Walter L. Hass (October 7, 1911 – September 13, 1987) 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 ...

coach and athletic director. He served in both capacities at the

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

. Hass was also the athletic director and head football coach at Carleton College, head coach at

Hibbing Community College Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At t ...

, and freshman team coach at his alma mater, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

College career

Hass attended the

, where he played football as a halfback. Hass earned three

varsity letters A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

from 1930 to 1932 and served as team captain. During his time on the team, he played under three different head coaches: Clarence Spears,

Fritz Crisler Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler (; January 12, 1899 – August 19, 1982) was an American college football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and ...

, and

Bernie Bierman Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was t ...

. All three were eventually elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Hass graduated from Minnesota in 1934.Minnesota Elects Oen
''Christian Science Monitor'', November 29, 1932. After graduation, he served as the freshman team coach at his alma mater for one season.

Coaching career

Hass then moved to

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At th ...

, where he coached

from 1935 to 1938 and amassed a 21–6–1 record.Hass Was Not Typical Coach
''The Times-News'', August 7, 1978. Hass next coached football at Carleton College, a small liberal arts school in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...

, from 1939 to 1955. His overall record was 62–43–4, winning two

Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference The Midwest Conference (MWC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Midwest Conference was ...

championships, first in 1940 and then with 1954's undefeated team. He also served as Carleton'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 1942 until 1956. Hass coached the "South" team in the Minnesota High School Football All-Star Game each year from 1952 to 1956. In February 1956, the

hired Hass as the replacement to retiring athletic director T. Nelson Metcalf.Chicago Picks W. L. Hass As Sports Chief
''Chicago Daily Tribune'', p. B1, February 17, 1956. In May 1956, the University of Chicago faculty reacted negatively to overtures of renewing sponsorship of football on campus. Chancellor Lawrence Kimpton told Hass, "It is always difficult to interpret a faculty action," and predicted that the sport would soon return. In 1959, Hass defended the "sport" of

tiddlywinks Tiddlywinks is a game played on a flat felt mat with sets of small discs called "winks", a pot, which is the target, and a collection of squidgers, which are also discs. Players use a "squidger" (nowadays made of plastic) to shoot a wink in ...

by stating that its "considerable hazards" included "split thumbnails, flying winks which threaten players and spectators alike." In 1963, Hass oversaw the reinstatement of football at Chicago at the club level,Football Returns to the Midway; 35 Maroons Hold 1st Scrimmage
''Chicago Tribune'', October 24, 1956. and he became its first head coach since a university administration hostile to the sport had discontinued it in 1939.Douglas A. Noverr
''The Games They Played: Sports in American History, 1865-1980''
p. 143, Rowman & Littlefield, 1983, . The return of football was not universally embraced by the student body, and in the inaugural season, 200 students protested in the middle of Stagg Field, which delayed the game and resulted in four arrests.Marooned!; After a 30-year hiatus, varsity football returned to the University of Chicago in the 1970s—sort of
''Chicago Magazine'', October 2006. Later in the decade, however, 1,100 students petitioned the administration for the promotion of Chicago football to the varsity level. The faculty administration and board of trustees approved the move and the team became a member of the non-scholarship

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in 1969. He retired as football coach, golf coach, professor, and the Department of Physical Education chairman in the spring of 1976. Former high school football mentor Bob Lombardi succeeded him as head coach.High school coach gets Chicago post
''The Day'', May 20, 1976. Hass's final record at Chicago was 11–48–1.Walter Hass Records by Year
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved August 18, 2010. While at Chicago, he was credited with rebuilding the athletic department, "which had declined to almost nothing" prior to his arrival. Hass retired to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in 1977.Walter Hass Revived Football at the U. of C.
''Chicago Tribune'', September 16, 1987. He died September 13, 1987, in

Hendersonville, North Carolina Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. It is south of Asheville and is the county seat of Henderson County. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leon ...

, at the age of 76.Walter L. Hass, 76, brought football back to U. of C.
''The Chicago Sun-Times'', p. 104, September 17, 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hass, Walter 1911 births 1987 deaths American football halfbacks Chicago Maroons athletic directors Chicago Maroons football coaches Carleton Knights athletic directors Carleton Knights football coaches Hibbing Cardinals football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football players College golf coaches in the United States University of Chicago faculty