The 1945 First Air Force Aces football team represented the

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the C ...

based at

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...

during the

1945 college football season The 1945 college football season was the 77th 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 ...

. The Aces competed in the

Army Air Forces League This List of World War II military service football teams includes all those top-level American football teams consisting of active duty military personnel of the United States Armed Forces that played against collegiate or professional opponents ...

(AAF League) with six others teams from 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 ...

. Led by head coach Jesse Yarborough, the Aces compiled an overall record of 3–2–3 with a mark of 2–2–2 in league play, placing fourth in the AAF League. Major Yarborough's coaching staff consisted of Lieutenant

Clyde Crabtree Clyde Crabtree (November 3, 1905 – April 21, 1994), nicknamed "Cannonball Crabtree," was an American college and professional football player who was a halfback and quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for a single season in 1930 ...

as backfield coach, Staff Sergeant George Platukis as line coach, and Lieutenant Art White as ends coach. White and Platukis were also players for the team. The team's roster included Frank Damiani and

Bill Paschal William Avner Paschal Jr. (May 28, 1921 – May 25, 2003) was an American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Boston Yanks. Early life Paschal was born in Atlanta, Georgia and attended Tech ...

, who had both played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). The First Air Force Aces were ranked 14th among the nation's college and service teams 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 ...

Schedule

References

{{World War II service football teams navbox First Air Force First Air Force Aces football seasons First Air Force Aces football