Years of Operation: 1945-1948

Overall Record: 

First Game:

First Win:

Final Game:

League Affiliation:  

Northwest Service Teams (1945)

Team Headquarters: 

Farragut Naval Base

Couer d' Lane, ID

Owner: United States Navy

General Manager: Lt. Eugene Kloepper

Coaches: John C. Wofford; Jerry Stannard, Lt Ray Flaherty (1943)

Home Field(s): Gonzaga Stadium

Titles Won: 

Honors

The 1943 squad was expected to be one of the best in the nation as coach Ray Flaherty had a number of his Washington Redskin players as well as members of the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and Brooklyn Dodgers along with college standouts, but a schedule could not get put together.

Key Players for 1945:

Charles Newman (Louisiana Tech)

Bill McDonald (Tennessee State)

Bob Perkins

George Kaufman (6 comp 148 yds 2 TDs)  as QB on Nov 10, 1945

Beginning in September of 1943, Lt Raymond P. Flaherty who formerly coached the Washington Redskins (NFL) was charged with forming a football league consisting of five teams.  The teams would represent the five recruit camps and begin 7 weeks of play around Oct 1.  Farragut would not send a team into the regional semi pro circuit.

In 1944, Farragut had two leagues and on Oct 27 (Navy Day) would put on a free demonstration at Gonzaga Stadium featuring the the 2 league champs and 125-piece navy band, and a contingent of "104 WAVES".

Coaches of the teams included Ed Justice (Gonzaga), Ki Aldrich (Texas Christian), Bob Sweiger (Univ of Minnesota), Tiny Wafford (SMU), Manuel Thomas (Tulane), E.D. Dawald (Swarthmore) and Leon Jursche (Pittsburg State).  The teams of the "Signalmen" and "Quartermasters" led with 2 wins followed by the "Radiomen" (1-0-1) made up of both sailors and marines.  A heavy team from the Hospital Corps scored a victory over the Dental Corps to take the lead in the Ship's Company league.

By 1945, Farragut looked to enter a team into regional play but with a standing military order of "48 hour readiness", the team could not be away for longer than 48 hours so opponents within a short train or bus ride were needed.

The Nov 10 game between Farragut and the Idaho Vandals dubbed "Idaho Day" saw several crews of German prisoners of war and a a number of rotary brushes used to sweep the gridiron clear of snow in preparation for the game.

The drubbing of the semi-pro Bremerton Rockers featured former USC quarterback Wellesley Magan scoring 2 TD's and the Bluejacket defense holding the Rockets to the Navy 44-yard line and allowing them no closer to a goal.

Cecil Bridges took a Rockets punt 33 yards for a score and Magan intercepted a pass returning it 23 yards for a score.  Vice Patrella, reserve fullback scored the final tally for the Navy after a 72-yard drive.

1945 Schedule/Results (5-2):

NFL Hall of Famer was Northwest Minor League Coach During War Years

Ray Flaherty was Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame; 1976

But it was over 30 years prior that Ray was appointed physical instructor and football coach as part of his lieutenant commander commission to Farragut Naval Station in 1943.

Born in the East Boone Avenue area of Spokane, Flaherty attended Gonzaga College where he played football in it's "golden age" from 1923-1925 and lost only 4 games in Ray's three seasons as an end.  But he wasn't a specialist, he also excelled in baseball and basketball at Gonzaga. He signed with the Los Angeles Wildcats of the first AFL in 1926.  When that version of the AFL folded, Ray switched to the New York Yankees of the NFL in 1927 and then was traded to the Giants in 1929.  Flaherty took a year off from pro football to coach his alma mater, but returned to the Giants where he finished his career as an All-NFL end in 1928 and 1932, and the league pass receiving champion in 1931.  Following the 1935 NFL Championship between the Giants and Detroit Lions, Flaherty was tapped to lead the Boston Redskins, owners of a 2-8-1 record in 1935.  The Redskins won the Eastern crown in 1936 under Flaherty, but lost the NFL championship to Green Bay 21-6.  Upset with Boston's lack of fan support, the Redskins were relocated to Washington D.C. for 1937 and Flaherty fulfilled his promise, coaching the 'Skins to a championship in 1937.  During his stay with Washington he was 54-21-3 and finished on top of the division 4 out of 7 seasons and another NFL Championship in 1942, beating the Chicago "Monsters of the Midway" Bears 14-6.  But it was the incredible 73-0 loss to the Bears in 1940 that stands out in most historians minds when talking Bears vs. Redskins of the 1940's.

It was 1943 that he was assigned to Farragut where he coached many of his former Redskin players inducted into service during WWII.  In 1945 his Bluejackets were 6-1 and faced the undefeated Fort Lewis Soldiers for the Northwest Service Teams Championship.

Flaherty returned to the professional ranks following the war coaching the New York Yankees from 1946-1948 of the All-American Football Conference and the Chicago Hornets in 1949.  After ten seasons he was 80-37-5 with 2 NFL titles and 7 divisional titles.

Flaherty is credited with innovations such as the modern screen play with the pass completed behind the line of scrimmage, and the "Squirrel Cage" kickoff return where 8 players would converge on the ball, huddle up and then scatter in all directions as defenders had no idea who had the ball.  In one instance it allowed offensive tackle Turk Edwards to rumble 85 yards on a return.

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