1944 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic was a postseason college football bowl game between the fourteenth ranked Texas Longhorns and the Randolph Field Ramblers, a military institution squad from San Antonio, TX.[1]

1944 Cotton Bowl Classic
8th Cotton Bowl Classic
1234Total
Randolph Field70007
Texas07007
DateJanuary 1, 1944
Season1943
StadiumCotton Bowl
LocationDallas, Texas
MVPMartin Ruby, T, Randolph Field
Glenn Dobbs, QB, Randolph Field
Joe Parker, E, Texas
Attendance15,000
Cotton Bowl Classic
 < 1943  1945

Background

Randolph boasted many former college football stars, most notably Tulsa's Glenn Dobbs, who had 1,867 all purpose yards for the year with 1,431 passing and 421 yards rushing. He was also their punter, with a 40.2 average per kick.

Martin Ruby became the first and only player to play on two different Cotton Bowl teams, having played in the 1942 Cotton Bowl Classic. He was named outstanding player in both games.

Game summary

The game was played in a cold, steady rain described by Bible as the worst he had ever seen. Tex Aulds[2] scored for Randolph on a touchdown catch from Glenn Dobbs. But Texas rallied back with a George McCall touchdown catch from Ralph Ellsworth to tie the game. The game stayed that way due to defense that allowed 260 yards combined from both teams.[3]

Statistics

StatisticsTexasRandolph
First Downs37
Yards Rushing7399
Yards Passing3751
Total Yards110150
Punts-Average8-33.110-39.9
Fumbles Lost11
Penalties-Yards0-04-20

Attendance

32,000 tickets were sold for the game but only 15,000 spectators came to the game because of the weather.[4]

References