The 1944 Randolph Field Ramblers football team was an

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 ...

team represented the airmen of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

stationed at

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

during the

1944 college football season The 1944 college football season was the 76th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six C ...

. Randoph Field was located about 15 miles east-northeast of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. In their second season under head coach

Frank Tritico Frank Michael Tritico (March 25, 1909 - March 5, 1966), sometimes listed as Frank Mitchell Tritico, was an American football coach. He was the head coach of the Randolph Field football team during World War II. His 1943 Randolph Field Ramblers foo ...

, the Ramblers compiled a perfect 11–0 record with eight shout victories, outscored opponents by a total of 441 to 19, and were ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll. Football statistician and historian Dr. L. H. Baker selected Randolph Field as

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

for 1944. Players (with the positions and prior teams in parentheses) included

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 ...

(back, Tulsa),

Bill Dudley William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010) was an American professional football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducte ...

(back, Pittsburgh Steelers),

Pete Layden John Peter Layden, Jr. (December 30, 1919 – July 18, 1982) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Browns. He also played as quarterback, running back, cornerback, kick returner, punt returner, and punter for ...

(fullback, Texas), F.O. "Dippy" Evans (back, Notre Dame),

Bob Cifers Robert Gale Cifers (September 5, 1920 – July 1, 2001) was a professional American football halfback and punter in the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that con ...

(back, Tennessee),

Jake Leicht Jacob Leicht (August 2, 1919 – May 18, 1992) was an American football halfback in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Baltimore Colts. He played college football at the University of Oregon and was drafted in the tenth round ...

(back, Oregon),

Don Looney John Don Looney (September 2, 1916 – April 5, 2015) was a professional American football end in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 1940 NFL Draft. He played three ...

(end, Pittsburgh Steelers), Jack Russell (end, Baylor), Harold Newman (end, Alabama),

Martin Ruby Martin Owen Ruby (June 9, 1922 – January 3, 2002) was an offensive tackle and defensive tackle for the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the All-America Football Conference, New York Yanks of the National Football League,''Will C ...

(tackle, Texas A&M),

Walt Merrill Walter Oliver Merrill (August 7, 1917 – March 12, 1953) was an American football player. Merrill was born in 1917 in Andalusia, Alabama, and attended Andalusia High School. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1936 ...

(tackle, Alabama), Bill Bagwell (guard, Rice), Jack Freeman (guard, Texas), and

Ken Holley Kenneth Joseph Holley (October 9, 1919 – March 1, 1986) was an American football quarterback. Holley was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1919 and attended St. John's Prep. He played college football at Holy Cross. He served in the Army d ...

(center, Holy Cross). In the final

Litkenhous Ratings The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams. The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward E. Litkenhous (1907 – December 22, 1984) and his b ...

, Randolph Field ranked second among the nation's college and service teams and first out of 63

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

teams with a rating of 124.2.

Schedule

Rankings

References

{{World War II service football teams navbox

Randolph Field Ramblers football seasons College football undefeated seasons

Randolph Field Ramblers football Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...