1944 Brooklyn Tigers season

1944 Brooklyn Tigers season
Owner	Dan Topping
General manager	Tom Gallery
Head coach	Frank Bridges, Pete Cawthon, and Ed Kubale
Home field	Ebbets Field
Results
Record	0–10
Division place	5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1944 Brooklyn Tigers season was their 15th and final season in the league before merging with the Boston Yanks. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 2–8, losing all ten games.[1] They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season.

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 17	at Green Bay Packers	L 7–14	0–1	Wisconsin State Fair Park	12,994	Recap
2	October 8	at Detroit Lions	L 14–19	0–2	Briggs Stadium	15,702	Recap
3	October 15	New York Giants	L 7–14	0–3	Ebbets Field	24,854	Recap
4	October 22	at Washington Redskins	L 14–17	0–4	Griffith Stadium	35,540	Recap
5	October 29	Boston Yanks	L 14–17	0–5	Ebbets Field	13.237	Recap
6	November 5	Philadelphia Eagles	L 7–21	0–6	Ebbets Field	15,289	Recap
7	November 12	Washington Redskins	L 0–10	0–7	Ebbets Field	20,404	Recap
8	November 19	at Boston Yanks	L 6–13	0–8	Fenway Park	15,666	Recap
9	November 26	at New York Giants	L 0–7	0–9	Polo Grounds	29,387	Recap
10	December 3	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 0–34	0–10	Shibe Park	13,467	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for an exhibition game between the Tigers and an Army service team. Fort Francis D. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, September 10, 1944.

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	8	1	1	.889	6–1–1	206	75	W4
Philadelphia Eagles	7	1	2	.875	6–0–2	267	131	W2
Washington Redskins	6	3	1	.667	4–3–1	169	180	L2
Boston Yanks	2	8	0	.200	2–6	82	233	L2
Brooklyn Tigers	0	10	0	.000	0-8	69	166	L10

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	8	2	0	.800	7–1	238	141	W1
Chicago Bears	6	3	1	.667	4–3–1	258	172	W2
Detroit Lions	6	3	1	.667	4–3–1	216	151	W4
Cleveland Rams	4	6	0	.400	4–4	188	224	L2
Card-Pitt	0	10	0	.000	0–8	108	328	L10

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

The NFL used an active roster of just 28 players during the wartime seasons of 1943 and 1944. According to the league's preseason roster guide,[2] the 28-man roster for the 1944 Brooklyn Tigers consisted of the following:

Quarterbacks • 26 - Bill Brown Halfbacks • 10 - Frank Martin • 11 - Charles "Dub" McGibbony • 12 - Kenny Fryer • 15 - Bill Reynolds • 19 - John McMichael • 27 - Cecil Johnson (halfback) • 30 - Frank "Butch" Sachse • 42 - Ray Hare Fullbacks • 9 - Clarence "Pug" Manders • 32 - Tony Falkenstein

Ends • 22 - Andy Kowalski • 28 - Bob Masterson • 31 - W. S. Lafitte • 34 - Flip McDonald • 35 - Enrico Eguccioni • 55 - Joe Carter Tackles • 25 - Frank "Bruiser" Kinard • 36 - Frank Strom • 38 - George Doherty (Drafted rookie) • 43 - Charlie Ware • 44 - George Sergienko

Guards • 16 - John Ellis • 17 - Tony Leon • 21 - Charles Taylor • 24 - Floyd Rhea Centers • 33 - Vaughn Stewart • 57 - George Smith

Draft

The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. By agreement of league owners, the new Boston Yanks franchise received the first pick of the first round and then were subsequently assigned 11th in the order of draft selection.[3]

Although there were 32 rounds in the 1944 draft, each of the league's 11 teams selected 30 players, for a total of 330 players picked.[4] The five worst-finishing teams of the 1943 season picked alone in rounds 2 and 4, while the five best-finishing teams plus the expansion Yanks picked alone in rounds 31 and 32.

The complete list of players drafted by the Brooklyn Tigers in 1944 follows.[5] Due to the demands of World War II, only one of these players actually played for the Tigers during the 1944 season. Two others played for the merged franchise operating as the Yanks from 1945.

1944 Brooklyn Tigers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	3	Creighton Miller	Back	Notre Dame
2	13	Jim Callahan	Tailback	Texas	Played in NFL in 1946
3	18	Ralph Park	Back	Texas
4	29	Rudy Sikich	Tackle	Minnesota	Played in NFL in 1945
5	34	Verne Ullom	End	Cincinnati
6	45	Bruce McDonald	End	Illinois State
7	56	Bob Graiziger	Guard	Minnesota
8	67	Jack Sachse	Center	Texas	Played for this franchise in 1945
9	78	Mitchell Olenski	Tackle	Alabama	Played in AAFC in 1946
10	89	Aldo Cenci	Back	Penn State
11	100	John Bicanich	Guard	Minnesota
12	111	Jim Tyree	End	Oklahoma
13	122	Jim Wright	Guard	SMU
14	133	John Genis	Tackle	Illinois
15	144	Billy J. Murphy	Back	Mississippi State
16	155	Doug Essick	End	USC
17	166	Howard Maley	Halfback	SMU
18	177	Don Willer	Tackle	USC
19	188	Howard Callanan	Back	USC
20	199	George Doherty	Tackle	Louisiana Tech	Played for Brooklyn in 1944
21	210	Mike Mihalic	Guard	Mississippi State
22	221	Ted Cook	End	Alabama	Played in NFL in 1947
23	232	Bucky Gillenwater	Tackle	Texas
24	243	Jack Baldwin	Center	Centenary	Played in AAFC in 1946
25	254	Dick Manning	Back	USC
26	265	Ray Grierson	End	Illinois
27	276	Joe Golding	Back	Oklahoma	Played for this franchise in 1947
28	287	Bob Zimny	Tackle	Indiana	Played in NFL in 1945
29	298	Marty Frohm	Tackle	Mississippi State
30	309	Howard Blose	Back	Cornell
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

References

1. 1944 Brooklyn Tigers
2. George Strickler (ed.), National Football League 1944 Roster Manual. Chicago: National Football League, 1944; pp. 10–11.
3. George Strickler (ed.), Record and Rules Manual, 1944. Chicago: National Football League, 1944; p. 87.
4. Strickler (ed.), Record and Rules Manual, 1944, pp. 77–87, passim.
5. "1944 Brooklyn Tigers Draftees ," Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com/