The 1944 season was the Chicago Bears' 25th in the National Football League. The team was co-coached by Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos with Paddy Driscoll as the assistant coach. They placed second in the Western Division with a record of 6–3–1, which was tied with the Detroit Lions and trailed the Green Bay Packers. The Bears totaled the second highest tally of points scored and the sixth fewest points conceded. The Bears were unable to reach the postseason for the first time since 1939 and were unsuccessful in claiming their fourth title of the 1940s. Playing from their home stadium of Wrigley Field, the Bears had to deal with many players leaving the league to serve in World War II. 1944 All-Star Game The 1944 Chicago College All-Star Game between the Bears and All-Stars was presented in a similar method to the 1943 game. The selection of coaches and players for the College All-Star team was based on the classic games of the previous years and was not dictated by votes from supporters. At the beginning of August, the coach of the collegiate team was revealed to be Lynn Waldorf from Northwestern. His assistants were Jeff Cravath, Bo McMillin, Wes Fry and Henry Frinka. These coaches were responsible for the largest-ever College All-Star squad of 71 individuals. Many of their players were on furlough from their military service and were therefore in prime fitness. On the 30th of August, this collegiate team would play the Chicago Bears at Northwestern University’s Dyche Stadium. In the build-up to the match, the All-Stars trained at Dyche Stadium while the Bears trained at Collegeville, Indiana. On August 22, the Bears "received a big boost when star quarterback Sid Luckman was able to report to training camp". Luckman had been permitted to return from Sheepshead Bay where he was involved in Maritime Service to participate in the All-Star match. This resulted in the Bears being tipped favorites as a 9-5 in the betting line with the addition of the quarterback. However, the Bears were missing key players of Danny Fortmann, Lee Artoe and Hampton Pool. The match sold out with approximately 50,000 people in attendance that mainly featured fans from Chicago due to travel restrictions in wartime. Broadcasting was nation-wide through the WGN (AM) and Mutual radio networks. The Chicago Bears just managed to win the 1944 All-Star match and Francis J. Powers stated