowl. Coll ...

, Ft. Benning (AP-2)

Tackles

John Mellus John George Mellus (June 16, 1917 – November 28, 2005) was an American football player who played professional football as an tackle for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Care ...

, Camp Davis (AP-1) *

Ray Bray Raymond Robert Bray (February 1, 1917 – December 26, 1993) was an American professional football player who was an offensive guard and defensive lineman for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 ...

, Del Monte Pre-Flight (AP-1) * Joe Coomer, Camp Grant (AP-2) * Vic Schleich, Sampson NTS (AP-2)

Guards

* Marion Rogers, South Plains (AP-1) *

Buster Ramsey Garrard Sliger "Buster" Ramsey (March 16, 1920 – September 16, 2007) was an American football player for the College of William and Mary and Chicago Cardinals. He was the first head coach of the AFL's Buffalo Bills. Playing career After ...

, Bainbridge (AP-1) * Nick Kerasiotis, Iowa Pre-Flight (AP-2) *

Joe Routt Joe Eugene Routt (October 18, 1914 – December 10, 1944) was an American football player and World War II soldier. College The son of Eugene Otis and Annie Belle (Clay) Routt, Routt attended Texas A&M University from 1933 to 1938 and received a ...

, Ft. Benning (AP-2)

Center

Vince Banonis Vincent Joseph Banonis (April 9, 1921 – October 23, 2010) was an American football player. He played college football at the University of Detroit Mercy where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1940. He also played in the National ...

, Iowa Pre-Flight (AP-1) *

Quentin Greenough Quentin Carl Greenough (January 13, 1919 – August 1, 2005) was an American football player. Football career Greenough was born in Porterville, California and later moved to San Gabriel, California. He attended Alhambra High School (Alhambra, Ca ...

, Alameda Coast Guard (AP-2)

Backs

Glenn Dobbs Glenn Dobbs Jr. (July 12, 1920 – November 12, 2002) was a professional American football player in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). A skilled running back, quarterback, and punter, Dobbs was named the AAFC's MVP in 1946. After sitti ...

, Randolph Field (AP-1) *

Len Eshmont Leonard Charles Eshmont (August 26, 1917 – May 12, 1957) was an American professional football halfback and safety for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) and the San Francisco 49ers, then in the All-America Football Confe ...

, Del Monte Pre-Flight (AP-1) * Dick Todd, Iowa Pre-Flight (AP-1) *

Bruce Smith Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...

, St. Mary's Pre-Flight (AP-1) *

Jack Jacobs Jack Jacobs (August 7, 1919 – January 12, 1974), nicknamed "Indian Jack", was an American and Canadian football player in the National Football League and Western Interprovincial Football Union. He was a charter member of the Canadian Foot ...

, March Field (AP-2) * Steve Juzwik, Great Lakes NTS (AP-2) * Rogers Smith, Lubbock AAF (AP-2) *

Pat Harder Marlin Martin “Pat” Harder (May 6, 1922 – September 6, 1992) was an American football player, playing fullback and kicker. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993. University of Wisconsin After graduating from Wa ...

, Georgia Pre-Flight (AP-2)

Key

* AP =

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

References

{{World War II service football teams navbox 1943 college football season