| 1945 Yanks season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Herb Kopf |
| Home field |
Fenway Park Yankee Stadium |
| Local radio |
WNAC WEAF |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–6–1 |
| Division place | 3rd (tied) NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1945 Yanks season was their second in the National Football League. They merged with the Brooklyn Tigers for the season and played under the name Yanks. The team improved on their previous season's output of 2–8, winning three games. [1] They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Four home games were played in Boston and the home game against the New York Giants was played at Yankee Stadium. The result of these two teams merging for a season is similar to the Steagles and Card-Pitt teams.
Before the season
Brooklyn Tigers draftees
| 1945 Brooklyn Tigers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Joe Renfroe | Back | Tulane | |
| 2 | 13 | Wayne Williams | Back | Minnesota | |
| 3 | 17 | Cecil Gray | Center | Oregon | |
| 4 | 30 | Steve Enich | Guard | Marquette | |
| 5 | 34 | Al Kowalski | Back | Tulsa | |
| 6 | 44 | Dick Barwegen * | Guard | Purdue | |
| 7 | 57 | Louie Futrell | Back | Fresno State | |
| 8 | 67 | John Dodds | Guard | California | |
| 9 | 77 | Elting Johnson | Back | Bucknell | |
| 10 | 90 | Roy Cross | End | Tennessee | |
| 11 | 100 | Earl Haury | Tackle | Kansas State | |
| 12 | 110 | John Martin | Back | East Tennessee State | |
| 13 | 123 | George McDonald | Tackle | South Carolina | |
| 14 | 133 | Hal Self | Back | Alabama | |
| 15 | 143 | Tom Reilly | Guard | Fordham | |
| 16 | 156 | Skimp Harrison | End | South Carolina | |
| 17 | 166 | Arnie Weinmeister * † | Tackle | Washington | |
| 18 | 176 | Charley Eikenberg | Quarterback | Rice | |
| 19 | 189 | Al Kasulin | Back | Villanova | |
| 20 | 199 | Charley Lively | Tackle | Arkansas | |
| 21 | 209 | Ted Curran | Back | Iowa | |
| 22 | 222 | Don Fabling | Back | Colorado | |
| 23 | 232 | Wally Crittenden | Back | USC | |
| 24 | 242 | Jules Taddie | Center | Rochester | |
| 25 | 255 | Jerry Whitney | Back | USC | |
| 26 | 265 | Felix Trapani | Guard | LSU | |
| 27 | 275 | Hal Finney | Back | USC | |
| 28 | 288 | Don Fauble | Back | Oklahoma | |
| 29 | 298 | Nick Studen | Back | Denver | |
| 30 | 308 | LaMar Dykstra | Back | Colorado | |
| † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Boston Yanks draftees
| 1945 Boston Yanks draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Eddie Prokop | Back | Georgia Tech | |
| 2 | 15 | Tom Dean | Tackle | SMU | played with Yanks in 1946 |
| 3 | 20 | Damon Tassos | Guard | Texas A&M | |
| 4 | 31 | Don Deeks | Tackle | Washington | |
| 5 | 36 | Johnny Strzykalski | Back | Marquette | |
| 6 | 47 | Jim Mello | Back | Notre Dame | played with Yanks in 1947 |
| 7 | 58 | Marty Silovich | Center | Marquette | |
| 8 | 69 | Ellis Jones | Guard | Tulsa | |
| 9 | 80 | Earl Lambert | Back | Manhattan | |
| 10 | 91 | Don Kasprzak | Back | Dartmouth | |
| 11 | 102 | Ben Jones | End | Arkansas | |
| 12 | 113 | Herb Coleman | Center | Notre Dame | |
| 13 | 124 | Joe Pezelski | Back | Villanova | |
| 14 | 135 | John DiGangi | Tackle | Holy Cross | |
| 15 | 146 | Chan Highsmith | Center | North Carolina | |
| 16 | 157 | Mike Costello | End | Georgetown | |
| 17 | 168 | Paul Dromgoole | End | Manhattan | |
| 18 | 179 | Dolph Czekala | Tackle | Syracuse | |
| 19 | 190 | Joe Drumm | Tackle | Georgetown | |
| 20 | 201 | Mario Giannelli | Guard | Boston College | |
| 21 | 212 | Eric Jamison | Tackle | San Francisco | |
| 22 | 223 | Walt Kretz | Back | Cornell | |
| 23 | 234 | Marty Grbovaz | End | San Francisco | |
| 24 | 245 | Ziggy Gory | Center | Villanova | |
| 25 | 256 | Bill Iancelli | End | William & Mary | |
| 26 | 267 | Al Kull | Tackle | Fordham | |
| 27 | 278 | Bob Mangene | Back | Boston College | |
| 28 | 289 | John Morelli | Guard | Georgetown | Already on Yanks roster |
| 29 | 300 | John Fisher | Center | Harvard | |
| 30 | 311 | Elmer Oberto | Guard | Georgetown | |
| Made roster | |||||
1945 season
The Yanks started well with an win at Fenway Park over Pittsburgh, played on Tuesday, September 25, as both Boston baseball teams were at home over the weekend. (As of 2021, this is the last NFL game actually scheduled to be played on a Tuesday.) [4] After a victory over eventual Eastern Division champion Washington, a tie with the Giants in Yankee Stadium and splitting two road games, the Yanks were 3–1–1, tied with the 3–1 Redskins atop the East (ties did not count in the standings then).
After that, it all came apart. After a tough 10–9 loss to Detroit at Fenway Park ( Don Currivan caught a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter only to watch the extra point attempt go awry), the Yanks were crushed in their final four contests, finding the end zone only three times while allowing a whopping 117 points. They finished 3–6–1, tied for third with New York.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–7 | 1–0 | Fenway Park | ||
| 2 | Bye | ||||||
| 3 | October 7 | Washington Redskins | W 28–20 | 2–0 | Fenway Park | ||
| 4 | October 14 | New York Giants | T 13–13 | 2–0–1 | Yankee Stadium | ||
| 5 | October 21 | at Green Bay Packers | L 14–38 | 2–1–1 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | ||
| 6 | October 28 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 10–6 | 3–1–1 | Forbes Field | ||
| 7 | November 4 | Detroit Lions | L 9–10 | 3–2–1 | Fenway Park | ||
| 8 | November 11 | at Washington Redskins | L 7–34 | 3–3–1 | Griffith Stadium | ||
| 9 | November 18 | Green Bay Packers | L 0–28 | 3–4–1 | Fenway Park | ||
| 10 | Bye | ||||||
| 11 | December 2 | at Cleveland Rams | L 7–20 | 3–5–1 | League Park | ||
| 12 | December 9 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–35 | 3–6–1 | Shibe Park | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Standings
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 6–2 | 209 | 121 | W2 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 5–2 | 272 | 133 | W1 | |
| Yanks | 3 | 6 | 1 | .333 | 3–2–1 | 123 | 211 | L5 | |
| New York Giants | 3 | 6 | 1 | .333 | 2–4–1 | 179 | 198 | L1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 1–7 | 79 | 220 | L3 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
- ^ 1945 Boston Yanks
- ^ "1945 Bos/Bkn Yanks/Tigers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "1945 Bos/Bkn Yanks/Tigers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ Five NFL games have been since played on a Tuesday, all rescheduled from another day: the Yanks themselves had a Monday contest bumped by a rainstorm in 1946; the Eagles had a Sunday contest moved up thanks to the December 2010 North American blizzard; and the Titans and Ravens each had Sunday home games delayed in 2020 due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Rams had a Sunday home game postponed to Tuesday, also due to COVID-19 issues.
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