1944 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1944 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska and member of the Big 6 Conference
in the 1944 college football season
. The team was coached by Adolph J. Lewandowski
and played their home games at Memorial Stadium
in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
was dragging on, with the United States now in its third year since being drawn into the conflict. College sports programs across the nation were shorthanded with so many young men enlisting into the armed forces, while all of the "service teams" that had entered the college football landscape, fielded by the branches of the armed forces, had the advantage of adding former players to their rosters. This gave the service teams the ability to concentrate the best former players into their programs, and at the end of 1944, service teams made up half of all of the ranked teams. It was in this environment of upheaval and disparity that a struggling Nebraska football team that had never previously suffered consecutive losing seasons was now returning from three losing campaigns in a row. Head coach Lewandowski was back for his second year, while also serving as Nebraska's athletic director, to see if he could reverse the fortunes of the Cornhusker football squad.
The new season did not start off on a good note, as Nebraska was completely unable to stop the Golden Gophers, who rolled over the Cornhuskers to post 33 unanswered points in the first half. It may have been that Nebraska's halftime adjustments slowed down Minnesota's assault, or perhaps the Gophers simply backed off, but even though Minnesota's scoring slowed in the second half, the Cornhuskers never were able to put up points. For the second year in a row, Minnesota handed Nebraska an opening shutout loss, the 20th Golden Gopher victory over the Cornhuskers and improving in the series to 20–4–2, setting the tone for what looked like might be another year of heartbreak.
Nebraska's only bright spot in this game was a single 55 yard running play in a contest that was otherwise all Indiana. The Hoosiers kept the Cornhuskers off the scoreboard even as they repeated their record-setting 54 points scored on Nebraska, which was the fourth time in two years that the 54 mark was hung on the Cornhuskers and was a repeat of Nebraska's worst-ever defeat, matching the 54–0 shutout handed down by Minnesota last year. With four wins in a row against Nebraska so far, Indiana finally took the series lead between the teams at 4–3–2.
The 1944 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks was a particularly painful and heartbreaking loss. As the Cornhuskers were held scoreless for the third game in a row to open the season, a dubious mark that had never before fallen upon Nebraska, worse still was the end of Nebraska's 27-game undefeated streak against the Jayhawks that began with a 13–3 Nebraska victory in 1917. It was also the first time that Kansas had defeated the Cornhuskers in Lincoln since an 18–4 victory dating all the way back to 1896, making this one of the darkest days in the history of the program. This was the 10th win for the Jayhawks over Nebraska all time, though they still lagged in the series 10–38–3.
The previous loss to Kansas marked one of the lowest points in program history, but Nebraska overcame any discouragement remaining and unexpectedly sprung to life against a heavily-favored Missouri team in front of a small homecoming crowd in Lincoln. Playing somewhat like the Nebraska of old, several big plays went in favor of the Cornhuskers and allowed them to take their first victory of 1944, in what would be the brightest spot of the season. As Nebraska improved in the series to 24–11–3, the Missouri-Nebraska Bell should have been returned to Lincoln after its three-year stint in Columbia. However, amidst the weariness of the war overhanging the nation, the trading of the bell to the winner of this series was overlooked, and the bell passed for a short time into forgotten history.
Nebraska was unable to score in this contest until within the final five minutes, as another loss was added to the 1944 record. Adding insult to injury was that one of the scores tallied against the Cornhuskers was put over by a former Nebraska player now on the Iowa roster. Though they avoided the shutout, the Cornhuskers gave up what would be Iowa's 10th win in the series, allowing them to chip away at Nebraska's 20–10–3 series lead.
The Cornhuskers were having enough trouble trying to remain competitive, but entered this game with three starters out with injuries, and then lost another in the first quarter of this game. Unsurprisingly, with the odds stacked against them, the day ended with another Nebraska loss as the Cyclones added another win to their 7–31–1 series record.
If fortunes for Nebraska were down, then certainly it was telling about the Kansas State program that the Wildcats could allow the Cornhuskers to hang a 35–0 shutout defeat on them. It was the most points scored by Nebraska since a 53–2 defeat of Kansas in 1940, and the win helped the struggling Cornhuskers improve to 23–4–2, to stay well ahead of Kansas State in the series.
Coach Lewandowski, in his role as athletic director, decided that change was needed in the program, and swept the entire coaching staff out of the program, including himself. Brought aboard following 1944 was storied football coach George Clark
, a player for two colleges and then two military teams prior to starting his coaching career in 1916. Clark had also served in both world wars, and his appointment at Nebraska followed his return home to the United States.
To his credit, Coach Lewandowski's leadership allowed Nebraska football to continue uninterrupted through World War II
even as numerous other schools suspended their programs for a time. With limited resources, sparse rosters, through rationing and travel restrictions, his guidance kept the program's continuous history intact.
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
in the 1944 college football season
1944 college football season
The 1944 college football season was played during the Second World War. The football team of the United States Military Academy, more popularly known as Army, was crowned as the nation’s #1 team by 95 of the 121 writers who participated in the AP poll...
. The team was coached by Adolph J. Lewandowski
Adolph J. Lewandowski
Adolph J. "A. J." "Lew" Lewandowski was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1943 to 1944, compiling a record of 4–12...
and played their home games at Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team....
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
Before the season
World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was dragging on, with the United States now in its third year since being drawn into the conflict. College sports programs across the nation were shorthanded with so many young men enlisting into the armed forces, while all of the "service teams" that had entered the college football landscape, fielded by the branches of the armed forces, had the advantage of adding former players to their rosters. This gave the service teams the ability to concentrate the best former players into their programs, and at the end of 1944, service teams made up half of all of the ranked teams. It was in this environment of upheaval and disparity that a struggling Nebraska football team that had never previously suffered consecutive losing seasons was now returning from three losing campaigns in a row. Head coach Lewandowski was back for his second year, while also serving as Nebraska's athletic director, to see if he could reverse the fortunes of the Cornhusker football squad.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank# | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30* | at Minnesota | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (University of Minnesota) Memorial Stadium, also known as the "Brick House," was an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team for 58 seasons, from 1924 until 1981. Before moving to Memorial Stadium in 1924, the Gophers... • Minneapolis, Minnesota |
L 0–39 | 21,876 | |
| October 14* | at #19 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Indiana University old) Memorial Stadium was a stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. It was primarily used for college football, and was the home field of the Indiana University football team between 1925 and 1959, prior to the opening of the new Memorial Stadium. The stadium held 20,000 people and was built in 1925. The... • Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census.... |
L 0–54 | ||
| October 21 | at | Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County... |
L 0–20 | ||
| October 28† | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium, Lincoln Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.... • Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379.... |
W 24–20 | 8,000 | ||
| November 4* | at | Iowa Stadium Kinnick Stadium Kinnick Stadium, formerly known as Iowa Stadium, and known in the area simply as Kinnick, is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, in the sport of college football... • Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa... |
L 6–27 | ||
| November 11 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska | L 6–19 | |||
| November 25 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 35–0 | |||
| December 2 | vs. Oklahoma | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma... |
L 12–31 | ||
| *Non-Conference Game †Homecoming #Rankings from AP | |||||
Roster
Berkey, Duane C Berquist, William G Betz, Bill #13 HB Bryant, Jack #34 HB Buckley, Winton #67 HB Burroughs, Bob QB Colerick, Lyle #19 E Collopy, Frank FB Dedrick, Jack QB Denker, Bill PLAYER Dermann, Kenneth G Doyle, Keith C Ebers, Merle C Fish, Wayne #33 PLAYER Fowler, Dave QB Gissler, Bert #10 E Gradoville, Edward #26 HB Grundman, Allen G Hazard, Frank G Hollins, Kenneth FB Hoover, John E Johnson, John T Kasdan, Bernie G Kenyon, Francis FB Kessler, Joe #12 QB Knight, Charles #15 HB Koch, Dick HB Koenig, Robert E Kops, Lyle T Kovanda, Keith T |
Lamberty, Dick HB Legino, Ed PLAYER Lorenz, Fred T Lowry, Bob T Major, Ralph #17 E Martz, Stanley G Mauser, Murl HB McDowell, Ben E Megill, Larry PLAYER Mountford, Roger #39 FB Nelson, Douglas HB Ostenberg, Clyde C Pegler, Don G Perdew, Bill HB Peterson, Charles T Pollat, Bruce T Price, Bernard G Robb, Owen PLAYER Schleiger, Robert E Scoville, Bob E Selzer, John #29 HB Smallfoot, Bob PLAYER Stein, Ken PLAYER Stevenson, John G Stoetzel, Pete G Strahan, Jim #27 HB Strickland, Ed T Tyson, Ben C Wolf, Dean PLAYER Yanney, Jim PLAYER |
|||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska | Alma Mater |
| Adolph J. Lewandowski Adolph J. Lewandowski Adolph J. "A. J." "Lew" Lewandowski was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1943 to 1944, compiling a record of 4–12... |
|Head Coach | 1943 | 1937–1944 | Nebraska |
| Charles Armstrong | | | 1937 | 1937–1942, 1944 | |
| Arthur Sprague | | | 1943 | 1943–1944 | |
| Jerry Adam | | | 1944 | 1944 |
Minnesota
|
The new season did not start off on a good note, as Nebraska was completely unable to stop the Golden Gophers, who rolled over the Cornhuskers to post 33 unanswered points in the first half. It may have been that Nebraska's halftime adjustments slowed down Minnesota's assault, or perhaps the Gophers simply backed off, but even though Minnesota's scoring slowed in the second half, the Cornhuskers never were able to put up points. For the second year in a row, Minnesota handed Nebraska an opening shutout loss, the 20th Golden Gopher victory over the Cornhuskers and improving in the series to 20–4–2, setting the tone for what looked like might be another year of heartbreak.
Indiana
|
Nebraska's only bright spot in this game was a single 55 yard running play in a contest that was otherwise all Indiana. The Hoosiers kept the Cornhuskers off the scoreboard even as they repeated their record-setting 54 points scored on Nebraska, which was the fourth time in two years that the 54 mark was hung on the Cornhuskers and was a repeat of Nebraska's worst-ever defeat, matching the 54–0 shutout handed down by Minnesota last year. With four wins in a row against Nebraska so far, Indiana finally took the series lead between the teams at 4–3–2.
Kansas
|
The 1944 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks was a particularly painful and heartbreaking loss. As the Cornhuskers were held scoreless for the third game in a row to open the season, a dubious mark that had never before fallen upon Nebraska, worse still was the end of Nebraska's 27-game undefeated streak against the Jayhawks that began with a 13–3 Nebraska victory in 1917. It was also the first time that Kansas had defeated the Cornhuskers in Lincoln since an 18–4 victory dating all the way back to 1896, making this one of the darkest days in the history of the program. This was the 10th win for the Jayhawks over Nebraska all time, though they still lagged in the series 10–38–3.
Missouri
|
The previous loss to Kansas marked one of the lowest points in program history, but Nebraska overcame any discouragement remaining and unexpectedly sprung to life against a heavily-favored Missouri team in front of a small homecoming crowd in Lincoln. Playing somewhat like the Nebraska of old, several big plays went in favor of the Cornhuskers and allowed them to take their first victory of 1944, in what would be the brightest spot of the season. As Nebraska improved in the series to 24–11–3, the Missouri-Nebraska Bell should have been returned to Lincoln after its three-year stint in Columbia. However, amidst the weariness of the war overhanging the nation, the trading of the bell to the winner of this series was overlooked, and the bell passed for a short time into forgotten history.
Iowa
|
Nebraska was unable to score in this contest until within the final five minutes, as another loss was added to the 1944 record. Adding insult to injury was that one of the scores tallied against the Cornhuskers was put over by a former Nebraska player now on the Iowa roster. Though they avoided the shutout, the Cornhuskers gave up what would be Iowa's 10th win in the series, allowing them to chip away at Nebraska's 20–10–3 series lead.
Iowa State
|
The Cornhuskers were having enough trouble trying to remain competitive, but entered this game with three starters out with injuries, and then lost another in the first quarter of this game. Unsurprisingly, with the odds stacked against them, the day ended with another Nebraska loss as the Cyclones added another win to their 7–31–1 series record.
Kansas State
|
If fortunes for Nebraska were down, then certainly it was telling about the Kansas State program that the Wildcats could allow the Cornhuskers to hang a 35–0 shutout defeat on them. It was the most points scored by Nebraska since a 53–2 defeat of Kansas in 1940, and the win helped the struggling Cornhuskers improve to 23–4–2, to stay well ahead of Kansas State in the series.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma launched into a strong 25–0 lead by the half to put the game essentially out of reach, but Nebraska made a respectable effort in the final quarter by outscoring the Sooners 12–6. Oklahoma's victory was their second in a row over Nebraska, which moved them forward slightly in the series to 5–16–3.After the season
Nebraska continued to fall into a tailspin, with each year seeming no better, and sometimes worse, than the last. The Cornhuskers had now strung together four straight losing seasons, a bleak picture for a program not used to having even one occasional isolated losing campaign. Coach Lewandowski repeated his 1943 overall and league records in 1944, bringing his overall Nebraska career total to just 4–12–0 (.250), with a slightly better Big 6 total of 4–6–0 (.400). Nebraska's overall program now stood at 305–122–31 (.700) with a conference record of 111–25–11 (.793).Coach Lewandowski, in his role as athletic director, decided that change was needed in the program, and swept the entire coaching staff out of the program, including himself. Brought aboard following 1944 was storied football coach George Clark
George Clark (American football coach)
-External links:...
, a player for two colleges and then two military teams prior to starting his coaching career in 1916. Clark had also served in both world wars, and his appointment at Nebraska followed his return home to the United States.
To his credit, Coach Lewandowski's leadership allowed Nebraska football to continue uninterrupted through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
even as numerous other schools suspended their programs for a time. With limited resources, sparse rosters, through rationing and travel restrictions, his guidance kept the program's continuous history intact.