1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football
ConferenceNew England Conference
Record1–3 (1–1 New England)
Head coach
  • Herbert Snow (1st season)
Offensive schemeSingle-wing formation[1]
CaptainClaude Henry[2]
Home stadiumLewis Field
1944 New England Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
New Hampshire + 1 –1 –01 –3 –0
Maine + 1 –1 –02 –2 –0
Connecticut 0 –0 –07 –1 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Head coach Herbert Snow, from the 1934 yearbook of Wellesley High School

The 1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 1944 college football season. The Wildcats were led by first-year head coach Herbert Snow and completed the season with a record of 1–3.[3] The team played its home games at Lewis Field (also known as Lewis Stadium) in Durham, New Hampshire.

Background

New Hampshire had not fielded a team in 1943, due to World War II.[4][3] In mid-September 1944, university administrators approved an "informal" team, limited to four games, with a roster consisting of 17-year-olds and returning veterans.[5] The program's most recent head coach, Charles M. Justice, had entered the Navy in April 1944.[6] Selected as his successor was Herbert Snow, a Springfield College graduate who had been the head coach at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts.[5] The team began practices in early October,[1] with only one player from their 1942 squad—Claude Henry, a reserve back who had returned to the university after serving in the Marine Corps.[1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 21at Maine
L 6–13[7][8]
October 28Middlebury*
L 7–27[9][10]
November 4at Middlebury*
L 7–21[11][12]
November 112:00 p.m.Maine
  • Lewis Field
  • Durham, NH
W 19–141,200[2][13][14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Source: [3][15]

The 1944 games remain the last time that the Middlebury and New Hampshire football programs have met.[16]

Roster

1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football team roster

Centers

Guards

Tackles

  

Ends

Backs

Source:[2][7]

Game summaries

October 21: at Maine

New Hampshire at Maine – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Wildcats 0 0 066
Black Bears 7 6 0013

at Alumni Field, Orono, Maine

Game information
First quarter
  • Maine – John Goff 4-yard run (Johnny Mayo conversion run good). Drive: 40 yards.

Second quarter

  • Maine – Gene Boutillier 43-yard run (conversion pass failed). Drive: 1 play, 48 yards.

Fourth quarter

  • UNH – Bill Pizzano 4-yard run (conversion run failed). Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards.

October 28: vs. Middlebury

Middlebury at New Hampshire – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Panthers 7 0 71327
Wildcats 0 7 007

at Lewis Field, Durham, New Hampshire

Game information

November 4: at Middlebury

New Hampshire at Middlebury – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Wildcats 0 0 077
Panthers 0 0 14721

at Porter Field, Middlebury, Vermont

Game information
Third quarter
  • Middlebury – Ronnie Richards 2-yard fumble recovery (Karambelas conversion kick good).
  • Middlebury – Phil Barrett 3-yard run (Karambelas conversion kick good). Drive: 42 yards.

Fourth quarter

  • UNH – Joe Swekla 3-yard pass from Bill Black (Black conversion kick good). Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards.
  • Middlebury – Karambelas 15-yard run (Karambelas conversion kick good).

November 11: vs. Maine

Maine at New Hampshire – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Black Bears 0 0 14014
Wildcats 0 6 01319

at Lewis Field, Durham, New Hampshire

Game information
Second quarter
  • UNH – touchdown run† (conversion failed).

Third quarter

  • Maine – Don Buckley 25-yard run (Lenny Plavin conversion kick good). Drive: 1 play, 25 yards.
  • Maine – Roy Henderson 6-yard run (Lenny Plavin conversion kick good).

Fourth quarter

  • UNH – Bill Black 6-yard run (Black conversion kick good).
  • UNH – touchdown run† (conversion failed).

† touchdowns by Bill Black and Joe Swekla (order unknown)

Statistics

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total
All opponents 14 6 35 20 75
New Hampshire 0 13 0 26 39

New Hampshire scoring

PlayerTouchdownsConversionsPoints
Bill Black3321
Joe Swekla2–12
Bill Pizzano1–6
Total6339

Honors

Quarterback Bill Pizzano was named to the All-New England Small College Team;[26] he was later inducted to the university's athletic hall of fame, in 2004.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Coach Herb Snow Greets Port City Grid Player Out For UNH Varsity". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 5, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 The Granite. Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire. 1945. pp. 137–138. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019 – via library.unh.edu.
  3. 1 2 3 "New Hampshire Game by Game Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "UNH Drops Intercollegiate Athletics". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. September 1, 1943. p. 18. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "High School Coach Will Lead Wildcats". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. September 15, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Navy Commissions U. N. H. Grid Coach". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, Vermont. April 14, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "UNH Wildcats Play First Grid Game Meeting Maine in Orono This Afternoon". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 21, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Maine Bears Tip Wildcats by Touchdown". The Boston Globe. October 22, 1944. p. 26. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Wildcats to Play Middlebury On Durham Field Tomorrow". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 27, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Middlebury Tames N. H. Wildcats, 27-7". The Boston Globe. AP. October 29, 1944. p. 22. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Wildcats Still Seek 1st Win". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 3, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Middlebury Eleven Belts Wildcats, 21-7". The Boston Globe. AP. November 5, 1944. p. 28. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Wildcats to Play Maine". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 10, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "New Hampshire Rally Edges Maine by 19-14". Hartford Courant. AP. November 12, 1944. p. 46. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Maine Athletics. 2019. p. 86. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via goblackbears.com.
  16. ↑ "New Hampshire vs Middlebury (VT)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ "Wildcats Threaten Maine But Polar Bears Win 13-6". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 23, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Maine Upholds Tradition As Bears Drown Wildcats 13-6". The Maine Campus. Orono, Maine. October 26, 1944. p. 4. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via umaine.edu.
  19. ↑ "Middlebury Tops UNH 27-7". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. October 30, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Middies Defeat New Hampshire Eleven, 27 to 7". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. AP. October 30, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Panthers Top UNH 21-7". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 6, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Panthers Top UNH 21-7 (cont'd)". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 6, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Panthers Again Cage Wildcats, Winning, 21 to 7". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. AP. November 6, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Wildcats 19, Maine 14". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 14, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Skolfield, John (November 16, 1944). "Kenyonites Bow to N.H. In Hard Fought Battle". The Maine Campus. Orono, Maine. p. 4. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via umaine.edu.
  26. ↑ "William P. Pizzano '49". unhwildcats.com. December 22, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Hall of Fame". unhwildcats.com. Retrieved November 28, 2019.

Further reading

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