1944 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football team

The 1944 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football team represented the United States Navy pre-flight school at Saint Mary's College of California during the 1944 college football season. In its third season, the team compiled a 4–4 record, outscored opponents by a total of 96 to 70, and was ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll.^[1]

1944 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 19
Record	4–4
Head coach	Jules V. Sikes (1st season)
Home stadium	Kezar Stadium
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

In August 1944, Lt. Jules V. Sikes was named as the team's coach. He had been an assistant coach to the 1943 team.^[2]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, North Carolina Pre-Flight ranked 43rd among the nation's college and service teams and eighth out of 28 United States Navy teams with a rating of 90.4.^[3][4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	at Pacific (CA)	Baxter Stadium Stockton, CA	L 6–14		[5]
October 1	at Fleet City	Forster Field Shoemaker, CA	L 0–12	10,000	[6]
October 14	vs. USC	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	L 0–6	13,000	[7]
October 21	at UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 21–12	20,000	[8]
October 29	No. 11 March Field	Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 0–7		[9]
November 12	vs. Alameda Coast Guard	Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 32–13	25,000	[10]
November 19	Fleet City	Moraga, CA	W 3–0	3,000	[11][12]
November 25	at California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 33–6	20,000	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	19

References

1. "1944 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
2. "Lt. Sikes Named St. Mary's Coach". The Greenville (SC) News. August 6, 1944. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
3. 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 .
4. 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 .
5. "Stagg's Eleven Upsets Fliers". The Des Moines Register. September 24, 1944. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Fleet City Rallies To Beat Pre-Flight Eleven, 12-0". Oakland Tribune. October 2, 1944. p. 8.
7. "Trojans Triumph Over St. Mary's Pre Flight In Tight Battle, 6 to 0". The Fresno Bee. October 15, 1944. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
8. Al Wolf (October 22, 1944). "St. Mary's Preflights Jolt Bruins, 21 to 12: Davis Gallops Over Uclans". Los Angeles Times. pp. II-5, II-6.
9. "Flyers Bump Air Devils". Los Angeles Times. October 30, 1944. p. II-7 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Airdevils Slap Alameda, 32-13". The Des Moines Register. November 13, 1944. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Pre-Flight Wins, 3-0: Sanford Boots 14 Yard Field Goal". San Francisco Examiner. November 20, 1944. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Airdevils Add New Threat for Cal". Oakland Tribune. November 20, 1944. p. 14C – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Bears Lose 6th Straight Clash, 33-6". Oakland Tribune. November 26, 1944. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.