World War II Chronicle: December 31, 1941
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Sports section begins on page 12, which features the All-American team selected by college football players themselves.
- Ends: Holt Rast, Alabama; James Lansing, Fordham
- Tackles: Richard Wildung, Minnesota; Ernest Blandin, Tulane
- Guards: Endicott Peabody, Harvard; Bernard Crimmins, Notre Dame
- Center: Vincent Banonis, Detroit Mercy
- Quarterback: William Dudley, Virginia
- Halfbacks: Frank Sinkwich Georgia; Stephen Lach, Duke
- Fullback: Robert Westfall, Michigan
Georgia junior Sinkwich,1 playing most of the season with his jaw wired shut received 96 out of 99 votes for most outstanding player. “Bananas Banonis,1 son of Lithuanian immigrants plays for the Chicago Cardinals next season but is off to Iowa Pre-Flight as a Naval aviation cadet. He is selected for three All-Pro teams and plays on three championship clubs during his 10-year career. Rast becomes a major in the Army combat engineers. Wounded twice, he is also a recipient of the Silver Star and Bronze Star Medals.
The Pittsburgh Steelers select “Bullet Bill” Dudley2 as the first overall choice in the 1942 NFL Draft pick. He leads the league in rushing and punt return yardage in his rookie season, but joins the Army Air Force. He flies two combat missions and plays football in the Pacific. Dudley returns to the Steelers and is league MVP in 1946.
Asthma couldn’t slow down “Bullet Bob” Westfall,1 who rushed for 1,824 yards as a Wolverine. It did sideline him from being drafted. Westfall does enlist in the Army Air Force and plays ball for the Eastern All-Army team next season. Uncle Sam eventually gives the fifth overall pick of the 1942 NFL Draft a medical discharge and he returns to Michigan to finish his degree. He begins his pro career with the Detroit Lions in 1944 and is named All-Pro in 1945.
Lach1 is one of just three sophomores to ever play varsity ball for Duke coach Wallace Wade. Ace Parker, who graduated in 1936, is another. Picked fourth overall in the 1942 NFL Draft, he plays nine games for the Chicago Cardinals in 1942 before becoming a Naval aviation cadet. He plays on the Great Lakes Blue Jackets and the the Pearl Harbor All-Stars during the war and returns to pro ball with the Steelers.
Fordham coach — and one of the Notre Dame “Four Horsemen” — Jim Crowley called Jim Lansing the best end he’d ever coached. He became a dive bomber and fighter pilot during the war. Lansing returned to school to finish his senior year but broke his shoulder during the first game. He stayed with Fordham as a coach, instructing alongside fellow assistant Vince Lombardi.
Wildung1 serves as a lieutenant on PT boats during the war and later becomes captain of the Green Bay Packers. Notre Dame’s Crimmins also served on PT boats in the Pacific and earned a Silver Star. He played one season with Green Bay in 1945. Blandin also becomes a Naval officer in the Pacific Theater. Although he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1942 NFL Draft, he joins the All-American Football Conference after the war, winning two championships with the Cleveland Browns. His coach was the legendary Paul Brown, and the AAFC’s commissioner is Jonas Ingram — both former Naval officers.
Peabody1 was the only unanimous choice for All-American in 1941. He caused a fumble and recovered another as Harvard held Navy scoreless in their 0-0 game on Oct. 25, then “Chub” joined the Navy as a submarine officer and fought hand-to-hand with Japanese sailors. The Silver Star recipient later became governor of Massachusetts.
1: Member of the College Football Hall of Fame
2: Dudley is enshrined in the college and professional halls of fame
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 31 December 1941. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-12-31/ed-1/
