Charles R. Stobart (October 27, 1932 – November 29, 2022) was an American college football player and coach. He played as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

in the 1950s. He was a football coach at various schools for 42 years from 1959 to 2000, including 36 consecutive seasons as a coach at Division I collegiate programs. Stobart began his coaching career in 1959 as a high school coach in Ohio. His college coaching positions included stints as the head football coach at the University of Toledo (1977–1981), the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

(1982–1984), and the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

(1989–1994). He was twice selected as the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

) and was inducted into the University of Toledo Athletics Hall of Fame. Stobart also served as offensive backfield coach at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1969–1976) during The Ten Year War and offensive coordinator at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

(1985),

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

(1986),

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(1987–1988), and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

(2000).

Early years

Stobart grew up in

Middleport, Ohio Middleport is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,530 at the time of the 2010 census. History Middleport was founded during the 1820s, a time of great prosperity and rapidly increasing commerce in Meigs Co ...

. Stobart became a star athlete at Middleport High School, playing football, basketball, and baseball. After high school, Stobart served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He then attended

where he played football and basketball. He was the quarterback for the Ohio Bobcats football team from 1956 to 1958 and was played at third base for the baseball team.

Coaching career

High school coach

Stobart started his coaching career in the fall of 1959 as the head football coach at

Berne Union High School Berne Union High School is a public high school in Sugar Grove, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Berne Union Local Schools district. Their nickname is The Grove. Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships * Boys Baseball ...

in Sugar Grove, Ohio. He led Berne Union to a conference championship and an 8–1 record during the 1959 season. In 1960, he was hired as head football coach at Gallia Academy in

Gallipolis, Ohio Gallipolis ( ) is a chartered village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia County. The municipality is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about 55 miles southeast of Chillicothe and 44 miles northwest of Charlesto ...

. He led Gallia to a perfect 9–0 record in 1960. In 1961, he was hired as the head football coach at Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Ohio. He remained at Mount Vernon through the 1964 season. His teams compiled a 17–1 record during the 1963 and 1964 seasons.

Marshall and Cincinnati

In June 1965, Stobart was hired by Marshall University as offensive backfield coach for the football team and head coach for the baseball team. The

1965 Marshall Thundering Herd football team The 1965 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. In its seventh season under head co ...

compiled a 5–5 record. In January 1966, Stobart was hired as backfield coach at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. The

1966 Cincinnati Bearcats football team The 1966 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented University of Cincinnati during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. The Bearcats, led by head coach Chuck Studley, participated in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and pla ...

compiled a 3–7 record.

Schembechler years (Miami and Michigan)

In February 1967, Stobart was hired as an assistant coach on Bo Schembechler's staff at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

. He served as Schembechler's offensive backfield coach during the 1967 and 1968 seasons, when the team compiled records of 6–4 and 7–3. In December 1968, Schembechler was hired as the head coach at the

. In January 1969, Schembechler hired Stobart to join him as offensive backfield coach at Michigan. He spent the next seven years from 1969 to 1976 as Michigan's backfield coach, working with Schembechler and mentoring Michigan backs including

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

, Don Moorhead,

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

, Dennis Franklin,

Gordon Bell Chester Gordon Bell (born August 19, 1934) is an American electrical engineer and manager. An early employee of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) 1960–1966, Bell designed several of their PDP machines and later became Vice President of Engi ...

, Rick Leach, and Rob Lytle. Stobart spent a decade on Schembechler's staff at Miami and Michigan. Throughout his career, Stobart said Schembechler was the biggest football influence in his life.

Toledo

In December 1976, Stobart was hired as head football coach at the University of Toledo. At the time of the hiring, Schembechler said:

I don't know how Toledo could have hired a better man. . . . He is a tremendous football man. He knows football, but more than that he is an idea man. He is an excellent recruiter and a really tireless worker. The guy can go all day. I am really sorry to see him go.

Stobart was head coach at Toledo for five years years from 1977 to 1981, compiling a 23–30–1 record. His 1981 Toledo Rockets football team went 9–3, won the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

(MAC) championship, and defeated San Jose State in the

1981 California Bowl The 1981 California Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 19, 1981 at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California. The game pitted the Toledo Rockets and the San Jose State Spartans. Background Toledo went 8–1 in confere ...

. He out-polled Mike Kelly and

Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of N ...

to win Ohio Coach of the Year honors in December 1981. He was inducted into the University of Toledo Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Utah

In December 1981, he was hired as the head coach at the

. He held that position for three years from 1982 to 1984, compiling a 16–17–1 record. In November 1984, Utah announced it was seeking a new football coach and advised that Stobart was free to pursue other options.

Pittsburgh, Arizona and USC

In January 1985, the

hired Stobart as its offensive coordinator. At the end of the 1985 season, Pitt's head coach Foge Fazio was fired. Stobart was hired in January 1986 as the offensive coordinator at the

. In January 1987, Arizona head coach Larry Smith was hired as the head football coach at USC. Smith promptly hired Stobart as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at USC. Stobart held that position for two years, helping USC to an 8–4 record and 26.8 points per game in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and a 10–2 record and 30.8 points per game in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

Memphis

In June 1989, Stobart was hired as the head football coach at the

. At the time, the program was embroiled in controversy due to NCAA rules violation and waiting for an NCAA decision on sanctions. Larry Smith of USC praised the selection of Stobart, saying, "He brings integrity, responsibility and maturity, plus a tremendous knowledge of the game and coaching skills." Stobart compiled a 29–36–1 record in six years at Memphis. He was fired from his post at Memphis in December 1994.

Ohio State

In March 1995, Stobart was hired as the wide receivers coach at the

. He held that post for five seasons from 1995 to 1999. He was position coach to Biletnikoff Award winner

Terry Glenn Terry Tyree Glenn (July 23, 1974 – November 20, 2017) was an American football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by t ...

in 1995. In 2000, he was promoted to offensive coordinator at Ohio State. In Stobart's lone season as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, the Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record and scored an average of 27.6 points per game. In January 2001, Ohio State head coach John Cooper was fired. Ohio State's new head coach Jim Tressel then hired Jim Bollman to replace Stobart as the team's offensive coordinator.

Family and later years

Stobart and his wife Diana had five children. In retirement, he lived in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Stobart died on November 29, 2022, at age 90 in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stobart, Chuck 1932 births 2022 deaths American football quarterbacks Arizona Wildcats football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Coaches of American football from Ohio High school football coaches in Ohio Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Military personnel from Ohio Ohio Bobcats football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches People from Gallipolis, Ohio People from Middleport, Ohio Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Players of American football from Ohio Toledo Rockets football coaches USC Trojans football coaches Utah Utes football coaches