2014 Men’s Basketball
Championship
AP Images
AP Images
Arnold Ferrin (22) of Utah manages to slip the ball to a teammate during the 1944 national championship game as Aud Brindley of Dartmouth tries to break up the play.
Remember when … ?
What life was like when Utah won the title as a replacement
It’s probably safe to say that what happened in the 1944 tournament will never happen again. Just before the tournament was scheduled to begin, two of Arkansas’ starters were severely hurt in a car accident. Their station wagon broke down after returning from a scrimmage. While repairing what was said to be a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into their station wagon. The injuries were such that Arkansas withdrew from the tournament. The Utes, which had lost in the quarterfinals of that year’s NIT tournament, won the national title, beating Dartmouth 42-40 in the championship game.
Take a look at what life off the court was like back then.
| Then and Now | 1944 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of Milk |
62 cents
|
$3.65
|
| Loaf of Bread |
9 cents
|
$2.20
|
| Gallon of Gas |
21 cents
|
$4.89
|
| US Population |
138,397,345
|
311,591,917
|
| Federal Debt |
$204 billion
|
$16.1 trillion
|
| Music Player |
Record player ($2)
|
iPod (starting at $49)
|
| Highest grossing film |
Going My Way ($10 million)
|
The Avengers ($1.5 billion)
|
| President of the United States |
Franklin D. Roosevelt
|
Barack Obama
|
