1944 College Football All-America Team

The 1944 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1944. The nine selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1944 season are (1) Collier's Weekly, as selected by Grantland Rice, (2) the Associated Press, (3) the United Press, (4) the All-America Board, (5) Football News, (6) the International News Service (INS), (7) Look magazine, (8) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) and (9) the Sporting News.

Ohio State quarterback Les Horvath and Navy tackle Don Whitmire were the only players unanimously chosen as first-team player by all of the official selectors. Horvath won the 1944 Heisman Trophy as the Buckeyes turned in a 9–0 record and finished second in the national polls. Whitmire later served in Vietnam and held the rank of rear admiral.

Georgia Tech end Phil Tinsley received first-team honors from eight of the nine official selectors, and Army backfield duo of Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard each received seven first-team honors.

Consensus All-Americans

For the year 1944, the NCAA recognizes nine published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.

Name	Position	School	Number	Official selectors	Other selectors
Don Whitmire	Tackle	Navy	9/9	AAB, AP, COL, FN, INS, LK, NEA, SN, UP	CP, FWAA, WC
Les Horvath	Quarterback	Ohio State	9/9	AAB, AP, COL, FN, INS, LK, NEA, SN, UP	CP, FWAA, WC
Phil Tinsley	End	Georgia Tech	8/9	AAB, AP, COL, FN, INS, LK, NEA, SN	CP, WC
Glenn Davis	Halfback	Army	7/9	AAB, AP, FN, INS, NEA, SN, UP	CP, FWAA, WC
Creighton Miller	Halfback	Notre Dame	7/9	AAB, AP, COL, FN, INS, SN, UP	--
Doc Blanchard	Fullback	Army	7/9	AAB, AP, FN, INS, LK, SN, UP	CP, FWAA, WC
John Ferraro	Tackle	USC	6/9	AAB, AP, COL, FN, INS, NEA	CP, FWAA, WC
Ben Chase	Guard	Navy	5/9	AAB, FN, INS, SN, UP	CP, WC
Paul Walker	End	Yale	4/9	COL, FN, LK, NEA	CP, FWAA
Bill Hackett	Guard	Ohio State	4/9	AAB, AP, COL, FN	CP, FWAA, WC
John Tavener	Center	Indiana	4/9	UP, FWAA, INS, LK	CP, FWAA
Bob Odell	Halfback	Penn	4/9	AP, CO, INS, LK	NYS
Jack Dugger	End	Ohio State	3/9	INS, SN, UP	FWAA, WC

All-American selections for 1944

Ends

Phil Tinsley, Georgia Tech (AAB; AP-1; COL; FN; FWAA-2; INS-1; LK; NEA; SN; UP-2; CP-1; WC)
Paul Walker, Yale (COL; FN; FWAA-1; INS-2; LK; NEA; UP-2; CP-1)
Jack Dugger, Ohio State (AAB; AP-3; FWAA-1; INS-1; SN; UP-1; CP-2; WC)
Hub Bechtol, Texas (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1)
Henry Walker, Virginia (AP-2)
Leon Bramlett, Navy(AP-2)
Barney Poole, Army (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; UP-1; INS-2; CP-2)
Frank Bauman, Purdue (UP-3; FWAA-2)
Ben Martin, Navy (UP-3)
Art Renner, Michigan (UP-4)

Tackles

Don Whitmire, Navy (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; COL; FN; FWAA-1; INS-1; LK; NEA; SN; UP-1; CP-1; WC)
John Ferraro, USC (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; COL; FN; FWAA-1; INS-1; NEA [g]; UP-2; CP-1; WC)
George Savitsky, Penn (College Football Hall of Fame) (NEA; UP-3)
Bill Willis, Ohio State (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; FWAA-2; INS-2; LK; SN; UP-1)
Milan Lazetich, Michigan (AP-2; FWAA-2; INS-2; UP-3; CP-2)
Monte Moncrief, Texas A&M (AP-3)
Robert McClure, Nevada (AP-3; UP-4)
DeWitt "Tex" Coulter, Army (UP-2)
George Owen, Wake Forest (UP-4)
George Sullivan, Notre Dame (UP-4; CP-2)

Guards

Bill Hackett, Ohio State (AAB; AP-1; COL; FN; FWAA-1; INS-2; UP-2; CP-1; WC)
Ben Chase, Navy (AAB; FN; FWAA-2; INS-1; SN; UP-1; CP-1; WC)
Hamilton Nichols, Rice (AP-1)
Joe Stanowicz, Army (FWAA-1; INS-1; UP-1; CP-2)
Clyde Flowers, TCU (NEA)
John Green, Army (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; COL; INS-2)
Bill Hachten, California (AP-2; UP-4; LK)
Ralph Serpico, Illinois (AP-3; SN; UP-3; FWAA-2)
Bob Dobelstein, Tennessee (AP-3)
Pat Filley, Notre Dame (UP-2)
Ellis Jones, Tulsa (UP-3; CP-2; LK)
Ernie Knotts, Duke (UP-4)

Centers

John Tavener, Indiana (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-1; FWAA-1; INS-1; LK; CP-1)
Caleb Warrington, Auburn (AAB; AP-1; COL; FWAA-2; INS-2; NEA; SN; UP-3; WC)
Felto Prewitt, Tulsa (AP-2; FN)
Robert St. Onge, Army (AP-3)
John T. Martin, Navy (UP-2)
Gordon Appleby, Ohio State (UP-4)
Gordon Berlin, Washington (CP-2)

Quarterbacks

Les Horvath, Ohio State (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; COL [fb]; FN; FWAA-1; INS-1; LK; NEA; SN; UP-1; CP-1; WC)
Buddy Young, Illinois (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; UP-2; INS-2; CP-2; LK)
Doug Kenna, Army (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-3; COL; CP-2)
Jim Hardy, USC (UP-4; FWAA-2)
Frank Broyles, Georgia Tech (FWAA-2)

Halfbacks

Glenn Davis, Army (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; FN; FWAA-1; INS-1; NEA; SN; UP-1; CP-1; WC)
Creighton Miller, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (CO-1; FN; INS-1; SN)
Bob Odell, Penn (College Football Hall of Fame) (CO-1; INS-1; LK; NYS-1)
Bob Jenkins, Navy (AAB; AP-2; COL; FWAA-2; INS-2; NEA; SN; UP-1; WC)
Bob Fenimore, Oklahoma A&M (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; COL; FN; FWAA-1; INS-2; NEA; UP-3; CP-2)
Jug Girard, Wisconsin (LK)
Bob Kelly, Notre Dame (AP-3; UP-2; INS-2)
Shorty McWilliams, Mississippi State (AP-2; UP-2)
Thomas Davis, Duke (AP-3; UP-4; CP-2)
Harold Hamburg, Navy (AP-3; UP-3)
Clyde Scott, Navy (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-4)

Fullbacks

Doc Blanchard, Army (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; FN; FWAA-1; INS-1; LK; SN; UP-1; CP-1; WC)
Babe Dimancheff, Purdue (AP-2; UP-2; FWAA-2; INS-1; CP-1)
Bob Wiese, Michigan/Navy (UP-3)
Gordon Gray, USC (AP-3; UP-4)

Key

Bold = Consensus All-American^[1]

-1 – First-team selection
-2 – Second-team selection
-3 – Third-team selection

Official selectors

AAB = All-America Board^[2]
AP = Associated Press^[3]
COL = Collier's Weekly: "chosen by Grantland Rice and 10 veteran football writers from all sections of the country"^[4]
FN = Football News^[2]
INS = International News Service^[5]
LK = Look magazine, selected by NBC sports reporter and commentator Bill Stern^[6]
NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association: "It still is the duty of every football writer, it seems, to pick an All-America team. Selecting one has become a futility that even a World War can't stop. So without further ado and with no apologies, here we go again."^[7]
SN = Sporting News^[2]
UP = United Press: "selected for the United Press ... by sports editors and writers from all over the country"^[8]

Other selectors

CP = Central Press Association: "Mighty Army, Navy, and Ohio State dominated the 1944 Central Press Captains' All-American team, picked for the 14th straight season with the help of the nation's football captains. As in the past two years, service players are not included in the selections."^[9]^[10]^[11]
FWAA = Football Writers Association of America^[12]
WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation^[13]

References

^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1196. ISBN 1401337031.
^ Orlo Robertson (December 8, 1944). "Army, Ohio State Land 2 Players On AP All-American '44 Grid Team". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune.
^ "Colliers All-American Includes 4 Army Men". Long Beach Independent. December 8, 1944.
^ "INS Selects All-American". Chester Times. December 2, 1944.
^ Hal Sayles (November 30, 1944). "Speaking of Sports". Abilene Reporter-News.
^ Red Grange (December 1944). "Navy Wins Two Places On NEA All-American Eleven; Davis, Jenkins, Fenimore And Horvath Are Backs". The News. Frederick, MD.
^ Leo H. Petersen (November 30, 1944). "1944 All-American Squad Announced: Bob McCIure Of Nevada U. Rated On UP Fourth Team". Nevada State Journal.
^ Walter L. Johns (December 4, 1944). "Army, Navy, Ohio State Dominate Central Press All-American Team". Wisconsin State Journal.
^ "Central Press All-American". New Castle News. December 1, 1944.
^ Central Press, "Central Press, 1944 All-American," The Deseret News, p. 14 (December 7, 1944). Retrieved October 3, 2014.
^ "FWAA All America" (PDF). Football Writers Association of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
^ "Walter Camp Football Foundation". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009.

[1] "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.

[ESPN-2] ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1196. ISBN 1401337031.

[3] Orlo Robertson (December 8, 1944). "Army, Ohio State Land 2 Players On AP All-American '44 Grid Team". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune.

[4] "Colliers All-American Includes 4 Army Men". Long Beach Independent. December 8, 1944.

[5] "INS Selects All-American". Chester Times. December 2, 1944.

[6] Hal Sayles (November 30, 1944). "Speaking of Sports". Abilene Reporter-News.

[7] Red Grange (December 1944). "Navy Wins Two Places On NEA All-American Eleven; Davis, Jenkins, Fenimore And Horvath Are Backs". The News. Frederick, MD.

[8] Leo H. Petersen (November 30, 1944). "1944 All-American Squad Announced: Bob McCIure Of Nevada U. Rated On UP Fourth Team". Nevada State Journal.

[9] Walter L. Johns (December 4, 1944). "Army, Navy, Ohio State Dominate Central Press All-American Team". Wisconsin State Journal.

[10] "Central Press All-American". New Castle News. December 1, 1944.

[11] Central Press, "Central Press, 1944 All-American," The Deseret News, p. 14 (December 7, 1944). Retrieved October 3, 2014.

[12] "FWAA All America" (PDF). Football Writers Association of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2009.

[13] "Walter Camp Football Foundation". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009.

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v t e 1944 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
Backfield	QB Les Horvath HB Glenn Davis HB Bob Jenkins FB Doc Blanchard
Line	E Jack Dugger E Phil Tinsley E Paul Walker T John Ferraro T Don Whitmire G Ben Chase G Bill Hackett C John Tavener