1944 San Francisco Coast Guard Pilots football team

The 1944 San Francisco Coast Guard Pilots football team was an American football team that represented the United States Coast Guard's Bay and Powell Receiving Station during the 1944 college football season.^[1] The team compiled a 4–2–1 record.

1944 San Francisco Coast Guard Pilots football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–2–1
Head coach	Al Tassi & Bill Howard
Seasons

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 team was newly organized in 1944 by Lt. Comdr. W. H. Maybaum at the request of a number of men who had returned from the Pacific battle area. Maybaum noted that 75% of the 40 men on the team had seem more than a year overseas.^[2]

With the San Francisco Dons football program idle due to the war, the Pilots used the Dons' uniforms and its coaches, Al Tassi and Bill Howard.^[3] Emlen Tunnell, later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played for the team. Walter Heap, who played quarterback for the Los Angeles Dons after the war, also played for the 1944 Pilots.^[2]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, San Francisco Coast Guard ranked 95th among the nation's college and service teams and fourth of out six United States Coast Guard teams with a rating of 74.1.^[4][5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	at Cal Ramblers	Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 33–6		[6]
October 14	at Fleet City	Forster Field Shoemaker, CA	L 6–27	10,000	[7]
October 22	at Fairfield-Suisun AAB	Corbus Field Vallejo, CA	W 40–6	4,000	[8]
October 28	at Camp Beale	Marysville, CA	W 25–6		[9]
November 5	Klamath Falls Marine Barracks	Modoc Field Klamath Falls, OR	T 6–6	2,500	[10][11]
November 11	at Pacific (CA)	Baxter Stadium Stockton, CA	W 13–0	1,500	[12]
November 25	vs. No. 16 El Toro Marines	Santa Barbara, CA	L 0–60		[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. Harry Borba (November 18, 1944). "Side Lines". San Francisco Examiner. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Grid Coaches Seem Confident". Oakland Tribune. September 12, 1944. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Coast Guard Will Use Don Coaches, Uniforms". San Francisco Examiner. September 12, 1944. p. 16 – 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. "Pilots Rout Ramblers". San Francisco Examiner. October 1, 1944. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Fleet City Beats Guard Pilots, 27-6". Oakland Tribune. October 15, 1944. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Pilots Bomb Rivals, 40-6". San Francisco Examiner. October 23, 1944. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Beale Defeated By Coast Guard". Appeal-Democrat. October 30, 1944. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Paul Haines (November 6, 1944). "Marine Eleven Sloughs Through Mud to 6-6 Tie with Coast Guard Pilots". Herald and News. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Leathernecks Underdogs For Grid Tilt Saturday: Coast Guard Pilots Boast Impressive Record With Wins Over Strong Teams". Herald and News. October 31, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Harry Borba (November 13, 1944). "Tunnell Paces Pilots to 13-0 Win Over Pacific". San Francisco Examiner. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "El Toro Clouts Pilots, 60-0". Los Angeles Times. November 26, 1944. p. II-6 – via Newspapers.com.