The 1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1944 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Henry Frnka, the Golden Hurricane compiled an 8–2 record (0–1 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents) and defeated Georgia Tech in the 1945 Orange Bowl.
| 1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football | |
|---|---|
Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 26–12 vs. Georgia Tech | |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Record | 8–2 (0–1 MVC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Home stadium | Skelly Field |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma A&M $ | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drake | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tulsa was ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll after defeating Texas Tech (34–7) and Ole Miss (47–0), but then lost back-to-back games against Oklahoma State and Iowa Pre-Flight. Later in the season, Tulsa also defeated Arkansas (33–2) and the Miami Hurricanes (48–2).[1]
Center Felto Prewitt was selected as a first-team All-American by Football News,[2] and guard Ellis Jones was selected as a first-team All-American by Look magazine.[3]
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 23 | North Texas Agricultural* | W 47–6 | 12,000 | |||
| October 7 | Kansas* |
| W 27–0 | 12,000 | [4] | |
| October 14 | Texas Tech* | No. 13 |
| W 34–7 | 8,500–9,000 | |
| October 21 | vs. Ole Miss* | No. 13 | W 47–0 | 8,000 | [5] | |
| October 28 | Oklahoma A&M | No. 7 |
| L 40–46 | 12,063 | |
| November 4 | No. 7 Iowa Pre-Flight* |
| L 27–47 | 18,000 | [6] | |
| November 11 | Southwestern (TX)* |
| W 51–6 | 8,000 | ||
| November 23 | Arkansas* |
| W 33–2 | 16,000 | ||
| December 1 | at Miami (FL)* | W 48–2 | 11,234 | |||
| January 1, 1945 | vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech |
| W 26–12 | 29,426 | [7] | |
| ||||||
Rankings
editThe AP released their first rankings on October 9, the Golden Hurricane were ranked 13th.
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 13 | 13 | 7т | — | — | — | — | — | — |
After the season
edit1945 NFL draft
editThe following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 1945 NFL draft following the season.[9][10]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 27 | Clyde Goodnight | End | Green Bay Packers |
| 5 | 34 | Al Kowalski | Back | Brooklyn Tigers |
| 7 | 60 | Glen Burgeis | Tackle | Chicago Bears |
| 8 | 69 | Ellis Jones | Guard | Boston Yanks |
| 8 | 76 | Toby Collins | Tackle | Green Bay Packers |
| 19 | 194 | Clyde LeForce | Quarterback | Detroit Lions |
| 25 | 263 | Nolan Luhn | End | Green Bay Packers |
| 27 | 280 | Dell Taylor | Back | Detroit Lions |
References
edit- ^ "1944 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
- ^ ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1196. ISBN 1401337031.
- ^ Hal Sayles (November 30, 1944). "Speaking of Sports". Abilene Reporter-News.
- ^ Edward D. Burks (October 8, 1944). "Tulsa Hurricane Blasts Kansas, 27 to 0". Tulsa World. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Tulsa 'Bowl' Veterans Smother Ole Miss 47 to 0". Clarion-Ledger. October 22, 1944. p. 12.
- ^ Sec Taylor (November 5, 1944). "Cadets Romp, 47-27". The Des Moines Register. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tulsa batters Georgia Tech's Wrecks, 26–12". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 2, 1945. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. pp. 180–181. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "1945 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
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