The 1944 Brooklyn Tigers season was their 15th and final season in the league before merging with the Boston Yanks. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 2âÂÂ8, losing all ten games. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season.
The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. By agreement of league owners, the new Boston Yanks franchise received the first pick of the first round and then were subsequently assigned 11th in the order of draft selection.
Although there were 32 rounds in the 1944 draft, each of the league's 11 teams selected 30 players, for a total of 330 players picked. The five worst-finishing teams of the 1943 season picked alone in rounds 2 and 4, while the five best-finishing teams plus the expansion Yanks picked alone in rounds 31 and 32.
The complete list of players drafted by the Brooklyn Tigers in 1944 follows. Due to the demands of World War II, only one of these players actually played for the Tigers during the 1944 season. Two others played for the merged franchise operating as the Yanks from 1945.
Backs <br /> ⢠9 - Pug Manders FB/LB <br /> ⢠10 - Frank Martin RB/CB <br /> ⢠11 - Charles McGibbony RB/CB/P <br /> ⢠12 - Kenny Fryer RB/CB/P <br /> ⢠19 - Johnny Butler RB/CB/P <br /> ⢠21 - Charlie Taylor RB/S <br /> ⢠26 - Bill Brown RB/S <br /> ⢠27 - Steve Marko RB/CB <br /> ⢠30 - Frank Sachse RB/CB <br /> ⢠42 - Ray Hare RB/CB <br />
Linemen/Linebackers <br /> ⢠16 - John Ellis G/DG <br /> ⢠17 - Tony Leon G/DG <br /> ⢠24 - Floyd Rhea G/DG <br /> ⢠23 - Gordon Wilson G/DG <br /> ⢠25 - Bruiser Kinard T/DT/K <br /> ⢠33 - Vaughn Stewart C/LB <br /> ⢠36 - Frank Strom T/DT <br /> ⢠38 - George Doherty T/DT <br /> ⢠43 - Charlie Ware T/DT <br /> ⢠44 - George Sergienko T/DT <br /> ⢠57 - George Smith C/LB <br />
Ends <br /> ⢠18 - George Weeks <br /> ⢠22 - Andy Kowalski <br /> ⢠28 - Bob Masterson K <br /> ⢠35 - Rocky Eguccioni <br /> ⢠55 - Joe Carter <br />
Reserve<br /> ⢠31 - Bill LaFitte (military) E <br />
<small>rookies in italics</small>