World War II Chronicle

World War II Chronicle: November 7, 1941

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Notre Dame’s backfield is pictured on the front page. Fred Evans Jr. is an Army Air Force pilot. The Washington Redskins draft Steve Juzwik who joins the Navy after the 1942 championship season. He plays three seasons in the All-America Football Conference after the war. Harry Wright is drafted by the Redskins in 1943 but serves in the Marine Corps. Angelo Bertelli is the first pick of the 1943 NFL Draft (after winning the 1943 Heisman Trophy), but he also joins the Marines and serves on Iwo Jima. Bertelli plays three seasons in the AAFC after the war and reunites with Juzwik on the 1948 Chicago Rockets.


Former college football stars now training at Parris Island, S.C., circa 1944 (front row, left to right):, Tommy Davis, Duke; Mike Micka, Colgate; Bert Gianelli, Coll. of Pacific; Elmer Jones, Franklin and Marshall; Alex Agase, Purdue; Pat Preston, Duke; Ralph Heywood, USC; (back row) Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame; John Podesto, Coll. of Pacific; Tony Butkovich, Purdue; Mickey McCardle, USC.
  • Tom Davis: 1944 All American
  • Mike Micka: drafted eighth overall by the Washington Redskins in 1944, played five seasons in the NFL.
  • Bert Gianelli: drafted in 25th round of 1944 draftt, fought on Iwo Jima
  • Elmer Jones: drafted in 2nd round of 1946 draft, played three seasons in NFL
  • Alex Agase: three-time All-American (1942, 1943, 1947), drafted in 8th round of 1944 NFL Draft, fought on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, earned the Purple Heart, played for Univ. of Illinois after the war, played five seasons in the AAFC, head coach of Northwestern and Purdue, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
  • Pat Preston: 1943 All American, 17th round draft pick in 1943, played four seasons in the NFL
  • Ralph Heywood: All American in 1943, served aboard the battleship USS Iowa in the South Pacific, played four professional seasons in the NFL and AAFC, returned to active duty during the Korean War and would command the 26th Marines in Vietnam
  • Johnny Podesto: 1943 All American, 10th overall pick of the 1944 NFL Draft
  • Tony Butkovich: 1943 All American, 11th overall pick of the 1944 NFL Draft, killed in action on Okinawa while serving with 3rd Battalion, 29th Marines
  • Mickey McCardle: 1946 All American

Hubert Mathieu’s SPOT YOUR PLANE series on page 55… Sports begins on page 58


Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 7 November 1941. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-11-07/ed-1/

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