The 1944 Randolph Field Ramblers football team was an

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

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 is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, 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 United ...

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 ...

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

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. In their second season under head coach Frank Tritico, 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 an American professional football player in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). A skilled tailback, quarterback, punter and return specialist, Dobbs was named the AAFC's MVP in ...

(back, Tulsa),

Bill Dudley William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steeler ...

(back, Pittsburgh Steelers),

Pete Layden John Peter Layden Jr. (December 30, 1919 – July 18, 1982) was an American two-sport professional athlete who played outfielder in Major League Baseball and an assortment of positions in football. He was an outfielder for the St. Louis Browns ...

(fullback, Texas), Fred Evans (back, Notre Dame), Bob Cifers (back, Tennessee), Jake Leicht (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 selected in the eighth round of the 1940 NFL draft. He played three seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles ...

(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 (AAFC), New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC), Brooklyn Dodgers in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), N ...

(tackle, Texas A&M), Walt Merrill (tackle, Alabama), Bill Bagwell (guard, Rice), Jack Freeman (guard, Texas), and Ken Holley (center, Holy Cross). In the final Litkenhous Ratings, 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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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