The Story of World War II and Football
The unique, beneficial relationship between American Football and the second World War.
Throughout this period, the Armed Forces and college football gave each other a huge boost and began a symbiotic relationship. The Armed Forces greatly benefited from the leadership of these players as they already maintained the interpersonal skills that are necessary for the relationship between commanding officers and troops. After the war, college football greatly rose up with the reintroduction of these former players back into the game. The era following World War II created the golden era of college football and helped shape the game into what it is today. Together, these two seemingly unalike things created a powerful partnership that aided both to reach new heights.
Beginning in the 19th century, football had begun to take shape in the North American region. This new sport mixed elements of European sports and developed quickly among college campuses, specifically in the Northeast 1 .
At the entry of the United States of America into the war, college football players, including those from the military academies, found themselves being drafted to fight on the European and Pacific fronts. Even some legendary head coaches, like Robert Neyland from the University of Tennessee, entered the war as military personnel 2 .
A picture from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941
At the onset of the United States' introduction to World War II, at the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States government began to prepare for the war against the Axis powers. The United States began placing male college-aged students into college ROTC programs for them to get some military experience 3 .
American soldiers sitting in a Jeep in Townsville, Australia
Through these ROTC programs, during the Second World War over 150,000 ROTC-trained officers helped in the fight against the Axis powers. This massive number truly helped turn the tide of the war and allowed the United States to offer assistance to the European and Pacific fronts.
“Play football. Play it hard and intensively with an even more savage will-to-win than in peacetime. Play service football as much as the military programs of the men under arms will permit.” Lou Little, head coach, Columbia
"What might be the shortest way to win the war?" was the question asked to Lou Little when he offered the quote. Coach Little served in World War I and coached college football for 36 years after his service 4 . He echoed the sentiment held by many former servicemen that had played football, that football players make great soldiers. In 1942, the NCAA began to promote its players for the armed forces by comparing the tradition and sport of college football to war. All of this resulted in thousands of college football players serving in the military and sacrificing their careers for the United States.
One of the coolest amalgamations of the armed forces and college football can be seen in the Army-Navy game that happens every year.
During the 1944 installment of the Army-Navy game, the stakes were higher than they had ever been. Army was the number 1 team in the country, and one more win would have secured them a national championship. Meanwhile, Navy was the number 2 team in the country and was looking to play spoiler to Army's chances. While World War II drug on, this game offered the nation a moment of relief from all the stresses they had dealt with for the past three years 5 .
Army-Navy Game 1944
This game had a massive sell-out crowd of over 66 thousand, a massive crowd that was one of the biggest in history. During the game, the government sold war bonds to increase war funds, and through this, the crowds helped raise over 50 million dollars in War Bonds. Because of the hype for this event, its media coverage helped propel college football back to people's consciences. It only expanded from there and it exploded in popularity as over 5 million Americans watched college football that year 6 .
Some of the most important coaches and players in football hung up their cleats to serve their country.
Robert Neyland, famed head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers, before the war and during the war where he served as a Brigadier General
Pictured here is Kenny Washington. Kenny Washington was the first African American to play in the NFL after they banned black players in 1934. He was a WW2 veteran and played football at UCLA.
A list of famous football players and coaches that served in World War 2
Otto Graham, Len Eshmont, Bob Dove, Barney Poole, Charley Trippi, Les Horvath, Arnold Tucker, Bob Steuber, Buster Ramsey, Buddy Young, Glenn Dobbs 7 .
Coaches included: Paul Brown, Earl Blaik, Joe Maniaci, Tony Hinkle, Paul Schissler, Bud Wilkinson, Bear Bryant, and Robert Neyland 8 .
These players and coaches sacrificed so much for our country and deserve to have their names remembered as true Americans.
With the conclusion of the War in 1945, college football began to rebound in a huge way, as all of the former soldiers came back to play.
1956 Sugar Bowl between Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh
We had two types of players on the [Kansas] team. You had us 24- and 25-year guys who were married with kids and your 17- and 18-year-old freshmen who were calling us ‘sir.’ You never saw a happier bunch of guys than we were on those teams. We were so happy to be out of the service, back in school, and getting back with normal lives.” Future coach of Kansas, Don Fambrough
With the return of the former servicemen coming back to universities with multiple years of eligibility left, universities across the country began mixing teams with current and former players. These veterans fought hard to secure spots on the roster, desiring some semblance of a return to normalcy. One example of this can be seen in Notre Dame, they won the national championship in 1946 with 11 former military players on their roster 9 .
Ticket sales exploded after the end of the war as optimism for the future began to boom across the country. College football was never the same after this season and because of World War II, college football became the most important sport on college campuses in the United States.
Bibliography
1, Jones, Wilbur D. “Football! Navy! War!” : How Military “Lend-Lease” Players Saved the College Game and Helped Win World War II. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 2009. Page 15
2, Photocopies of Military Records undated, General Robert Neyland Papers, MS.1890. University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections.
3, “Origins Of the ARMY ROTC Program.” Berkeley Army ROTC. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://army.berkeley.edu/history/#:~:text=During%20the%20Second%20World%20War%20150%2C000%20ROTC%20%E2%80%93,the%20call%20to%20arms%20during%20the%20Korean%20Conflict.
4, Columbia University Athletics. “Who Was Lou Little?” Columbia University Athletics. Columbia University Athletics, September 25, 2019. https://gocolumbialions.com/news/2019/9/26/football-who-was-lou-little.aspx.
5, “How the Army-Navy Game of 1944 Stopped World War II.” We Are The Mighty, December 7, 2022. https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/army-navy-wwii/.
6, Jones, Wilbur D. “Football! Navy! War!” : How Military “Lend-Lease” Players Saved the College Game and Helped Win World War II. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 2009. Page 52
7, Jones, Wilbur D. “Football! Navy! War!” : How Military “Lend-Lease” Players Saved the College Game and Helped Win World War II. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 2009. Page 209
8, Jones, Wilbur D. “Football! Navy! War!” : How Military “Lend-Lease” Players Saved the College Game and Helped Win World War II. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 2009. Page 209
9, Jones, Wilbur D. “Football! Navy! War!” : How Military “Lend-Lease” Players Saved the College Game and Helped Win World War II. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 2009. Page 209
