Emory Dilworth Bellard (December 17, 1927 – February 10, 2011) was a
college football coach. He was head coach at
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
from 1972 to 1978 and at
Mississippi State University from 1979 until 1985. Bellard died on February 10, 2011 after battling
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) since the fall of 2010.
Bellard is a member of the
Texas Sports Hall of Fame
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Once it made its first induction (baseball ...
. He was considered to have had one of the most innovative offensive minds in football and is credited for inventing the
wishbone formation.
Early life
A native of
Luling, Texas, Bellard was one of 12 children. His father was a geologist and driller who arrived in Central Texas in the late 1920s to take part in the emerging oil boom.
Bellard graduated from
Aransas Pass High School and went on to attend the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
, where he played his freshman year under coach
Dana X. Bible. Bellard broke his leg during his sophomore season and later transferred to Southwest Texas State University (now
Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
).
Coaching career
High school
Bellard was a high school head coach for 21 seasons, where he achieved a record of 177–59–9 and won three state titles. During his time as a high school coach, he explored the idea of running an offense out of a three-back formation.
Bellard began coaching at
Ingleside High School, a Class B school in
Ingleside, Texas
Ingleside is a city in Nueces and San Patricio Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Its population was 9,519 at the 2020 census.
Ingleside was the home to Naval Station Ingleside. On August 24, 2005, the BRAC Committee voted to close the base. ...
. He guided the school to two consecutive regional wins (as far as Class B football went) in 1953 and 1954, and a street near Ingleside High School is named after him. He was then hired to succeed
Joe Kerbel
Joseph Edward Kerbel (May 3, 1921 – March 20, 1973) was an American football coach. He is the second winningest coach in West Texas A&M Buffaloes history.
After a successful coaching career at Bartlesville High School, Bartlesville and Clevelan ...
at
Breckenridge High School, then a state powerhouse in the second-highest
UIL classification. Under coach Kerbel and his predecessor
Cooper Robbins, Breckenridge won three 3A state championships in 1951, 1952, and 1954. Bellard continued that winning tradition with state titles in 1958 and 1959.
In 1960, Bellard was selected over
Gordon Wood to replace
Bob Harrell as head coach at
Central High School in
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...
. San Angelo Central was playing in the highly competitive District 2-4A, nicknamed the "Little Southwest Conference", against perennial state champions such as
Abilene and
Odessa Permian. Bellard amassed a 59–19–2 record at San Angelo Central, winning a 4A state championship in 1966. He then left the high school ranks for the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
.
In 1988, Bellard returned to the high school level, coaching
Spring Westfield High School near
Houston, Texas, to a 41–22–5 record over six seasons.
College
Texas
In 1967, Bellard was hired as the linebackers coach at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
and was moved to
offensive coordinator in 1968. At this time, he developed and implemented the
wishbone formation, a system inspired by the variations of the
veer
The Veer is an option running play often associated with option offenses in American football, made famous at the collegiate level by Bill Yeoman's Houston Cougars. It is currently run primarily on the high school level, with some usage at the ...
developed by
Homer Rice and run by
Bill Yeoman at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
.
Texas A&M
Bellard became head coach at Texas A&M in 1972, taking over head-coaching duties from
Gene Stallings
Eugene Clifton Stallings Jr. (born March 2, 1935) is a retired American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University (1954–1956), where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at ...
. In his seven years at Texas A&M, he finished with a record of 48–27 and three top-15 finishes.
Acting as his own offensive coordinator, Bellard hired former high school football coaches to assist him as backfield coaches, including
Gil Bartosh (1973) and
Chuck Moser (1974–1978). Both Bartosh and Moser had won Texas state championships. In 1975, however, Bellard hired
Tom Wilson away from
Jim Carlen
James Anthony Carlen III (July 11, 1933 – July 22, 2012) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University (1966–1969) and Texas Tech University (19 ...
's
Texas Tech coaching staff to serve as the Aggies' offensive coordinator. For the defensive department, Bellard hired
Melvin Robertson, one of the top defensive coaches, away from Bill Yeoman's coaching staff at the University of Houston. Robertson became
defensive coordinator, and among his assistants were
R. C. Slocum and Dan LaGrasta.
Bellard's first two seasons at Texas A&M were difficult, as his Aggies finished 3–8 and 5–6, respectively. In 1974, with a pair of his own recruiting classes suited to run the wishbone formation, the Aggies went 8–3, then followed it up with two 10–2 seasons, including a pair of wins over Royal and the Longhorns and three consecutive
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
s. After starting the 1978 season 4–0, Bellard resigned mid-season after two consecutive losses: 33–0 to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
and 24–6 to
Baylor.
Mississippi State
After A&M, Bellard spent seven seasons as head coach at
Mississippi State University. His best years as the Bulldogs head coach were in 1980 and 1981, when his team finished 9–3 and 8–4, respectively. Also, Bellard was the coach when Mississippi State defeated number 1, undefeated Alabama 6-3 in Jackson, Mississippi in 1980.
However, the Bulldogs significantly regressed after 1981. In the next four seasons, he only won a total of four games in SEC play. Before the 1985 season, Bellard boldly predicted that the Bulldogs would rebound and win their first SEC title since 1941. They not only failed to do so, but went winless in SEC play. Bellard was fired after the season.
Head coaching record
College
*Bellard resigned after 6 games
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellard, Emory
1927 births
2011 deaths
Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches
Texas A&M Aggies athletic directors
Texas A&M Aggies football coaches
Texas Longhorns football coaches
Texas Longhorns football players
Texas State Bobcats football players
High school football coaches in Texas
People from Aransas County, Texas
People from Luling, Texas
People from San Patricio County, Texas
Deaths from motor neuron disease
Neurological disease deaths in Texas
People from Ingleside, Texas