Chevrons and Diamonds

Manila Bears vs Nichols & Nelson Fields

VetCollector
1–2 minutes

This September 8, 1945 game program was printed for a contest played between the 648th Topographical Engineer Battalion, known as the Manila Bears, and a combined squad consisting of players from Nichols and Nelson Air Fields. A succession of dead ends have stalled our progress in determining the outcome of this game.

View the program in its entirety.

By the fall of 1945, football was a regular event at Rizal Stadium (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Nichols and Nelson’s roster included Vince Gavre, a University of Wisconsin standout quarterback who was drafted by the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers in 1939 but played one pro season with the AFL’s Kenosha Cardinals. Co-captain and teammate of Gavre, Norman Sturm was an underclassman back at the University of Washington before entering the U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII.

View or print the entire Manila Bears game program.

The Army’s 684th Topographical Engineers Manila Bears squad featured a mixture of collegiate, semi-pro sandlot and high school players (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
By combining the USAAF’s Nichols Field and Nelson Field squads, a formidable roster of former collegiate, semi-pro and high school players was assembled (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

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