1944 Second Air Force Superbombers football team

The 1944 Second Air Force Superbombers football team represented the Second Air Force during the 1944 college football season. The team, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, compiled a 10–4–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 513 to 76, and was ranked No. 20 in the final AP Poll.^[1]

1944 Second Air Force Superbombers football
Treasury Bond Bowl, L 6–13 vs. Randolph Field
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 20
Record	10–4–1
Head coach	Red Reese (2nd season)
Home stadium	Penrose Stadium
Seasons ← 1942 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 team played many of the other leading service teams, losing to Randolph Field (No. 3 in the final AP Poll), Iowa Pre-Flight (No. 6), and Norman NAS (No. 14), and a Third Air Force team led by Charley Trippi. The Superbombers also played to a tie against March Field (No. 10).

Major William B. "Red" Reese, who coached football and basketball at Eastern Washington College before the war, was the team's head coach. Notable players on the 1944 Second Air Force squad included Glenn Dobbs, Bill Sewell, Don Fambrough, Nick Susoeff, Ray Evans, John Harrington, Johnny Strzykalski, and Visco Grgich.^[2]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Second Air Force ranked sixth among the nation's college and service teams and second out of 63 United States Army teams with a rating of 117.9.^[3][4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2		vs. Peru Teachers Navy V-12		City Stadium Sioux City, IA	W 38–0	10,000	[5]
September 8		Colorado College		Penrose Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 24–0	10,000	[2]
September 17		at Idaho Southern Branch		Spud Bowl Pocatello, ID	W 45–0		[6]
September 23	1:30 p.m.	vs. Whitman		Public School Field Boise, ID	W 78–0	7,000	[7][8][9]
September 30		at Colorado		Colorado Stadium Boulder, CO	W 33–6		[10]
October 7		vs. Iowa Pre-Flight		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	L 6–12	29,500	[11]
October 14		vs. New Mexico	No. 15	Kidd Field El Paso, TX	W 89–6	10,000	[12]
October 21		vs. North Texas Agricultural	No. 19	Fly Stadium Odessa, TX	W 68–0	8,000	[13]
October 29	1:30 p.m.	at Norman NAS	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 6–13		[14][15][16]
November 5		Amarillo AAF		Penrose Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 46–6	6,000	[17]
November 12		vs. Fort Warren		Denver, CO	W 20–0		[18]
November 18		vs. Washington		Gonzaga Stadium Spokane, WA	W 47–6	6,592	[19]
November 26		No. 9 March Field	No. 19	Denver, CO	T 0–0	12,000	[20]
December 10		vs. Third Air Force	No. 20	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 7–14	8,000	[21]
December 16		vs. No. 3 Randolph Field	No. 20	Polo Grounds New York, New York (Treasury Bond Bowl)	L 6–13	8,356	[22]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	15т	19 (0.25)	15	—	—	—	19	20	20

References

1. "1944 Second Air Force Superbombers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
2. "Second Grid Victory In Bombers' Bag: Dobbs Dazzles In Servicemen's Triumph". The Lincoln Star. September 9, 1944. p. 8 – 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. "Superbombers Trounce Peru". The Sunday Argus-Leader. September 3, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Superbombers Score 45-0 Win Over Idaho". Eugene Register-Guard. September 18, 1944. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Service Teams Clash in Boise Today". The Idaho Daily Statesman. Boise, Idaho. September 23, 1944. p. 7. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
8. "Second Air Force Superbombers Romp Over Whitman's Missionaries". The Idaho Sunday Statesman. Boise, Idaho. September 24, 1944. p. 9. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
9. "2nd AAF Swamps Whitman, 78-0". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 24, 1944. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Dobbs passed 2nd air force to 33-6 win". Sunday Journal and Star (NE). October 1, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
11. George Mills (October 8, 1944). "Pre-Flights Stop Dobbs, Win, 12 to 6". The Des Moines Register. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Superbombers Roll up 89-6 Win Over Lobos". Clovis News-Journal. October 15, 1944. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "2nd Air Force Coasts, 68 to 0". The Des Moines Register. October 22, 1944. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Zoomers and Army Superbombers Meet This Afternoon". The Norman Transcript. Norman, Oklahoma. October 29, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
15. "Norman Naval Zoomers Defeat Superbombers by 13-6 Count". Salt Lake Telegram. October 30, 1944. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Norman Navy Spills Dobbs' Mates, 13 to 6". The Des Moines Register. October 30, 1946. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Superbombers Smother Sky Giants, 46-6". Amarillo Daily News. November 6, 1944. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Superbomber 20, Fort Warren 0". The Greeley Daily Tribune. November 13, 1933. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Airforce Gridders Rout Huskies". Montana Standard. November 19, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "March Field, Second Air Force Fight to Bruising 0-0 Deadlock". The San Bernardino County Sun. November 27, 1944. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Gremlins Bump Superbombers to Tune of 14-7". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1944. p. II-8 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Ramblers Nip Bombers, 13-6". Los Angeles Times. December 17, 1944. p. II-5, II-6 – via Newspapers.com.