1942 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team

The 1942 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team represented the United States Navy's Great Lakes Naval Training Station (Great Lakes NTS) during the 1942 college football season. Playing a schedule that included six Big Nine Conference football teams, Notre Dame, Pitt, Michigan State, and Missouri, the team compiled an 8–3–1 record, shut out seven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 222 to 55.[1][2] The team was ranked No. 1 among the service teams in a poll of 91 sports writers conducted by the Associated Press.[3]

1942 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 1 (APS)
1942 record	8–3–1
Head coach	Tony Hinkle (1st season)
Home stadium	Soldier Field

1942 military service football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Second Air Force			–					11	–	0	–	1
No. 9 Manhattan Beach Coast Guard			–					6	–	0	–	1
No. 3 Georgia Pre-Flight			–					7	–	1	–	1
No. 4 North Carolina Pre-Flight			–					8	–	2	–	1
No. 6 Jacksonville NAS			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 1 Great Lakes Navy			–					8	–	3	–	1
No. 17 March Field			–					5	–	2	–	0
No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight			–					7	–	3	–	1
No. 15 Fort Riley			–					6	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Fort Monmouth			–					5	–	2	–	2
No. 5 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight			–					6	–	3	–	1
No. T–20 Fort Douglas			–					5	–	3	–	0
Albuquerque AB			–					4	–	3	–	0
No. 10 Corpus Christi NAS			–					4	–	3	–	1
No. 16 Camp Davis			–					4	–	3	–	2
No. 13 Lakehurst NAS			–					4	–	4	–	1
No. 7 Camp Grant			–					4	–	5	–	0
No. 8 Pensacola NAS			–					3	–	5	–	1
No. T–18 Fort Totten			–					3	–	5	–	1
Camp Pickett			–					1	–	6	–	0
No. 12 Fort Knox			–					2	–	6	–	0
Alameda Coast Guard			–					1	–	7	–	1
No. T–18 Spence Field			–					0	–	4	–	0
No. T–20 Daniel Field			–					0	–	6	–	0
Rankings from AP Service Poll

The team's head coach was Tony Hinkle, who coached football, baseball, and basketball at Butler University before the war.[2] Butler agreed in March 1942 to send Hinkle to Great Lakes NTS to assist in the war effort.[4]

The team was made up of college and professional football players who were serving in the Navy and stationed at Great Lakes NTS. The team was led on offense by Bruce Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1941 while playing for Minnesota. Other players included: Rudy Mucha, a consensus All-American center in 1940 who spent the 1941 season in the NFL, Bob Sweiger (fullback, Minnesota), Pete Kmetovic (halfback, Stanford), Bill Radovich (guard, USC/Detroit Lions), Carl Mulleneaux (end, Utah State), and Steve Belichick, father of Bill Belichick who played for the Detroit Lions in 1941.[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 0–9	17,031	[5]
October 3	at Iowa	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 25–0	8,600	[6]
October 10	vs. Pittsburgh	Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland	W 7–6	12,315	[7]
October 17	No. 7 Wisconsin	Soldier Field Chicago	L 7–13	30,000	[8]
October 24	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 0–14	12,000	[9]
October 31	at Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO	W 17–0	16,627	[10]
November 7	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 42–0	12,000	[11]
November 11	at Camp Grant	Bell Bowl Camp Grant, IL	W 33–0	8,000	[12]
November 15	at Marquette	Marquette Stadium Milwaukee	W 24–0	20,000	[13]
November 21	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 6–0	10,856	[14]
November 26	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 48–0	18,500	[15]
December 5	No. 8 Notre Dame	Soldier Field Chicago	T 13–13	35,000	[16]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1942 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
2. Jack Scott. "1942 Great Lakes" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. Retrieved March 1, 2018 – via LA84 Foundation.
3. "Great Lakes Is Leading Service Team Of Nation". Ashville Citizen-Times. December 6, 1942. p. D2 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Butler Sacrifices Hinkle for War Effort: Tony to Join Great Lakes Staff". The Indianapolis News. March 4, 1942. p. 10.
5. "Michigan Upsets Great Lakes, 9-0: Aerial Drive to Touchdown in Second Period, Field Goal in the Third Decide; Chappius Paces Attack". The New York Times. September 27, 1942. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
6. Bert McGrane (October 4, 1942). "Great Lakes Wilts Iowa, 25-0". The Des Moines Register. pp. 5–1, 5–9 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pitt Loses, 7-6, As Great Lakes Rallies in 4th". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1942. p. 2-2 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Irving Vaughan (October 18, 1942). "Badger Rally Wins, 13-7, Over Great Lakes". Chicago Tribune. pp. 2–1, 2–8 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Michigan State Wins; State Upsets Favored Navy Team, 14 to 0". Lansing State Journal. October 25, 1942. pp. 17–18 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Great Lakes' Individual Play Overcomes Teamwork of Missouri U. and Sailors Win, 17 to 0, Before 16,627". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 1, 1942. pp. 1D, 2D – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Purdue Routed, 42-0: Bluejackets Have Field Day". The Muncie Sunday Star. November 8, 1942. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Irving Vaughan (November 12, 1942). "Great Lakes Whips Camp Grant Eleven, 33-0". Chicago Tribune. pp. 25, 27 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Marquette Tires, Great Lakes Wins Tilt 24 to 0". Ironwood Daily Globe. November 16, 1942. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Sweiger Score Tips Illini, 6-0". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal. November 22, 1942. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Wilfrid Smith (November 27, 1942). "Great Lakes Power Plays Crush N. U. 48-0". Chicago Tribune. pp. 2–1, 2–21 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Wilfrid Smith (December 6, 1942). "Notre Dame Rally Ties Great Lakes, 13 to 13". Chicago Tribune. pp. 2–1, 2–3 – via Newspapers.com.