1944 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
American college football season
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,[ 2] 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 .[ 2]
Schedule
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:[ 1] [ 7]
Game summaries
October 21: at Maine
New Hampshire at Maine – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Wildcats
0
0
0 6 6
Black Bears
7
6
0 0 13
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
3 4 Total
Panthers
7
0
7 13 27
Wildcats
0
7
0 0 7
at Lewis Field, Durham, New Hampshire
Game information
First quarter
Middlebury – Joe Dineen run (Barrett conversion kick good). Drive: 19 yards.
Second quarter
UNH – Joe Swekla 5-yard run (Bill Black conversion kick good).
Third quarter
Middlebury – George Long 20-yard run (Barrett conversion kick good). Drive: 56 yards.
Fourth quarter
Middlebury – George Long 13-yard run (Barrett conversion kick good). Drive: 45 yards.
Middlebury – Young 1-yard run (conversion failed).
First downs
Panthers – 20
Wildcats – 6
Rushing yards
Panthers – 266
Wildcats – 78
Passing yards (comp–att)
Panthers – 9 (1–2)
Wildcats – 23 (5–10)
Fumbles (total–lost)
Panthers – 8–5
Wildcats – 4–2
Punting average yards
Panthers – 33
Wildcats – 31.5
Yards penalized
Panthers – 50
Wildcats – 10
November 4: at Middlebury
New Hampshire at Middlebury – Game summary
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Wildcats
0
0
0 7 7
Panthers
0
0
14 7 21
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
3 4 Total
Black Bears
0
0
14 0 14
Wildcats
0
6
0 13 19
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
Player
Touchdowns
Conversions
Points
Bill Black
3
3
21
Joe Swekla
2
–
12
Bill Pizzano
1
–
6
Total
6
3
39
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
^ a b c 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.
^ a b c "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.
^ a b c "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 .
^ "UNH Drops Intercollegiate Athletics" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . September 1, 1943. p. 18. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ a b "High School Coach Will Lead Wildcats" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . September 15, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Navy Commissions U. N. H. Grid Coach" . Brattleboro Reformer . Brattleboro, Vermont . April 14, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved November 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ a b "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.
^ "Maine Bears Tip Wildcats by Touchdown" . The Boston Globe . October 22, 1944. p. 26. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ "Middlebury Tames N. H. Wildcats, 27-7" . The Boston Globe . AP . October 29, 1944. p. 22. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Wildcats Still Seek 1st Win" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . November 3, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Middlebury Eleven Belts Wildcats, 21-7" . The Boston Globe . AP . November 5, 1944. p. 28. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Wildcats to Play Maine" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . November 10, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "New Hampshire Rally Edges Maine by 19-14" . Hartford Courant . AP . November 12, 1944. p. 46. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Maine Football Media Guide" (PDF) . University of Maine Athletics. 2019. p. 86. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via goblackbears.com.
^ "New Hampshire vs Middlebury (VT)" . College Football Data Warehouse . Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Wayback Machine .
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "Middlebury Tops UNH 27-7" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . October 30, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ "Panthers Top UNH 21-7" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . November 6, 1944. p. 8. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "Wildcats 19, Maine 14" . The Portsmouth Herald . Portsmouth, New Hampshire . November 14, 1944. p. 6. Retrieved November 28, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ 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.
^ "William P. Pizzano '49" . unhwildcats.com . December 22, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
^ "Hall of Fame" . unhwildcats.com . Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
Further reading
Venues
College Oval ( –1920)
Memorial Field (1921–1935)
Wildcat Stadium (1936–present)
Bowls & rivalries People Seasons