1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team (right halfback, Minnesota), Jim Mello (fullback, Notre Dame), Don Lesher (halfback), Don Manglold (Indiana), Bob Hanlon, and Ara Parseghian (Miami (OH)), ends Cecil Souders and George Young (Georgia), and linemen Pete Krivonak (guard), Jesse Hahn (guard), and Carmen Izzo (center). 1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team The 1944 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team represented Great Lakes Naval Training Station during the 1944 college football season. The team compiled a 9–2–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 348 to 134, and was ranked No. 17 in the final AP Poll. In April 1944, Paul Brown, who coached at
Paul Brown the second year in a row. Paul Brown blamed the struggles on quarterback Milt Plum, whom the team had drafted in 1957, saying the Browns had "lost faith in Plum's ability to play under stress." But the players were instead losing faith in Coach Brown and his autocratic style. Jim Brown started a weekly radio show, which Paul Brown did not like; it undercut his control over the team and its message. But the coach found it hard to question Jim Brown given his feats on the field, and the tension between the two men grew. The team finished second