Harry Walter "Buck" Ewing (July 18, 1888 – March 11, 1962) 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, 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 t ...

, and college athletics administrator. He was a 1909 graduate of

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

where he played football. Ewing served as the head football coach at

Morningside College Morningside University is a private university affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside University has 21 buildings on a campus in Sioux City (ar ...

(1911), South Dakota State College (1912–1917), Ohio Wesleyan University (1919–1921),

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 ...

(1922–1923), and

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 ...

(1935–1938, 1942–1945, 1951–1954), compiling a career college football record of 82–82–10. He was also the head basketball coach at South Dakota State (1912–1913, 1914–1917), Ohio Wesleyan (1919–1920), Miami (1922–1924), and Otterbein (1942–1952), tallying a career

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

mark of 117–111–1.

Early life

A native of

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, Ewing attended Lincoln High School where he graduated in 1906. He was an all around athlete participating in football, basketball, track, and

. In football, he played both tackle and fullback. His football team claimed the high school championship of the United States in 1905. In track, he broke three Lincoln High School records for discus (111 feet) and 12 lb shot put (48 feet 5 inches) and the 12 lb

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

(165 feet 8 inches).

Playing career

After playing tackle on the freshman team, Ewing lettered in football at the University of Nebraska under coach William C. "King" Cole in 1907, 1908, and 1909. Weighing 188-pounds, he played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and was known as a "natural people mover on the field." Ewing helped the 1907 Nebraska Cornhuskers to an 8–2 record and a share of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

title. In 1908, the Cornhuskers finished with 7–2–1 with Ewing starting every game at left guard. In his last season as a Cornhusker the team's record slipped to a 3–3–2 mark.

Coaching career

After finishing his playing days at Nebraska, Ewing joined the Cornhuskers coaching staff. In 1911, he was named director of athletics and coach at

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

. The following year, he took a coaching position in both football and basketball at South Dakota State College. In 1914, he added the title of

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 ...

. Ewing served as football coach at South Dakota from 1912 through 1917 with a record of 26–12–2. He also served as basketball coach for the 1912–13 season where his team went 0–2. The next season the college did not field a team but Ewing returned to coach the basketball team for the 1914–15, 1915–16, and 1916–17 seasons. He finished his career as South Dakota State's basketball coach with a record of 14–20–1. In 1918 Ewing was named head coach of Ohio Wesleyan University where he eventually was promoted to associate professor of

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

and graduate manager. In his three years as football coach at Ohio Wesleyan, he had a combined record of 11–9. He also served as basketball coach for the 1919–20 season where his team went 5–8. In 1922, he took a position as Professor of Physical Education and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at

. While at Miami he served as head coach of both the football and basketball teams. In the two years as head coach had a combined record of 11–15 in basketball and 7–7–2 in football. Ewing returned to college coaching in 1934 when he took a position at

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. Known as "Mr. Athletics" at Otterbein he served as coach of numerous sports as well as athletic director, trainer, and physical education director from 1934 to 1958. During his career as a coach at Otterbein, Ewing compiled a 32–51–6 record in football and an 87–68 record in basketball. He was honored several ways by Otterbein for his impact on athletics. The track in the Rike Center is named in his memory and he was named to the Otterbein College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewing, Harry 1888 births 1962 deaths American football guards Miami RedHawks athletic directors Miami RedHawks football coaches Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches Morningside Mustangs athletic directors Morningside Mustangs football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops football coaches Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops men's basketball coaches Otterbein Cardinals athletic directors Otterbein Cardinals football coaches Otterbein Cardinals men's basketball coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits athletic directors South Dakota State Jackrabbits baseball coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits football coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Baseball coaches from Nebraska Basketball coaches from Nebraska