1943 Bainbridge Commodores football team
American college football season
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The 1943 Bainbridge Naval Training Station Commodores football team represented the United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, Maryland during the 1943 college football season. The team compiled a 7–0 record, outscored opponents by a total of 313 to 7, and was ranked No. 17 in the final AP poll. Joe Maniaci was the team's head coach.[1]
| 1943 Bainbridge Commodores football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 17 |
| Record | 7–0 |
| Head coach |
|
In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Bainbridge ranked 24th among the nation's college and service teams with a rating of 94.7.[2]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 25 | at Camp Lejeune | New River, NC | W 9–0 | [3] | |||||
| October 9 | at Fort Monroe | Fort Monroe, VA | W 57–0 | [4] | |||||
| October 16 | 2:30 p.m. | Curtis Bay Coast Guard | Bainbridge, MD | W 26–7 | [5][6] | ||||
| October 24 | 2:00 p.m. | at Camp Lee |
| W 49–0 | 12,000 | [7][8] | |||
| October 31 | Philadelphia Yellowjackets | Bainbridge, MD | W 72–0 | > 10,000 | [9] | ||||
| November 6 | Curtis Bay Coast Guard | Bainbridge, MD | W 54–0 | [10] | |||||
| November 13 | Maryland | Bainbridge, MD | W 46–0 | 10,000 | [11] | ||||
| |||||||||
Rankings
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17т | 15 | 17 |
Roster
Bainbridge's 1943 roster was loaded with star players from the college and professional ranks. Its backfield included:
- Charlie Justice, halfback, who was later a two-time All-American at North Carolina, played four years in the NFL, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame;
- Bill DeCorrevont, back, later played five years in the NFL;
- Harvey Johnson, fullback who later played five years of professional football and coached the Buffalo Bills;
- Hilliard Cheatham, back out of Auburn; and
- Don Durdan, back out of Oregon State.
Its line included:
- Buster Ramsey, guard, an All-American at William & Mary in 1942 who was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and who also played in the NFL and was named to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team;
- Len Akin guard, played for the Chicago Bears in 1942;
- Red Hickey, end, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1941 and later coached the San Francisco 49ers;
- Lou Sossamon, who went on to play for the New York Yankees;
- Phil Ragazzo, who played in the NFL from 1938 to 1941;
- Woody Gerber, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1941 and 1942;
- Carl Tomasello, end, played for the New York Giants in 1941;
- Clure Mosher, center, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1942; and
- Carl Mulleneaux, end, played for the Green Bay Packers in 1942.
