1945 Football Team

Overall Record: 7-3 Conference Record: 5-1
Conference Finish: 2nd place
National Ranking: AP - No. 6
Coach: Herbert O. "Fritz" Crisler
Captain: Joe Ponsetto
All-Conference: Harold Watts
Most Valuable Player: Harold Watts
Meyer Morton Award: [no award given due to disruption caused by WWII]
Trainer: Ray Roberts
Assistant coaches: William Barclay, Ray Fisher, Earl Martineau, Ernest McCoy, Clarence Munn, Bennie Oosterbaan, Arthur Valpey, Walter Weber
Manager: Leonard Budzen (ass't), Robert Keselring (ass't), Donald MacMullan, John Tishman

OpponentRankDateSiteResult Attend.
Great Lakes 09/15 H W 27-2 26,076
Indiana 09/22 H L 7-13 27,536
Michigan State 09/29 H W 40-0 37,694
Northwestern 10/06 A W 20-7 32,772
Army   9/1 10/13 1 L 7-28 62,878
Illinois 16/- 10/27 A W 19-0 54,085
Minnesota 10/16 11/03 H W 26-0 84,472
Navy   7/4 11/10 2 L 7-33 56,880
Purdue 14/11 11/17 H W 27-13 48,528
Ohio State (HC)   8/7 11/24 H W 7-3 85,200
Totals187-99 516,121

___________________________________
1 - Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
2 - Baltimore Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Starting Lineups                  
PositionPlayer
left end Donovan Hershberger (7)
Ed McNeill (3)
left tackle George Johnson (10)
left guard Dominic Tomasi (9)
John Smith
center Harold Watts (8)
Anton Momsen (2)
right guard Stu Wilkins (8)
John Lintol (2)
right tackle Gene Hinton (10)
right end Art Renner (7)
Ed McNeill (2)
Donovan Hershberger
quarterback Joseph Ponsetto (6)
Howard Yerges (2)
Dan Dworsky (2)
fullback Dan Dworsky (5)
Jack Wiesenburger (5)
left halfback Walt Teninga (7)
Pete Elliott (2)
Jack Wiesenburger
right halfback Bob Nussbaumer (7)
Henry Fonde (2)
Warren Bentz

View full 1945 roster (from all-time roster database, includes non-lettermen and freshmen)


1945 Team Photo
1945 team photo
view larger image

[Note: photo includes only varsity letter winners]

Back Row
Joe Sobeleski, trainer Ray Roberts, Len Ford, George Johnson, Henry Hatch, Cecil Freihofer
3rd Row
Wally Teninga, Daniel Dworsky, Pete Elliott, Anton Momsen, Donavan Hershberger, Gene Hinton, Ed McNeil, Michael Prashaw, Robert Callahan
2nd Row
Henry Fonde, Howard Yerges, Jack Smith, Wesley Muelder, F. Stuart Wilkins, George Chiames, James Foltz, Dom Tomasi
Front Row
Jack Weisenburger, Howard Nussbaumer, Coach Fritz Crisler, Joe Ponsetto, Art Renner, John Lintol, James Rehberger

1945 Full Squad Photo
1945 team photo
view larger image