Harold Jonathan Iddings (May 16, 1885 – August 25, 1952) was an

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 wi ...

player and 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

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. A 1909 graduate from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, he served as head football coach 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 ...

from 1909 to 1910, at

Simpson College Simpson College is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Indianola, Iowa. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has about 1,250 full-time and 300 part-time students. In addition to the Indianola residential campus, Simpso ...

from 1911 to 1913, at

Otterbein College Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...

in 1916, and at Penn College—now known as

William Penn University William Penn University is a private university in Oskaloosa, Iowa. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and finally to William P ...

—in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1921, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

record of 16–26–1. Iddings was also the head basketball coach at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

(1910–1911), Simpson (1911–1914), Otterbein (1916–1917), and the

Carnegie Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technolog ...

(1920–1921).

College career

Iddings was an all-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

player at the

in 1907 and 1908 under legendary coach

Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfiel ...

. In both years he helped the

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

to the Big Ten title. In the 1907 and 1908 seasons the Maroons won all nine Big Ten contests and finished with an overall record of 4–1 and 5–0–1, respectively. Iddings was also the co-Big Ten champion in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the M ...

in 1907. Both Iddings and Barton Haggard of

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hist ...

reached 11’–4”.

Professional football

Iddings was a member of the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

for part of the 1915 season. During this era of professional football, it was very common for players to be hired week to week. Teams did not establish rosters and added players depending on the opponent. Iddings was brought in to upgrade the left halfback position against the Detroit Heralds replacing M. J. Truesby. Late in the season, manager Jack Cusack made whole sale changes to the lineup including bringing in

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

to take over the starting left halfback position.

Later life

After leaving coaching at the college level, Iddings was the

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 and ...

at Thornton Township High School in

Harvey, Illinois Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 census. Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor and Riverdale to the north; Dolton, Phoenix, and South Holland to the east; East Hazel C ...

. While at Thornton he coached both basketball and football during his tenure. He coached the basketball team from 1921 to 1929 with a 59–39 record including a district title in 1925–26 season. Iddings coached the football team from 1929 to 1931 with a record of 7–5–2. He retired from Thornton in 1946 spending the rest of his life on his farm in

Westville, Indiana Westville is a town in New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,853 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Michigan City, Indiana-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Westville is located ...

. He died on August 25, 1952, at St. Luke's Hospital in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Head coaching record

College football

College basketball

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iddings, Harold 1885 births 1952 deaths American football halfbacks American male pole vaulters Basketball coaches from Indiana Canton Bulldogs (Ohio League) players Carnegie Mellon Tartans men's basketball coaches Chicago Maroons football players College men's track and field athletes in the United States College track and field coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Illinois High school football coaches in Illinois Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Otterbein Cardinals football coaches Otterbein Cardinals men's basketball coaches People from La Porte, Indiana Simpson Storm football coaches Simpson Storm men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area William Penn Statesmen football coaches