The 1945 Yanks season was their second in the National Football League. They merged with the Brooklyn Tigers (who had previously been the Brooklyn Dodgers) for the season and played under the name Yanks. The team improved on their previous season's output of 2–8, winning three games.1945 Boston Yanks They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Four home games were played in Boston and the home game against the New York Giants was played at Yankee Stadium. The result of these two teams merging for a season is similar to the Steagles and Card-Pitt teams.
Before the season Brooklyn Tigers draftees
Boston Yanks draftees
1945 season The Yanks started well with an win at Fenway Park over Pittsburgh, played on Tuesday, September 25, as both Boston baseball teams were at home over the weekend. (As of 2024, this is the last NFL game actually scheduled to be played on a Tuesday.)Five NFL games have been since played on a Tuesday, all rescheduled from another day: the Yanks themselves had a Monday contest bumped by a rainstorm in 1946; the Eagles had a Sunday contest moved up thanks to the December 2010 North American blizzard; and the Titans and Ravens each had Sunday home games delayed in 2020 due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the Rams had a Sunday home game postponed to Tuesday, also due to COVID-19 issues. After a victory over eventual Eastern Division champion Washington, a tie with the Giants in Yankee Stadium and splitting two road games, the Yanks were 3–1–1, tied with the 3–1 Redskins atop the East (ties did not count in the standings then).
After that, it all came apart. After a tough 10–9 loss to Detroit at Fenway Park (Don Currivan caught a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter only to watch the extra point attempt go awry), the Yanks were crushed in their final four contests, finding the end zone only three times while allowing a whopping 117 points. They finished 3–6–1, tied for third with New York.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–7 1–0 Fenway Park 2 Bye 3 October 7 Washington Redskins W 28–20 2–0 Fenway Park 4 October 14 New York Giants T 13–13 2–0–1 Yankee Stadium 5 October 21 at Green Bay Packers L 14–38 2–1–1 Wisconsin State Fair Park 6 October 28 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 10–6 3–1–1 Forbes Field 7 November 4 Detroit Lions L 9–10 3–2–1 Fenway Park 8 November 11 at Washington Redskins L 7–34 3–3–1 Griffith Stadium 9 November 18 Green Bay Packers L 0–28 3–4–1 Fenway Park 10 Bye 11 December 2 at Cleveland Rams L 7–20 3–5–1 League Park 12 December 9 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–35 3–6–1 Shibe Park Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Roster 1945 Boston Yanks final rosterQuarterbacks 18 - Scott Gudmundson S/P 31 - Ace Parker S/P
Backs 10 - Bob Davis RB/QB/CB/S 12 - Frank Sachse RB/CB 19 - Hugh McCullough RB/CB/P 21 - Ken Steinmetz FB/LB 24 - Paul Duhart RB/CB 25 - Pug Manders FB/LB 29 - Babe Dimancheff RB/CB 33 - Mike Micka FB/LB 36 - John Grigas RB/CB 37 - Ned Mathews CB/RB
Ends/Receivers 14 - Keith Ranspot 15 - Joe Crowley 28 - Bob Masterson 34 - Don Currivan Linemen/Linebackers 16 - John Morelli G/DG 17 - Tony Leon G/DG 20 - Jim Magee T/DT 27 - Ellis Jones G/DG 30 - Lou Mark C/LB 35 - Al Fiorentino G/DG 38 - George Doherty T/DT 41 - Augie Lio G/DG/K 40 - Edward McGee T/G/DT 42 - Floyd Rhea G/DG/T/DT 43 - George Smith C/LB 44 - George Sergienko T/DT 45 - Don Deeks T/DT rookies in italics
Standings
References