1944 March Field Flyers football team

American college football season

1944 March Field Flyers football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 10
Record	7–2–2
Head coach	Paul J. Schissler (3rd season)
Home stadium	Wheelock Field
Seasons ← 1943 1945 →

1944 military service football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 3 Randolph Field		–		11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Bainbridge		–		10	–	0	–	0
No. 18 Fort Pierce		–		9	–	0	–	0
No. 13 Norman NAS		–		6	–	0	–	0
No. 6 Iowa Pre-Flight		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 El Toro Marines		–		8	–	1	–	0
Hondo AAF		–		7	–	1	–	0
Bunker Hill NAS		–		6	–	1	–	0
Lincoln AAF		–		6	–	1	–	0
Blackland AAF		–		7	–	1	–	1
Keesler Field		–		8	–	1	–	2
No. 17 Great Lakes Navy		–		9	–	2	–	1
No. 10 March Field		–		7	–	2	–	2
Third Air Force		–		8	–	3	–	0
North Carolina Pre-Flight		–		6	–	2	–	1
Atlantic City NAS		–		5	–	2	–	0
Camp Peary		–		5	–	2	–	0
Tonopah AAF		–		5	–	2	–	0
Daniel Field		–		7	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Second Air Force		–		10	–	4	–	1
San Francisco Coast Guard		–		4	–	2	–	1
Ellington Field		–		6	–	3	–	2
Amarillo AAF		–		5	–	3	–	0
Alameda Coast Guard		–		4	–	2	–	2
Coronado Amphibious		–		2	–	1	–	1
Olathe NAS		–		4	–	2	–	2
Selman Field		–		4	–	2	–	2
Galveston AAF		–		5	–	3	–	2
Fleet City		–		6	–	4	–	1
Jacksonville NAS		–		4	–	3	–	0
San Diego NTS		–		4	–	3	–	1
Camp Beale		–		5	–	4	–	0
Lubbock AAF		–		5	–	4	–	0
Fort Warren		–		5	–	4	–	1
Fort Monroe		–		5	–	5	–	0
Klamath Falls Marines		–		2	–	2	–	1
Maxwell Field		–		5	–	5	–	0
Minter Field		–		3	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight		–		4	–	4	–	0
Fourth Infantry		–		3	–	4	–	2
Georgia Pre-Flight		–		4	–	5	–	0
Third Infantry		–		4	–	5	–	0
Bergstrom Field		–		3	–	4	–	0
Ottumwa NAS		–		3	–	4	–	0
Camp Lee		–		3	–	5	–	0
Cherry Point Marines		–		3	–	6	–	0
Chatham Field		–		2	–	8	–	1
Sampton NTS		–		2	–	7	–	0
Miami NTC		–		2	–	8	–	0
Bryan AAF		–		1	–	7	–	0
Fairfield-Suisun AAB		–		1	–	7	–	0
Richmond AAB		–		0	–	10	–	1
Camp Ellis		–		0	–	5	–	0
South Plains AAF		–		0	–	8	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 March Field Flyers football team represented the United States Army Air Forces' Fourth Air Force stationed at March Field during the 1944 college football season. The base was located in Riverside, California. The team compiled a 7–2–2 record, outscored all opponents by a total of 222 to 81, and was ranked No. 10 in the final AP Poll.^[1]

In individual games of note, the Flyers defeated UCLA, Washington, and the San Diego Bombers, champions of Pacific Coast Professional Football League. Their losses were to the Washington Redskins of the NFL and the Randolph Field team that was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll.^[1]

The team was coached by Major Paul J. Schissler, a former NFL coach.

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, March Field ranked 16th among the nation's college and service teams and third out of 63 United States Army teams with a rating of 104.5.^[2]^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 25	vs. Washington Redskins		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 3–7	55,000	^[4]
September 24	at San Diego Bombers		San Diego, CA	W 56–7		^[5]
October 7	Fleet City		Wheelock Field Riverside, CA	W 39–0		^[6]
October 15	at Alameda Coast Guard		Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	T 20–20	22,000	^[7]
October 22	El Toro Marines	No. 14	Wheelock Field Riverside, CA	W 20–14	16,000	^[8]
October 29	at Saint Mary's Pre-Flight	No. 11	Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 7–0		^[9]
November 4	UCLA	No. 11	Wheelock Field Riverside, CA	W 35–13	12,000	^[10]
November 11	at Washington	No. 9	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 28–0	21,000	^[11]
November 19	at San Diego NTS	No. 8	San Diego, CA	W 7–0	5,500	^[12]
November 26	at Second Air Force	No. 9	Denver, CO	T 0–0	12,000	^[13]
December 10	vs. No. 3 Randolph Field	No. 14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 7–20	50,000	^[14]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[15]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	14 (1)	11	11 (6)	9 (3)	8 (2)	9 (3)	14	10

References

^ ^a ^b "1943 March Field Flyers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
^ Litkenhous, E. E. (December 10, 1944). "Big Ten Circuit Repeats As King of College Leagues". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City Utah. p. 8B. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1944). "Army, Randolph Field One-Two in Final Litkenhouse Ratings". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 4, section 2. Retrieved April 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Braven Dyer (August 26, 1944). "Redskins Defeat Flyers, 7-3, Before 55,000 Fans". Los Angeles Times. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Flyers Wallop Bombers, 56-7". Los Angeles Times. September 25, 1944. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Flyers Swamp Bluejackets, 39-0". Los Angeles Times. October 8, 1944. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Russ Newland (October 16, 1944). "Alameda Ties March Field In 20-20 Surprise". Los Angeles Times. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "March Field Whips Marines In Hard Game; 16,000 See Fliers Check El Toro Rally, Win 20-14". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 23, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Nelson-Norberg Pass Wins for March Field". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 30, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "March Field's Belated Rally Whips U.C.L.A." The San Bernardino County Sun. November 5, 1944. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "March Field Crushes Washington, 28 to 0". The San Bernardino County Sun (AP story). November 12, 1944. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "March Field Edges Strong S.D. Navy, 7-0: Cantor Goes Over After 35-Yard Jacobs-Strode Pass". The San Bernardino County Sun. November 20, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "March Field, Second Air Force Fight to Bruising 0-0 Deadlock". The San Bernardino County Sun. November 27, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ramblers Down Flyers, 20-7, Before 50,000: March Field Eleven Gives Texans Toughest Test of Grid Campaign". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1944. p. II-8 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Daye, John (2014). Encyclopedia of Armed Forces Football. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-937943-21-9.

v t e World War II military service football teams
Bowl games	1943 Sun Bowl 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic
All-Service	1943 All-Service football team 1944 All-Service football team
1942	Army Navy Great Lakes Navy (AP Service [APS] No. 1) Iowa Pre-Flight (APS No. 2) Georgia Pre-Flight (APS No. 3) North Carolina Pre-Flight (APS No. 4) Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (APS No. 5) Jacksonville NAS (APS No. 6) Camp Grant (APS No. 7) Pensacola NAS (APS No. 8) Manhattan Beach Coast Guard (APS No. 9) Corpus Christi NAS (APS No. 10) Second Air Force (APS No. 11) Fort Knox (APS No. 12) Lakehurst NAS (APS No. 13) Fort Monmouth (APS No. 14) Fort Riley (APS No. 15) Camp Davis (APS No. 16) March Field (APS No. 17) Fort Totten (APS T-No. 18) Spence Field (APS T-No. 18) Daniel Field (APS T-No. 20) Fort Douglas (APS T-No. 20) Alameda Coast Guard Albuquerque AAB Santa Ana AAB Will Rogers AB
1943	Iowa Pre-Flight (AP No. 2) Navy (AP No. 4) Great Lakes Navy (AP No. 6) Del Monte Pre-Flight (AP No. 8) March Field (AP No. 10) Army (AP No. 11) Bainbridge (AP No. 17) 124th Infantry 176th Infantry 300th Infantry Alameda Coast Guard Atlantic City NAS Blackland AAF Bowman Field Bryan AAF Bunker Hill NAS Camp Davis Camp Edwards Camp Grant Camp Gordon Camp Kilmer Camp Lee Camp Lejeune Charleston Coast Guard Cherry Point Marines Curtis Bay Coast Guard Daniel Field Fort Douglas Fort Knox Fort Monroe Fort Riley Fort Sheridan Fort Warren Georgia Pre-Flight Greensboro Greenville AAB Jacksonville NATTC Kearns Field Keesler Field Kirtland Field Lakehurst NAS Logan Navy Lowry Field Lubbock AAF Memphis NATTC Norfolk Fleet Marines Norman NAS North Carolina Pre-Flight Ottumwa NAS Patterson Field Pocatello AAB Randolph Field Richmond AAB St. Mary's Pre-Flight Salt Lake AAB Sampson NTS San Diego NTS South Plains AAF Spokane Air Service Ward Island Marines Wright Field
1944	Army (AP No. 1) Randolph Field (AP No. 3) Navy (AP No. 4) Bainbridge (AP No. 5) Iowa Pre-Flight (AP No. 6) March Field (AP No. 10) Norman NAS (AP No. 13) El Toro Marines (AP No. 16) Great Lakes Navy (AP No. 17) Fort Pierce (AP No. 18) Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (AP No. 19) Second Air Force (AP No. 20) Alameda Coast Guard Amarillo AAF Atlantic City NAS Bergstrom Field Blackland AAF Bryan AAF Bunker Hill NAS Camp Beale Camp Ellis Camp Lee Camp Peary Chatham Field Cherry Point Marines Coronado Amphibious Daniel Field Ellington Field Fairfield-Suisun AAB Fleet City Fort Monroe Fort Warren Fourth Infantry Galveston AAF Georgia Pre-Flight Hondo AAF Jacksonville NAS Keesler Field Klamath Falls Marine Barracks Lincoln AAF Lubbock AAF Maxwell Field Miami NTC Minter Field North Carolina Pre-Flight Olathe NAS Ottumwa NAS Richmond AAB Sampton NTS San Diego NTS San Francisco Coast Guard Selman Field South Plains AAF Third Air Force Third Infantry Tonopah AAF
1945	Army (AP No. 1) Navy (AP No. 3) Air Transport Command Amarillo AAF AAF Training Command Albany Navy Atlantic City NAS Bainbridge Barksdale Field Bergstrom Field Camp Beale Camp Blanding Camp Detrick Camp Lee Camp Peary Cherry Point Marines Dalhart AAF Corpus Christi NAS Eastern Flying Training Command El Toro Marines Ellington Field Farragut NTS First Air Force Fleet City Fort Benning Fort McClellan Fort Monroe Fort Pierce Fort Riley Fort Warren Fourth Air Force Great Bend AAF Great Lakes Navy Gulfport AAF Homestead AAB Hondo AAF Hutchinson NAS Jacksonville NAS Kearney AAF Keesler Field Lake Charles AAF Little Creek Luke Field Miami NAS Miami NTC Minter Field North Camp Hood Oceana NAS Olathe NAS Pensacola NAS Personnel Distribution Command Saint Mary's Pre-Flight San Diego NTS Santa Barbara Marines Second Air Force Selman Field South Camp Hood Stockton AAF Third Air Force Williams Field