Frank Michael Tritico (March 25, 1909 – March 5, 1966), sometimes listed as Frank Mitchell Tritico,[1] was an American football coach. He was the head coach of the Randolph Field football team during World War II. His 1943 Randolph Field Ramblers football team compiled a 9–1–1 record, including a 7–7 tie with Texas in the 1944 Cotton Bowl Classic. The 1944 team compiled a perfect 11–0 record, outscored opponents by a total of 441 to 19, and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll. Football statistician and historian Dr. L. H. Baker selected Tritico's 1944 squad as national champions for 1944.[2]
 Tritico in 1944 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 25, 1909 Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | March 5, 1966 (aged 56) Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1943–1944 | Randolph Field |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 20–1–1 (college) |
| Bowls | 1–0–1 |
Prior to World War II, Tritico coached high school football for LaGrange High School in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He later owned the Tritico Mattress Factory in Lake Charles. He died of a heart attack in 1966 at Lake Charles.[3][4]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph Field Ramblers (Independent) (1943–1944) | |||||||||
| 1943 | Randolph Field | 9–1–1 | T Cotton | ||||||
| 1944 | Randolph Field | 11–0 | W Treasury Bond Bowl | 3 | |||||
| Randolph Field: | 20–1–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 20–1–1 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ World War II Draft Card, October 1940, for Frank Mitchell Tritico, born March 21, 1909, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Ancestry.com.
- ^ Baker, Dr. L. H. (1945). "The Nation's Leading Teams, 1869–1944 | College and Service Teams' 1944 Ratings and Ranks (Compiled by Dr. L. H. Baker)". Football: Facts & Figures. New York: Farrar & Rinehart. p. 644–645.
No. 1 Randolph Field 958, No. 2 Army 951 — The ratings listed here have been computed by a method devised by the author. It consists of a combination of a modification of the Dickinson method plus one used by the author for several years. This combination has proved highly accurate.
- ^ "Frank Tritico Coached No. 1 Team in 1944". Lake Charles American Press. March 8, 1966. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Frank Tritico Rites Held Today In Lake Charles". The Shreveport Journal. March 7, 1966. p. 12A – via Newspapers.com.