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George Almond Munger (June 24, 1909 – July 21, 1994) was an American athlete, coach and athletic director. He played college football and competed in track and field at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
from 1930 to 1933. He returned to Penn as head coach of the football team from 1938 to 1953 and as director of physical education from 1954 to 1974. His 1945 and 1947 teams finished ranked among the top ten college football teams in the United States, and he coached five players who were inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
and three who received the
Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...
as the best player in college football. Munger was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976. The
Maxwell Football Club The Maxwell Football Club (originally called the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia) was established in 1935 to promote safety in the game of American football. Named in honor of Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell, legendary college player, official, and ...
has present the
George Munger Award The George Munger Award is presented to the NCAA Division I college football coach of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. The award was named after former University of Pennsylvania head coach George Munger. People who voted for the winners o ...
each year since 1989 to the national college football coach of the year.


Biography


Early years

Munger was born in
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from C ...
in 1909. His father, Herbert N. Munger, was the co-owner of the Munger & Long department store in
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...
. Munger received his early education at the Friends School in Camden. He received his preparatory education at
The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...
in
Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...
and the
Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in ...
in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. He was the captain of the football team at Episcopal Academy in 1928 and 1929. He led Episcopal to two undefeated seasons in football and once scored eight touchdowns in a game. He also helped lead Episcopal to two basketball championships and a baseball championship. He also set school records in the pole vault, high jump, discus and javelin.


Athlete at Penn

He later attended the University of Pennsylvania where he played at the halfback for the
Penn Quakers football The Penn Quakers football program is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are a Division I Football Champion ...
team from 1930 to 1932. He also competed for Penn in track and field and won the decathlon at the 1932
Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...
. With the Penn Relays being comparable to the Olympic Trials, Munger should have been a lock for the 1932 Olympics. But citing a lack of depth in the 1932 Relays field, another Olympics Trials were held in Chicago. Munger failed to clear a starting 12-foot height in the pole vault, finished ninth, and was named an alternate to the squad.


Teacher and coach at Episcopal Academy

After graduating from Penn in 1933, Munger taught mathematics and religion and coached football at the Episcopal Academy. In September 1935, he married Louise Laycock Smith in the Chapel of the Episcopal Academy.


Coach and administrator at Penn

Munger was hired by Penn as the freshman football and track coach in 1936 and held that position during the 1936 and 1937 football seasons. In January 1938, the 28-year-old Munger took over as the head coach of the Penn football team. He also became an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Education effective July 1, 1938. He served as the head football coach at Penn for 16 years from 1938 to 1953, compiling a record of 82–42–10 for a .649 winning percentage. His Penn teams finished ranked among the top ten college football teams in the United States on three occasions, including a No. 7 ranking in 1947 and a No. 8 ranking in 1945. Munger's 1947 team finished with an undefeated 7–0–1 record and outscored opponents 219 to 35. The 1947 team shut out both
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
and
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
by identical scores of 21–0, and its only setback was a 7–7 tie with
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. Munger coached 16 All-American football players at Penn, and three of his players, Robert H. Odell (1943),
Chuck Bednarik Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history a ...
(1948) and
Reds Bagnell Francis J. "Reds" Bagnell (September 15, 1928 – July 10, 1995) was an American football halfback in college. He was an All-American tailback for the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1951. He won the Maxwell Award, was ...
(1950), won the
Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...
as the best college football player in the United States. Five of his players have been inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
: Odell, Bednarik, Bagnell,
Skip Minisi Anthony Salvatore "Skip" Minisi (September 18, 1926 – May 5, 2005) was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985 based on his co ...
, and
George Savitsky George Michael Savitsky (July 30, 1924 – September 4, 2012) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. Born in New York City, Savitsky grew up in Camden, New Jersey and played footb ...
. During the Munger era, Penn regularly drew crowds of 75,000 to home games at
Franklin Field Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...
. Munger's teams led the nation in attendance between 1938 and 1942 with 1.78 million fans. ''The Daily Pennsylvanian'' later wrote, "The Munger era represented the heyday of Quaker football." After resigning as the football coach, Munger served as the director of physical education at Penn from 1954 to 1974. He was also a vice-president of the National Football Foundation and the Maxwell Club, president of the
American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...
, and a member of the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Committee and physical fitness committees under Presidents
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
,
Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...
, and John F. Kennedy. During the summers from 1952 to 1976, he was Director of Camp Tecumseh, a boy's camp in Center Harbor, N.H. founded by three former Olympians in 1903.The Letter's Author: Challenge to Bud Wilkinson
Sports Illustrated Vault July 31, 1961


Honors and awards

Munger was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...
in 1976. Munger's biography at the Hall of Fame describes him as "a superb, relaxed athlete, an innovative coach, and a meticulous administrator." The University of Pennsylvania also named its football training complex, the George Munger Training Complex, after him, and the Munger Award is given each year to the most valuable player on the Penn football team. In 1989, the
Maxwell Football Club The Maxwell Football Club (originally called the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia) was established in 1935 to promote safety in the game of American football. Named in honor of Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell, legendary college player, official, and ...
began awarding the
George Munger Award The George Munger Award is presented to the NCAA Division I college football coach of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. The award was named after former University of Pennsylvania head coach George Munger. People who voted for the winners o ...
to the college football coach of the year. In its description of the award, the Maxwell Club says of Munger, "His devotion to ethics in athletics, and his commitment to education is the standard for which all college coaches should strive." Recipients of the award include
Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University o ...
,
Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2 ...
,
Lloyd Carr Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolverines compiled a record ...
,
Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahom ...
,
Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...
, and
Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is a college football TV commentator and former American football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons fro ...
. In March 2010, the club announced that the award would be renamed the
Joseph V. Paterno Award The Joseph V. Paterno Award was a coaching award that was awarded to Frank Beamer in 2010. Originally the award was intended to be awarded annually to the college football head coach who best exemplified "Penn State head coach Joe Paterno’s dedi ...
. After Joe Paterno's involvement in a child sex abuse scandal, the Maxwell Club returned the award to its former name. It continues to be awarded to a promising college football coach every year.


Death

Munger died from heart failure in July 1994 at age 84. He was survived by his wife Viola, daughter Carol Ober and four grandchildren. At the time of Munger's death, Chuck Bednarik told ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', " ungertaught me a secret – the secret of how to approach life. He was a jovial man who would always laugh and act young. When I saw him a few years ago, it was like he had never changed, like he was in his '40s."


Head coaching record


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munger, George 1909 births 1994 deaths American football halfbacks American men's basketball players Penn Quakers football coaches Penn Quakers football players College men's track and field athletes in the United States High school football coaches in Pennsylvania College Football Hall of Fame inductees Episcopal Academy alumni The Hill School alumni Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania