Many of the team's opponents were from military installations that were established during World War II, though they also played two games against National Football League franchises.
In 1942, with the United States fighting in World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged sports programs to continue operating.
John MacCullough, a former USC Trojans football player and the owner of Aero Parts Manufacturing Company, was inspired by Roosevelt's words and formed a team consisting of his employees.
In announcing the team's founding on August 2, MacCullough explained, "We feel that inasmuch as Wichita is an outstanding defense city it is important that the workers be provided with clean, wholesome sports recreation.
"[2] To lead the team, MacCullough appointed Aero Parts assistant chief of police Frank Bausch as head coach.
A Wichita native, Bausch was an All-Pro center for the Chicago Bears during his NFL career in the 1930s, and was an assistant line coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1941.
[2] Among the team's signings were former Kansas quarterback and Aero Parts personnel department employee Ralph Miller,[5] Miller's high school teammate and running back Burt "Red" Hayes,[6][7] Wichita University fullback and punter Doug McEnulty,[8] and Tennessee fullback Chet Robertson who lost a finger in an accident at a Boeing plant later in August.
Wichita's season was initially supposed to begin against Lowry Field, but a military order prevented them from playing teams outside the base.
[15] Reference[26] The Aero Commandos' inaugural game came against Camp Gruber, a United States Army team from Oklahoma that won the branch's football championship in 1941.
[6] Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, a team that was regarded as having "a reputation for wide open football" with the single-wing formation, visited Wichita for the Commandos' second game.
[17] Before the game, the Aero Commandos signed West Texas alumnus Teeter Schupach and Washington State's Sam Godfey.
A quarter later, Chief McClain scored twice on 13- and 17-yard runs, followed by Ronzani's eight-yard touchdown throw to George Gruber shortly before halftime.
As a result, they left Albuquerque on Sunday and the game was pushed back by half an hour from its original 2:30 start time to accommodate the visitors.
The Commandos had scored shortly before halftime on a five-yard touchdown pass by Miller to Joe Byrnes, but it was nullified as Miller was too close to the line of scrimmage when he threw (the quarterback had to be five yards behind the line before throwing, a rule that existed in college at the time but which the NFL removed in 1933; the first half of the Commandos–Kellys game was played under collegiate rules while the second utilized the professional rulebook).
A 61-yard punt by McEnulty was muffed by the Kellys and recovered by Wichita at the Albuquerque 27, which set up Miller's five-yard touchdown to Joe Byrnes.
[32] The Fort Riley Centaurs took on the Commandos a week after defeating Wichita University, a game Bausch and Ronzani attended to analyze their upcoming opponent.
In turn, Centaurs head coach Lieutenant Curry N. Vaughan and his staff had scouted the Commandos' first four games before attending the Randolph Field matchup a day after their Wichita University meeting.
Riley also gained the services of star Green Bay Packers center Lt. Tom Greenfield who had just returned from playing with Major Robert Neyland's All-Eastern Army Team.
The second quarter began with Fort Sill quarterback Bert Roberts recovering a poor snap in his end zone for a Wichita safety.
[37] Although the Cardinals were viewed as the superior team as an NFL franchise, head coach Jimmy Conzelman conceded the Commandos' T formation "has everything, and I'm frank to tell you I don't know how to stop it.
The Cardinals added a fourth in the second quarter when McEnulty's punt was blocked on the Wichita 12-yard line, which was recovered by Alton Coppage and returned for a score.
[39] The Eagle described the Rams as "fully as tough" as the Cardinals though their offensive style, a modified T formation under coach Dutch Clark, was "more open" than Chicago's.