1945 Third Air Force Gremlins football team

The 1945 Third Air Force Gremlins football team represented the Third Air Force based in Tampa, Florida during the 1945 college football season. The Gremlins competed in the Army Air Forces League (AAF League) with six others teams from the United States Army Air Forces. Led by second-year head coach J. Quinn Decker, the Gremlins compiled an overall record of 7–2–1 with a mark of 4–1–1 in league play, sharing the AAF League title with Army Air Forces Training Command Skymasters.^[1]

1945 Third Air Force Gremlins football
AAF League co-champion
Conference	Army Air Forces League
Record	7–2–1 (4–1–1 AAF League)
Head coach	J. Quinn Decker (2nd season)
Captain	Chet Lipka
Home stadium	Phillips Field
Seasons ← 1944 1946 →

1945 military service football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Army Air Forces League
Third Air Force +	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
AAF Training Command +	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Fourth Air Force	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
First Air Force	2	–	2	–	2			3	–	2	–	3
Air Transport Command	2	–	3	–	1			6	–	3	–	2
Personnel Distribution Command	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Second Air Force	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Independents
Hutchinson NAS			–					8	–	0	–	0
Fleet City			–					11	–	0	–	1
Corpus Christi NAS			–					7	–	1	–	0
North Camp Hood			–					7	–	1	–	0
Selman Field			–					7	–	1	–	0
Jacksonville NAS			–					9	–	2	–	0
El Toro Marines			–					8	–	2	–	0
Camp Beale			–					6	–	1	–	2
Little Creek			–					7	–	2	–	0
Amarillo AAF			–					3	–	1	–	0
Farragut NTS			–					6	–	2	–	0
South Camp Hood			–					5	–	2	–	0
Santa Barbara Marines			–					7	–	3	–	1
Fort McClellan			–					4	–	2	–	0
San Diego NTS			–					4	–	2	–	0
Eastern Flying Training Command			–					6	–	3	–	1
Atlantic City NAS			–					4	–	2	–	1
Minter Field			–					4	–	2	–	1
Camp Lee			–					7	–	4	–	0
Camp Peary			–					5	–	3	–	0
Olathe NAS			–					3	–	2	–	0
Great Lakes Navy			–					6	–	4	–	1
Hondo AAF			–					6	–	4	–	1
Bainbridge			–					5	–	4	–	0
Fort Benning			–					5	–	4	–	1
Albany Navy			–					3	–	3	–	1
Williams Field			–					4	–	4	–	0
Stockton AAF			–					4	–	5	–	2
Camp Detrick			–					3	–	4	–	0
Kearney AAF			–					3	–	4	–	0
Fort Warren			–					5	–	7	–	0
Bergstrom Field			–					3	–	5	–	1
Barksdale Field			–					4	–	7	–	0
Saint Mary's Pre-Flight			–					2	–	4	–	1
Keesler Field			–					3	–	6	–	1
Camp Blanding			–					1	–	2	–	0
Great Bend AAF			–					2	–	4	–	0
Luke Field			–					1	–	2	–	0
Miami NAS			–					1	–	2	–	0
Fort Pierce			–					4	–	9	–	0
Gulfport AAF			–					2	–	5	–	0
Ellington Field			–					1	–	4	–	1
Miami NTC			–					1	–	3	–	0
Oceana NAS			–					1	–	3	–	0
Fort Riley			–					1	–	4	–	0
Lake Charles AAF			–					1	–	4	–	0
Pensacola NAS			–					2	–	7	–	1
Cherry Point Marines			–					1	–	8	–	0
Dalhart AAF			–					0	–	3	–	0
Homestead AAB			–					0	–	3	–	0
Fort Monroe			–					0	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

The Third Air Force Gremlins ranked 11th among the nation's college and service teams in the final Litkenhous Ratings.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	2:30 p.m.	Personnel Distribution Command	Phillips Field Tampa, FL	W 27–9	12,000	[3][4]
September 30	2:30 p.m.	Miami NTC*	Phillips Field Tampa, FL	W 39–0	9,000	[5][6][7]
October 7	2:30 p.m.	vs. First Air Force	Carolina Stadium Columbia, SC	W 19–0		[8]
October 14		at Cherry Point Marines*	Cherry Point, NC	W 20–0	8,000	[9][10]
October 21		Fort Pierce*	Phillips Field Tampa, FL	L 12–26	9,000	[11][12][13][14][15]
November 4		vs. Second Air Force	DU Stadium Denver, CO	W 33–0	15,000	[16]
November 11		Keesler Field*	Phillips Field Tampa, FL	W 42–0	6,500	[17]
November 18	2:30 p.m.	AAF Training Command	Phillips Field Tampa, FL	T 7–7	10,000	[18][19][20]
November 24	3:00 p.m.	at Air Transport Command	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 15–6	2,800–4,000	[21][22][23][24][25]
December 2	5:00 p.m.	at Fourth Air Force	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 7–10	10,000–12,000	[26][27][28][29]
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

^[30]

References

1. Goodale, George (December 5, 1945). "Who's Kicking Who—Gremlins or Flyers". The Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 15. Retrieved March 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
2. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 19, 1945). "Litkenhouse Rates College, Service Teams of Nation". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 20. Retrieved March 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
3. "Plant, Jesuit Collide Tonight—Grems, Comets Ready". The Tampa Daily Times. Tampa, Florida. September 22, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
4. "12,000 See Grems Trim Comets, 27-9". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. September 24, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "Gremlins Clash With Miami Navy This Afternoon". Tampa Sunday Tribune. Tampa, Florida. September 30, 1945. p. B1. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
6. "Gremlins Will Play Miami Navy This Eleven at Phillips Field (continued)". Tampa Sunday Tribune. Tampa, Florida. September 30, 1945. p. B2. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
7. Norton, Pete (October 1, 1945). "Gremlins Romp To Easy Win, 39-0". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 9. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
8. "Aces, Gremlins Play in Air Force Battle". The State. Columbia, South Carolina. October 7, 1945. p. 3B. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
9. "Gremlins Defeat Marines For Fourth In Row, 20-0". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. October 15, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
10. "Third Air Force Blanks Leathernecks, 20-0". The Austin American. Austin, Texas. Associated Press. October 15, 1945. p. 7. Retrieved March 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
11. "Gremlins Meet Navy Amphibs This Afternoon". Tampa Sunday Tribune. Tampa, Florida. October 21, 1945. p. B1. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
12. "Gremlins Will Meet Navy Amphibs Today At Phillips Field (continued)". Tampa Sunday Tribune. Tampa, Florida. October 21, 1945. p. B2. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
13. Norton, Pete (October 22, 1945). "Navy Amphibs Upset Grems, 26-12". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 9. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
14. Norton, Pete (October 22, 1945). "Navy Amphibs Win Over Gremlins by 26 to 12 Margin (continued)". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 10. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
15. "Gremlins Beaten By Amphibs, 26-12". Fort Myers News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. Associated Press. October 22, 1945. p. 6. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
16. "Grems Crush Superbombers, 33 To 0". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. November 5, 1945. p. 11. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
17. "Gremlins crush Keesler Field, 42–0". The Tampa Tribune. November 12, 1945. Retrieved August 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Gremlins Meet Skymasters In AAF Title Game". Tampa Sunday Tribune. Tampa, Florida. November 18, 1945. p. B1. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
19. Norton, Pete (November 19, 1945). "Gremlins, Skymasters Play 7-7 Tie". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 9. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
20. Norton, Pete (November 19, 1945). "Gremlins, Skymasters Battle to 7-7 Tie Before 10,000 Fans (continued)". Tampa Morning Tribune. Tampa, Florida. p. 10. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
21. Johnson, Raymond (November 24, 1945). "Gremlins Close Season For ATC". The Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
22. Johnson, Raymond (November 24, 1945). "Gremlins Rule Favorites Over Resurgent Rockets Today (continued)". The Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 5. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
23. Johnson, Raymond (November 25, 1945). "Gremlins Exploit Breaks of Game To Whip Rockets 15-6". The Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1C. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
24. Johnson, Raymond (November 25, 1945). "Gremlins Whip Rockets 15 to 6 (continued)". The Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 2C. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
25. Johnson, Raymond (November 26, 1945). "One Man's Opinion: Only 2,800 Cash Fans Saw Gremlins and Rockets—Why?". The Nashville Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 12. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
26. "Gremlins, Flyers Tangle in Coliseum at 2 P.M." Pasadena Star-News and Pasadena Post. Pasadena, California. December 2, 1945. p. 12. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
27. "Gremlins . . . . (continued)". Pasadena Star-News and Pasadena Post. Pasadena, California. December 2, 1945. p. 13. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
28. "Baker's Flyers Upset Gremlins, 10 to 7". Pasadena Star-News and Pasadena Post. Pasadena, California. December 3, 1945. p. 12. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
29. Wolf, Al (December 3, 1945). "Flyers Surprise Gremlin Grids by 10-7 Count". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 8, part II. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
30. "Final Log For Nation's Top Football Teams". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. December 2, 1945. p. 14, part I. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .