1944 Bainbridge Commodores football team

The 1944 Bainbridge Naval Training Station Commodores football team represented the United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, Maryland during the 1944 college football season. The team compiled a 10–0 record and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. Joe Maniaci was the team's head coach.^[1]

1944 Bainbridge Commodores football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 5
Record	10–0
Head coach	Joe Maniaci (2nd season)
Home stadium	Tome 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

Bainbridge players took five of eleven spots on the Associated Press' All-Mid-Atlantic football team: end Ed Vandeweghe, guard Buster Ramsey, center Lou Sossamon, and backs Charlie Justice and Harvey Johnson.^[2] Justice led the team in both scoring (14 touchdowns for 84 points) and rushing (529 yards on 48 carries for an average of 11.0 yards per carry).^[3] Harry Hopp was the team's second leading rusher with 520 yards on 83 carries (6.3 yards per carry).^[3]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Bainbridge ranked 28th among the nation's college and service teams and fifth out of 28 United States Navy teams with a rating of 98.8.^[4][5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	2:30 p.m.	Camp Lee		Tome Field Bainbridge, MD	W 43–0		[6][7]
October 9		Camp Lejeune		Tome Field Bainbridge, MD	W 53–7		[8]
October 15		Camden Blue Devils	No. 18	Tome Field Bainbridge, MD	W 47–7		[9]
October 22		at Camp Peary	No. 18	Williamsburg, VA	W 7–0		[10]
October 29		at Maxwell Field	No. 13	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL	W 15–7		[11]
November 5	2:30 p.m.	at No. 8 North Carolina Pre-Flight	No. 12	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 49–20	22,000	[12][13]
November 11		Cherry Point Marines	No. 6	Tome Field Bainbridge, MD	W 50–7		[14]
November 19		at Camp Lejeune	No. 6	Camp Lejeune, NC	W 33–6		[15]
November 25		Camp Peary	No. 5	Tome Field Bainbridge, MD	W 21–13	13,000	[16]
December 3		Maxwell Field	No. 5	Tome Field Bainbridge, MD	W 13–3		[17]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	18	18 (2)	13 (2)	12 (2)	6 (6)	6 (4)	5 (4.33)	5 (11.33)	5 (3)

References

1. "Wonder Team of Bainbridge To Have Its Chance". The Daily Mail. November 17, 1943. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Bainbridge Dominates All-Mid-Atlantic Team". The Baltimore Sun. December 5, 1944. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Charlie Justice Leads Bainbridge Scoring". The Baltimore Sun. December 5, 1944. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
4. 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 .
5. 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 .
6. "Navy To Open Grid Season With Cloudbusters Today". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. September 30, 1944. p. 12. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
7. "Commodores Top Camp Lee: Bainbridge Eleven Downs Soldiers By 43-0 Score". The Baltimore Sun. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Marines Bow To Bainbridge: Camp Lejeune Eleven Buried Under 53-7". The Baltimore Sun. October 9, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bainbridge Gridders Swamp Camden Pro Eleven, 47-7". The Baltimore Sun. October 16, 1944. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Camp Peary Bows To Bainbridge, 7-0". The Baltimore Sun. October 23, 1944. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Maxwell Bows To Bainbridge: Commodores Barely Manage To Edge Soldiers, 15-7". The Baltimore Sun. October 30, 1944. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "'Busters Buck Bainbridge". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. November 5, 1944. p. 23. Retrieved May 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
13. "Bainbridge Wins, 49 to 20: Commodores Humble North Carolina Pre-Flight Eleven". The Baltimore Sun. November 6, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Bainbridge Flattens Cherry Point Marines, 50-7, For 14th Straight Win: Victors Tally 8 Touchdowns". The Baltimore Sun. November 12, 1944. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Bainbridge Triumphs, 33-6: Trounces Camp Lejeune As Justice Scores 3 Times". The Baltimore Sun. November 20, 1944. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Bainbridge Continues Undefeated With 21-13 Victory Over Camp Peary". The Baltimore Sun. November 26, 1944. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Bainbridge Triumphs, 13-3: Unbeaten Sailors Top Maxwell Field For 17th Victory". The Baltimore Sun. December 4, 1944. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.