World War II Chronicle

World War II Chronicle: February 2, 1942

Chris Carter

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War Department communiques 87 and 88 are on page 4… Sports section begins on page 16… Page three of today’s newspaper mentions that Washington Redskins quarterback Frank Filchock is joining the Navy. Flingin’ Frank was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-round draft pick in 1938, behind future U.S. Supreme Court justice Byron “Whizzer” White, who was Pittsburgh’s first-round pick). In 1939 Filchock set a record that will never be beaten by becoming the first player to throw a 99-yard touchdown pass. The former Indiana Hoosier gets to return to college football when he joins several former NFL players learning to become Naval aviators at Georgia Pre-Flight.

The services had some spectacular sports teams during the war, many of which we will discuss as the war progresses. In 1942, Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers are shut out by LSU 35-0 but they defeated Penn, Duke, Auburn, Tulane, and No. 7 Alabama. The Skycrackers’ skipper was Raymond “Bear” Wolf, who was head football coach at the University of North Carolina before the war. Incidentally, Wolf played in one game for the Cincinnati Reds in 1927.

We don’t yet have roster data for Georgia Pre-Flight’s squad, but we have compiled a list of players on the 1942 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets. Lt. Paul Hinkle‘s club featured last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, more than ten players who played pro football already, and several more athletes drafted by the NFL but joined the Armed Forces instead. This list only counts pro experience before the war; many of these players go on to NFL careers after the war is over.

Ends:

  • Carl “Moose” Mulleneaux (Utah State) — four years with the Green Bay Packers
  • Howard “Red” Hickey (Arkansas) — played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Rams in 1941
  • Fred Preston (Nebraska) 17th-round NFL draft pick in 1942
Belichick as a fullback for Western Reserve. His son Bill has coached the New England Patriots since 2000.

Backs

  • Rudy Mucha (Washington) — one year with the Rams
  • Bruce “Boo” Smith (Minnesota) — 1941 Heisman Trophy winner
  • Pete Kmetovich (Stanford) — drafted in the first round (third overall pick) of 1942 NFL draft
  • Johnny “Bull” Popov (Cincinnati) — two seasons with the AFL’s Cincinnati Bengals
  • Billy DeCorrevont (Northwestern) — 14th-round draft pick in 1942
  • Steve Belichick (Western Reserve) — one year with the Detroit Lions
  • Bob Sweiger (Minnesota) — third-round NFL draft pick in 1942
  • Edward Heffernan — 13th-round NFL draft pick in 1941
  • Hugh McCullough (Oklahoma) — played three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cardinals
  • Herm “Biff” Schneidman (Iowa) — the 30-year-old played six seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Cardinals
  • Paul Anderson (Purdue)
  • Billy Harrell (Alabama)

Tackles:

  • Urban Odson (Minnesota) — first-round draft pick in 1942 (ninth overall)
  • James “Hollywood” Barber (San Francisco) — also 30 years old, played seven seasons for the Boston/Washington Redskins1
  • “Big Jim” Daniell (Ohio State) — 12th round draft pick in 1942

Guards:

  • Bill Radovich (USC) — four years with the Lions
  • Gust Zarnas (Ohio State) — three seasons with the Chicago Bears, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Green Bay Packers 2
  • Vic Marino (Ohio State) — one season with the AFL’s Boston Bears3
  • Don Robesky (Stanford) — 1928 All-American3
  • Len Levy (Minnesota) — fourth-round draft pick in 19423

Center:

  • Bob Nelson (Baylor) — one year with the Lions

Other Bluejackets mentioned in newspaper clippings: Ed Norris; Boyle; Kelly (and/or Kelley); Carey; Brekke; Moeller; Crawford; Marion; Patton; Busler; Buhler; Edson (which may just be a misspelled Odson); Ross; Johnson; Petry

Speaking of Great Lakes football, with college football rosters drained by the first world war, Great Lakes played Mare Island Marines in the 1919 Tournament East-West Football Game (today’s Rose Bowl). The game’s most valuable player was George Halas who caught a touchdown pass and returned an interception 77 yards as Great Lakes defeated the Marines 17-0.

Being taken down just three yards short of the end zone after his interception, “Papa Bear” Halas (yes, the legendary Chicago Bears player/coach/executive/owner) would later instruct his players to dive into the end zone when they were that close.

Coaching Mare Island’s team was William Henry “Lone Star” Dietz, who played with Jim Thorpe on Carlisle Indian Industrial Academy. Another Carlisle veteran, who played with Thorpe on several pro clubs was Joe Guyon whom we discussed last week. One game against Chicago, Guyon — then with the New York Giants — says he noticed that Halas was running him down, presumably trying to take Guyon out. Pretending not to see Halas approaching, he spun around and “nailed him,” breaking three of Halas’ ribs. Halas’ account is that Guyon spun around and kneed him after throwing a pass. It was a different game back then.

Lt. Cmdr. Halas in 1944

One of Halas’ most memorable plays was in a game in 1923 when he hit Jim Thorpe, knocking the ball loose and Halas ran the fumble back for a record 98-yard touchdown, most likely diving into the end zone. Like Thorpe, Halas also played professional baseball, his career spanning 12 games with the Yankees in 1919. Halas played against Tris Speaker, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Walter Johnson (0-5 with two strikeouts). 1919 would be the last year either Halas or Thorpe played baseball.

1: Lined up against future president Gerald Ford in the 1935 East-West Shrine Game
2: Zarnas was born in Ikarus, Greece and is in the National Football Foundation ‘s Hall of Fame
3: Unable to confirm these are the correct players, but fairly confident but there aren’t likely many Marinos, Robeskys, and Levys that played guard, went to Ohio State in Marino’s case (no school data for Robesky and Levy), and joined the Navy around this time

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