| 1944 Boston Yanks season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ted Collins |
| Head coach | Herb Kopf |
| Home stadium | Fenway Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–8 |
| Division place | 4th NFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The 1944 Boston Yanks season was its inaugural season in the National Football League. The team won two games [1] and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. By agreement of league owners, the new Yanks franchise received the first pick of the first round and then dropped to 11th in the order of draft selection, making their next choice at 27. [2]
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. [3] 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.
Boston's top draft pick, Heisman Trophy-winning Notre Dame quarterback Angelo Bertelli, had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1943 and never played in the NFL, instead making his professional debut with the Los Angeles Dons of the rival All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946.
The complete list of players drafted by the Boston Yanks in 1944 follows. [4] Due to the demands of World War II, none of these players actually played for the Yanks during the 1944 season.
| 1944 Boston Yanks draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Angelo Bertelli | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Played in AAFC in 1946 |
| 3 | 27 | Babe Dimancheff | Halfback | Purdue | Played with Yanks in 1945 |
| 5 | 43 | Larry Rice | Center | Tulane | |
| 6 | 54 | John "Butch" Parker | Tackle | Loyola (CA) | |
| 7 | 65 | Mike Andrews | End | NC State | |
| 8 | 76 | Bob Musick | Back | USC | |
| 9 | 87 | Caleb "Tex" Warrington | Guard | Auburn | Played in AAFC in 1946 |
| 10 | 98 | Angelo Sisti | Tackle | Boston College | |
| 11 | 109 | Gene Long | Guard | Kansas | |
| 12 | 120 | Ed Fiorentino | End | Brown | Played with Yanks in 1947 |
| 13 | 131 | Mike Zeleznak | Back | Kansas State | |
| 14 | 142 | John Maskas | Guard | VPI | |
| 15 | 153 | John Bond | Back | TCU | |
| 16 | 164 | Roger Antaya | Guard | Dartmouth | |
| 17 | 175 | Marshall Shurnas | End | Missouri | Played in AAFC in 1947 |
| 18 | 186 | Reldon Bennett | Tackle | LSU | |
| 19 | 197 | Art Faircloth | Back | Guilford | Played in NFL in 1947 |
| 20 | 208 | Tony Bilotti | Guard | Saint Mary's (CA) | |
| 21 | 219 | Bill Furman | Tackle | Washington & Lee | |
| 22 | 230 | Clare Morford | Guard | Oklahoma | |
| 23 | 241 | Dilton Richmond | End | LSU | |
| 24 | 252 | Courtney Lawlor | Back | Richmond | |
| 25 | 263 | Howard Debus | Back | Nebraska | |
| 26 | 274 | Bill Portwood | End | Kentucky | |
| 27 | 285 | Harold Collins | Guard | Southwestern (TX) | |
| 28 | 296 | Aubrey Gill | Center | Texas | |
| 29 | 307 | Chet Wasilewski | Back | Holy Cross | |
| 30 | 318 | Gus Letchas | Back | Georgia | |
| 31 | 324 | Ralph Calcagni | Tackle | Penn | Played with Yanks in 1946 |
| 32 | 330 | Walton Roberts | Back | Texas | |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 26 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–28 | 0–1 | Fenway Park | ||||
| — | Bye | ||||||||
| 2 | October 8 | New York Giants | L 10–22 | 0–2 | Fenway Park | ||||
| 3 | October 15 | Washington Redskins | L 14–21 | 0–3 | Fenway Park | ||||
| 4 | October 22 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 0–38 | 0–4 | Shibe Park | ||||
| 5 | October 29 | at Brooklyn Tigers | W 17–14 | 1–4 | Ebbets Field | ||||
| 6 | November 5 | at New York Giants | L 0–31 | 1–5 | Polo Grounds | ||||
| 7 | November 12 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–21 | 1–6 | Wrigley Field | ||||
| 8 | November 19 | Brooklyn Tigers | W 13–6 | 2–6 | Fenway Park | ||||
| 9 | November 26 | at Washington Redskins | L 7–14 | 2–7 | Griffith Stadium | ||||
| 10 | December 3 | at Detroit Lions | L 7–38 | 2–8 | Briggs Stadium | ||||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
| 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 | |
The NFL used an active roster of just 28 players during the wartime seasons of 1943 and 1944. According to the league's preseason guidebook, [5] the 1944 roster for the Boston Yanks consisted of the following:
Quarterbacks
Halfbacks
Fullbacks
| Ends
Tackles
| Guards
Centers
|