1944 Brooklyn Tigers season

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.

1944 Brooklyn Tigers season
OwnerDan Topping
General managerTom Gallery
Head coachFrank Bridges, Pete Cawthon, and Ed Kubale
Home fieldEbbets Field
Results
Record0–10
Division place5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Schedule

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

Standings

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NFL Eastern Division
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
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

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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:

Draft

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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

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  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/