Military football thrived, vanished
The final 1943 Associated Press college football poll had a lot of familiar names: Notre Dame, Michigan, Washington and Texas were all ranked in the Top 20.
But among the top 10 were some teams you won’t find in this season’s poll: No. 2, Iowa Pre- Flight; No. 6, Great Lakes Navy; No. 8, Del Monte Pre- Flight; and No. 10, March Field.
The world of college football was transformed for a few years during World War II, when military training camps fielded their own teams, and they competed with college football’s best.
The service teams had the advantage of older players, some of them former professionals, who were preparing for military service.
Dick Todd, 29, Iowa PreFlight’s fullback, had already played four seasons with
the Washington Redskins, the team he would rejoin for four more years after the war. Perry Schwartz was an end with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NFL. There were Bears, Rams and Giants alumni as well.
College teams were often short- handed, having lost players to the armed forces. Many dropped football altogether. The shortage allowed freshmen to play temporarily for the varsity.
Iowa Pre- Flight was based
at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City. But the team was distinct from the university’s Hawkeyes.
The Seahawks, as the Iowa Pre- Flight squad was known, were mostly a traveling team in 1943, playing two home games at what is now Kinnick Stadium).
The team was coached by former Missouri coach Don Faurot, originator of the Split- T formation, then a lieutenant. Bud Wilkinson, who became a coaching legend at Oklahoma, was his assistant.
The Seahawks were involved in the biggest game of 1943, a battle of unbeatens with Notre Dame. Both were
8- 0, although Notre Dame had played a tougher schedule that included victories over Michigan and strong Army and Navy squads.
The Seahawks were hampered by some injuries and by the last- minute transfer of six players to other bases.
The game was played on Nov. 21, 1943. U. S. forces had just invaded Tarawa, an atoll in the Pacific. British troops had captured the town of Archi, in Abruzzo, Italy. The Germans and Russians were battling in the Kiev bulge. And the biggest football game of the year was played in South Bend, Ind.
Anticipation was high. Notre Dame had Johnny Lujack at quarterback who, after a stint in the Navy, would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in
1947 and play for the Bears. He was replacing Angelo Bertelli, who would win the Heisman later that year despite an abbreviated season. Bertelli had been called up to the Marines after Notre Dame’s first six games and eventually fought on Iwo Jima.
The betting line — even war doesn’t stop gamblers — was Notre Dame by 20 points
“Whether a top- flight college football team is in the same class with a crack professional club long has been a hypothetical puzzler,” The New York Times mused before the game.
In those days, the college game was more popular than the fledgling NFL, and many stars did not even bother to go pro. The game between Iowa Pre- Flight and Notre Dame was
going to answer that question.
To the surprise of the 45,000 people in attendance, Notre Dame fell behind, 13- 7. Only a late 6- yard touchdown by running back Creighton Miller, who led the nation in rushing that year, gave Notre Dame a 14- 13 victory.
“Any doubts as to the majestic stature of the Notre Dame football team of 1943 melted today in the crucible of one of the great gridiron games of this or any other season,” The Times concluded.
The victory seemed to seal Notre Dame’s status as the nation’s best team, college or otherwise. But the Irish were upset in their final game, 19- 14, by another service team, the Great Lakes Bluejackets, based near Chicago.