HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a
Czech American Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...
athlete who played
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
and was a coach of football,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913–1917), the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas In ...
(1908–1912), Pennsylvania State University (1918–1929), and
Delaware Valley College Delaware Valley University (DelVal) is a private university in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1896, it enrolls approximately 1,900 students on its suburban, 570-acre campus. DelVal offers more than 28 undergraduate majors, seven master's p ...
(1949). Bezdek also coached the Mare Island Marines in the
1918 Rose Bowl The 1918 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a bowl game played on January 1, 1918, at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California. It was the 4th Rose Bowl Game. With America at war, the game was played with p ...
and the
Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 1 ...
of the National Football League (NFL) in
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...
and part of the 1938 season. In addition, Bezdek coached basketball at Oregon (1906–1907, 1913–1917) and Penn State (1919), coached baseball at Arkansas (1909–1913), Oregon (1914–1917) and Penn State (1920–1930), and served as the manager of Major League Baseball's
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associat ...
(1917–1919). He 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 vot ...
as a coach in 1954. Coach Bezdek is the only Coach to bring three different teams to the Rose Bowl Game; University of Oregon, Mare Island Marines and Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Bezdek will be honored with Induction in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in December 31,2022.


Early years

Bezdek was born near Prague,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohe ...
(now part of the present-day Czech Republic). His fore fathers had been school-teachers, strong men and athletes. His family emigrated to America in 1891 when he was 6 years old. They lived in Cleveland's Slavic Community. His father James (Valcav), worked at as a butcher in Cleveland. His father, hence Hugo, can be found in the Cleveland City directory at 51 (5787) Portage Ave in 1895. and 156(5500) Fleet Ave. from 1896-98 St. The Fleet Ave. address still stands today. Around 1900 the family, James, Frances and Hugo moved to 4846 South Paulina St., Chicago Ill. where his father continued working as a butcher and 16 year old Hugo is "at school." It appears this structure is also standing. From here, young Hugo launched his Athletic Career. He enjoyed playing sports typical of the day. While he favored football, he also boxed, wrestled and played baseball.


Coaching career

After playing as a fullback at the University of Chicago, Bezdek began his football coaching career at the University of Oregon in 1906, but left after a year to become head coach at the
University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas In ...
. Arkansas' athletic teams were known as the Cardinals until after the 1909 season. Near the end of that year, Coach Bezdek called his team "a wild band of Razorback hogs" at an impromptu press conference following his team's victory over LSU. The name was a hit with the Arkansas students, and they voted to change the school's mascot from Cardinals to Razorbacks the following school term. Razorbacks has been Arkansas' mascot since that time. The 1909 team finished 7-0 and were considered the "Champions of the South". After five years at Arkansas, he returned to Oregon for six seasons. While coaching in Oregon, Bezdek also served as a scout for Major League Baseball's
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associat ...
, who hired him as their
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
in the middle of the 1917 season. He managed the Pirates through 1919, compiling a 166–187 record. While managing the Pirates, Bezdek continued his football coaching career, moving from Oregon to Penn State in 1919. He was head coach there until 1929, amassing a 65–30–11 record that included two undefeated seasons and an appearance in the
1923 Rose Bowl The 1923 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1923, was an American Football bowl game. It was the 9th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 14-3. Leo Calland, a USC guard, was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game when ...
. Bezdek was noted for changing the Nittany Lions' style of play. Bezdek also served as Penn State's
athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...
from 1918 to 1936, was interim
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach in 1919, garnering an 11–2 record, and director of the School of Physical Education and Athletics from 1930 to 1937. In 1937, Bezdek was hired by the
Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 1 ...
as their first head coach after the team joined the National Football League (NFL). His career with the Rams was brief, ending three games into the 1938 season with an abysmal 1–13 record. Nevertheless, Bezdek holds the distinction of being the only person to have served as both manager of a Major League Baseball team and head coach in the NFL. As a college football coach, Bezdek tallied a career record of 127–58–16. He was elected to 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 vot ...
in 1954.


Head coaching record


College football


Professional football


See also

*
List of College Football Hall of Fame inductees (coaches) This is a list of College Football Hall of Fame members who have been inducted as coaches. As of the 2017 inductions, 214 individuals have been inducted as coaches since the College Football Hall of Fame was established in 1951. Details Active ...
*
List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association Presidents of the American Football Coaches Association are: According to AFCA tradition officers move up one office each year until becoming president. Notes References {{Reflist * ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bezdek, Hugo 1884 births 1952 deaths American people of Bohemian descent American football fullbacks American men's basketball coaches Chicago Maroons football coaches Chicago Maroons football players Cleveland Rams coaches Arkansas Razorbacks baseball coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Delaware Valley Aggies football coaches Mare Island Marines football coaches Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions athletic directors Penn State Nittany Lions baseball coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches Pittsburgh Pirates managers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech players of American football Sportspeople from Prague Cleveland Rams head coaches