1944 El Toro Flying Marines football team

The 1944 El Toro Flying Marines football team represented the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station during the 1944 college football season. The station was located in Orange County, California, near the town of El Toro (later renamed Lake Forest). The team compiled an 8–1 record and was ranked No. 16 in the final AP Poll. Lt. Col. Dick Hanley was the team's head coach.^[1] Cliff Battles and Jim Tuttle were assistant coaches.

1944 El Toro Flying Marines football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 16
Record	8–1
Head coach	Dick Hanley (1st season)
Home stadium	Santa Ana Municipal Bowl
Seasons ← 1943 1945 →

1944 military service football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Randolph Field			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Bainbridge			–					10	–	0	–	0
No. 18 Fort Pierce			–					9	–	0	–	0
No. 13 Norman NAS			–					6	–	0	–	0
No. 6 Iowa Pre-Flight			–					10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 El Toro Marines			–					8	–	1	–	0
Hondo AAF			–					7	–	1	–	0
Bunker Hill NAS			–					6	–	1	–	0
Lincoln AAF			–					6	–	1	–	0
Blackland AAF			–					7	–	1	–	1
Keesler Field			–					8	–	1	–	2
No. 17 Great Lakes Navy			–					9	–	2	–	1
No. 10 March Field			–					7	–	2	–	2
Third Air Force			–					8	–	3	–	0
North Carolina Pre-Flight			–					6	–	2	–	1
Atlantic City NAS			–					5	–	2	–	0
Camp Peary			–					5	–	2	–	0
Tonopah AAF			–					5	–	2	–	0
Daniel Field			–					7	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Second Air Force			–					10	–	4	–	1
San Francisco Coast Guard			–					4	–	2	–	1
Ellington Field			–					6	–	3	–	2
Amarillo AAF			–					5	–	3	–	0
Alameda Coast Guard			–					4	–	2	–	2
Coronado Amphibious			–					2	–	1	–	1
Olathe NAS			–					4	–	2	–	2
Selman Field			–					4	–	2	–	2
Galveston AAF			–					5	–	3	–	2
Fleet City			–					6	–	4	–	1
Jacksonville NAS			–					4	–	3	–	0
San Diego NTS			–					4	–	3	–	1
Camp Beale			–					5	–	4	–	0
Lubbock AAF			–					5	–	4	–	0
Fort Warren			–					5	–	4	–	1
Fort Monroe			–					5	–	5	–	0
Klamath Falls Marines			–					2	–	2	–	1
Maxwell Field			–					5	–	5	–	0
Minter Field			–					3	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight			–					4	–	4	–	0
Fourth Infantry			–					3	–	4	–	2
Georgia Pre-Flight			–					4	–	5	–	0
Third Infantry			–					4	–	5	–	0
Bergstrom Field			–					3	–	4	–	0
Ottumwa NAS			–					3	–	4	–	0
Camp Lee			–					3	–	5	–	0
Cherry Point Marines			–					3	–	6	–	0
Chatham Field			–					2	–	8	–	1
Sampton NTS			–					2	–	7	–	0
Miami NTC			–					2	–	8	–	0
Bryan AAF			–					1	–	7	–	0
Fairfield-Suisun AAB			–					1	–	7	–	0
Richmond AAB			–					0	–	10	–	1
Camp Ellis			–					0	–	5	–	0
South Plains AAF			–					0	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, El Toro ranked 23rd among the nation's college and service teams and first out of six United States Marine Corps teams with a rating of 100.0.^[2][3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Fleet City		Camp Shoemaker Dublin, CA	W 13–7	6,000	^[4]
September 30	Fairfield-Suisun AAB		Municipal Bowl Santa Ana, CA	W 56–0		^[5]
October 7	Beaumont General Hospital		Municipal Bowl Santa Ana, CA	W 52–0		^[6]
October 15	at San Diego NTS		San Diego, CA	W 6–0		^[7]
October 22	at No. 14 March Field		Wheelock Field Riverside, CA	L 14–20	16,000	^[8]
October 28	Fleet City		Municipal Bowl Santa Ana, CA	W 14–0	8,000	^[9]
November 11	at Coronado Amphibious Training Base	No. 17	Balboa Stadium San Diego, CA	W 51–7		^[10]
November 18	at Fort Bliss	No. 15	El Paso, TX	W 42–0		^[11]
November 25	vs. San Francisco Coast Guard	No. 16	Santa Barbara, CA	W 60–0		^[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	17	15	16	18т	16

References

1. "Hanley's Marines To Unleash Power". The Fresno Bee. p. 2B – via Newspapers.com.
2. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 10, 1944). "Big Ten Circuit Repeats As King of College Leagues". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City Utah. p. 8B. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
3. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1944). "Army, Randolph Field One-Two in Final Litkenhouse Ratings". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 4, section 2. Retrieved April 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
4. "Marines Edge Sailors, 13-7". Los Angeles Times. September 17, 1944. p. II-5 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Flying Marines Spank Army Eleven, 56 to 0". Los Angeles Times. October 1, 1944. p. II-6 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "California Marines Best Beaumont Team". The Paris (TX) News. October 8, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Marines Edge San Diego Navy By Touchdown". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 16, 1944. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "March Field Whips Marines In Hard Game; 16,000 See Fliers Check El Toro Rally, Win 20-14". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 23, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Fleet City Gobs Drop 14-0 Tussle To El Toro Marines". Nevada State Journal. October 29, 1944. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "El Toro Marines Trounce Coronado". The Fresno Bee. November 11, 1944. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "El Toro Maines Swamp Foes, 42-0". Los Angeles Times. November 19, 1944. p. II-6 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "El Toro Clouts Pilots, 60-0". Los Angeles Times. November 26, 1944. p. II-6 – via Newspapers.com.