1943 Nevada Wolf Pack football team

The 1943 Nevada Wolf Pack football team, known for the final three games as the Flying Wolves and Flying Wolfpack, was an American football team that represented the University of Nevada as an independent during the 1943 college football season. In their fifth season under head coach Jim Aiken, the team compiled a 4–1–1 record.[1][2]

1943 Nevada Wolf Pack football
ConferenceIndependent
Record4–1–1
Head coach
Home stadiumMackay Field
1943 Western college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 18 Colorado College   –  7 –0 –0
New Mexico A&M   –  4 –0 –0
No. 19 Pacific (CA)   –  7 –2 –0
Nevada   –  4 –1 –1
New Mexico   –  3 –2 –0
Saint Mary's   –  2 –5 –0
San Francisco   –  1 –7 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

Marion Motley, who was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played for the Wolf Pack from 1941 to 1943. He suffered a knee injury in 1943 and returned to his home in Canton, Ohio, to work after dropping out of school.

Bill Mackrides also played for the 1943 Wolf Pack. He later played seven years of professional football in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL).

On October 8, 1943, due to the loss of players to military service, the Nevada football team merged with the football team from the Reno Army Air Base team at Lemmon Valley. The combination of university and military football squads was reported to be "unprecedented in the history of the nation's wartime football."[3] Because of an Army ruling that prohibited soldiers from playing on college teams, the combined team, known as the "Flying Wolves" or "Flying Wolfpack", played under the air base colors, and the University of Nevada players were deemed to have been absorbed into the air base squad. Jim Aiken remained head coach of the combined team with Lieutenants Dayton Doeler and Edward O'Neill acting as assistant coaches.[4]

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Nevada ranked 138th among the nation's college and service teams with a rating of 55.2.[5]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Tonopah Army Air Base
W 34–03,000[6]
September 25Reno Army Air Base
  • Mackay Field
  • Reno, NV
W 28–0
October 3at San Francisco
L 0–6[7]
October 10Tonopah Bombing and Gunnery Range
  • Mackay Field
  • Reno, NV
W 25–01,800[4]
October 16at Utah
W 27–194,846[8]
October 24Salt Lake City Army Air Basedagger
  • Mackay Field
  • Reno, NV
T 0–02,500[9]
  • daggerHomecoming

References
  1. "Nevada Football 2018 Bowl Guide" (PDF). University of Nevada, Reno. 2018. p. 133. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  2. "Nevada Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  3. "Nevada, Air Base Gridders Merge: Combination Team Will Play Tonapah Bombers Tomorrow". Reno Evening Gazette. October 9, 1943. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Flying Wolfpack Defeats Bombers". Reno Evening Gazette. October 11, 1943. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1943). "Litkenhouse Selects U. S. Grid Leaders". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 18. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  6. "Wolf Pack Wins 34-0 Victory Over Tonopah Army Gridders". September 20, 1943. p. 12.
  7. "Nevada Defeated 6-0 By USF Dons". Reno Evening Gazette. October 4, 1943. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Nevada Turns Back Redskins, 27 to 19". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 17, 1943. pp. 7B, 8B – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Salt Lake Wings Held to 0-0 Tie". Reno Evening Gazette. October 25, 1943. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
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