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Bill Glassford

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Bill Glassford
Glassford from the 1951 Cornhusker
Biographical details
Born(1914-03-08)March 8, 1914
Lancaster, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 19, 2016(2016-09-19) (aged 102)
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Pittsburgh (1936)
Playing career
1934–1936Pittsburgh
1937Cincinnati Bengals (AFL II)
Position(s)Fullback, guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1938[1]–1939Manhattan (assistant)
1940–1941Carnegie Tech (assistant)
1942Yale (line)
1945Miami NAS
1946–1948New Hampshire
1949–1955Nebraska
Head coaching record
Overall51–42–4
Bowls0–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 New England Conference (1946)
2 Yankee Conference (1947–1948)
Awards

James William Glassford (March 8, 1914 – September 19, 2016) was an American football player and coach, who served as head coach for the New Hampshire Wildcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Biography

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Glassford was born in Lancaster, Ohio,[2] and attended the University of Pittsburgh where he played football, lettering from 1934 through 1936. He earned first-team All-American status at guard in 1936, for the Panthers team that won the 1937 Rose Bowl. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and graduated in 1937 with a degree in business administration.[3] He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1937 NFL Draft.[4] Also in 1937, he played for the Cincinnati Bengals of the second American Football League. From 1938 through 1942, Glassford coached football at three different colleges. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy.[5]

From 1946 to 1948, Glassford was head football coach at the University of New Hampshire, where he compiled a 19–5–1 record, including an 8–1 record in 1947 for the Wildcats. From 1949 to 1955, he was head coach for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he compiled a 31–35–3 record. His three winning seasons there (1950, 1952, and 1954) were the only winning seasons the program had between 1941 and 1961. In 1955, he led the Cornhuskers to their first-ever Orange Bowl, where they lost to Duke, 34–7. Glassford coached three All-Americans in Tom Novak (1949), Bobby Reynolds (1950), and Jerry Minnick (1952).

Glassford retired from coaching after the 1955 season and went into private business in Arizona. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2002,[3] and turned 100 in 2014.[6] Glassford died in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of 102, and was at that time the oldest still-living former pro player, and one of only seven total to have lived a century.[7]

Head coaching record

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Miami Naval Air Station (Independent) (1945)
1945 Miami MAS 1–2
Miami MAS: 1–2
New Hampshire Wildcats (New England Conference) (1946)
1946 New Hampshire 6–1–1 3–0–1 T–1st
New Hampshire Wildcats (Yankee Conference) (1947–1948)
1947 New Hampshire 8–1 4–0 1st L Glass[8][9]
1948 New Hampshire 5–3 3–1 1st
New Hampshire: 19–5–1 10–1–1
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Seven Conference) (1949–1955)
1949 Nebraska 4–5 3–3 T–3rd
1950 Nebraska 6–2–1 4–2 2nd T–20 17
1951 Nebraska 2–8 2–4 T–4th
1952 Nebraska 5–4–1 3–2–1 3rd
1953 Nebraska 3–6–1 2–4 T–4th
1954 Nebraska 6–5 4–2 2nd L Orange
1955 Nebraska 5–5 5–1 2nd
Nebraska: 31–35–3 23–18–1
Total: 51–42–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Source:[10]
† While listed in NCAA records, the Glass Bowl is not considered an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.

References

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  1. ^ "Bill Glassford To Coach At Manhattan". Chillicothe Gazette. Chillicothe, Ohio. AP. February 15, 1938. p. 9. Retrieved November 25, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "/Ccpa/".
  3. ^ a b "Bill Glassford". huskers.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "1937 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Bill Glassford, 102, Dies; America?s Oldest Living Pro".
  6. ^ "Pitt's Oldest Known Living Football Letterman Turns 100 | Bleacher Report". bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.
  7. ^ "McKewon: Now 101, former Husker football coach Bill Glassford still keeps up with Nebraska".
  8. ^ "Wildcats' Win Streak Broken In 20–14 Duel". The Capital. Annapolis, Maryland. AP. December 7, 1947. Retrieved November 25, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Toledo Passes Shatter New Hampshire in Glass Bowl, 20–14". Detroit Free Press. UP. December 7, 1947. Retrieved November 25, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "J. William "Bill" Glassford Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2010 – via Wayback Machine.