Alexander Arrasi Agase (March 27, 1922 – May 3, 2007) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 gu ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

three times in college and played on three

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

championship teams before becoming head football coach at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. Agase grew up in Illinois and attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, where he was a standout as a

starting in 1941. He was named an All-American in 1942. Agase then entered the U.S. Marines during World War II and played a season at Purdue while in training. He was again named an All-American in 1943. After his discharge from the Marines, he came back to Illinois and played a final season in 1946, after which he was named an All-American for a third time. Agase began his professional football career with the

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 Los Angeles Dons season, 1946 to 1949 Los Angeles Dons season, 1949, and played their home games in the L ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC) in 1947, but was soon traded to the Chicago Rockets and then the Browns, where he remained until 1952. Cleveland won two AAFC championships and one

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

championship while Agase was on the team. After retiring from football, Agase worked as an assistant coach for the Dallas Texans and, after a brief return to playing for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

. He was hired as an assistant at Northwestern in 1956 under head coach

Ara Parseghian Ara Raoul Parseghian (; ; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football coach and player who coached the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for bringing Notre Dame's Fighting Irish footb ...

. Agase remained as an assistant until Parseghian left to coach at Notre Dame in 1963 and he was named the new head coach. Agase guided the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

to a 32–58–1 win-loss-tie record in nine seasons. He was named coach of the year by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

after guiding the team to a 6–4 record in 1970. Agase left to coach at Purdue in 1972, but none of his teams posted a winning record there, and he was fired in 1977. He then spent six years as athletic director at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

before retiring. Agase died in 2007. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 1963.

Early life and college

Agase was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to an Assyrian father, Goolasis(Charles) Agase (1883–1959), and an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

mother, Eslie Darwitt (1892–1971). Both were born in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. His brother Lou was also involved with football. He attended

Evanston Township High School Evanston Township High School (ETHS) (District 202) is a public high school in Evanston, Illinois. The campus is located in a northern suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston a ...

, but only played on the school's varsity football team in his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year. After graduating, he attended the

and played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

there as a right

in 1941 and 1942. In a 1942 game against the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, Agase scored two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s for the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The university operates a number of athletic fac ...

, becoming only the second guard in college football history to accomplish that feat. The first touchdown came in the second quarter, when Agase stripped the ball from Minnesota's Bill Daley and ran it back 35 yards. The second was a fourth-quarter fumble recovery in the end zone to give Illinois a 20–13 victory. In another game against

Great Lakes Naval Training Station Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training ...

, a military team, Agase had 22 tackles. Under coach

Ray Eliot Raymond Eliot "Butch" Nusspickel (June 13, 1905 – February 24, 1980) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. Early life Eliot lettered as a guard for Illinois three times: twice for football ...

, Illinois finished the season with a 6–4 win–loss record. Agase was named an

after the season. Agase entered the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

in 1943 as America's involvement in World War II intensified. He was sent to

for training in the U.S. Marines and played on the school's football team along with enlistees from other schools. Purdue had won just one

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

game the previous year, but the influx of trainees including Agase led to a reversal of fortune in 1943. Coached by Elmer Burnham, the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

won all of their games that year and were named Big Ten co-champions. Agase was again named an All-American. During the following two years, Agase served on active duty in the war. He participated in the battles of

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

and

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, where he received a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

after he was wounded in action. He rose to the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. Agase returned to Illinois in 1946 and rejoined a Fightining Illini team that posted an 8–2 record and was ranked fifth in the nation in the AP Poll at season's end. Illinois beat the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

in the

1947 Rose Bowl The 1947 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, the 33rd edition of the Rose Bowl Game. The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the UCLA Bruins, 45–14. Illinois halfbacks Buddy Young and Jules Rykovich shared the Player of the Game awar ...

after the season. Agase was named an All-American for a third time, and received the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The ''Chicago Tribune'' Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Ill ...

as the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

in the Big Ten.

Professional football career

Agase had been selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the

1944 NFL draft The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Perhaps as a tip of the hat to wartime sensibilities, the 1944 draft was officially called the "1943 Preferred Negotiations List" by the league. ...

, but military service delayed his professional career. Although Green Bay still held the rights to him when he graduated from college, Agase instead signed in 1947 with the

of the new

(AAFC). Agase, however, played just three games for the Dons before he was traded in September 1947 to the Chicago Rockets, another AAFC team. The Rockets finished the season in last place in the AAFC's western division with a 1–13 record. The Rockets traded Agase and fellow lineman Chubby Grigg the following year to the

, who had won the AAFC championship in each of the league's first two years of play. Led by

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Otto Graham Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League ...

, fullback Marion Motley and ends

Dante Lavelli Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009), nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football ...

and

Mac Speedie Mac Curtis Speedie (January 12, 1920 – March 5, 1993) was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) for seven years before ...

, Cleveland won the championship again in 1948, posting a perfect 14–0 record and beating the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the title game. Another championship followed in 1949, but the AAFC then dissolved and the Browns, along with two other teams, were absorbed by the NFL. Helped by a strong offensive line including Agase, center Frank Gatski and

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

Lou Groza Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional American football, football Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle and placekicker while playing his entire career for th ...

and

Lou Rymkus Louis Joseph "the Battler" Rymkus (November 6, 1919 – October 31, 1998) was an American football player and coach in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Playing as ...

, Cleveland won the

NFL championship Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...

in 1950. The team reached the

in 1951 but lost to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. Cleveland lost 24–17 despite gaining more yards and more first downs than the Rams. "It was a very disappointing loss", Agase later said. "We weren't quite as sharp as we normally were on offense."

Coaching career

Before the 1952 season, the Browns traded Agase to the Dallas Texans, a newly formed team set to start play that year. He ended his playing career and signed as a line coach with the Texans under head coach Jim Phelan. The Texans finished with a 1–11 record and folded after the season. Agase came out of retirement briefly after the Texans disbanded, joining the

and playing as a

for the 1953 season. The Colts finished the season with a 3–9 record, placing fifth in the NFL West division.

Iowa State and Northwestern

Agase was offered a job as an assistant coach for the Colts, but instead joined

as its line coach in early 1954 on a $7,000-a-year salary. He and Iowa State head coach Vince DiFrancesca had played football together in high school. After two seasons at Iowa State, he signed as defensive line coach at

. He worked under head coach

, a former Cleveland teammate. In seven years under Parseghian at Northwestern, Agase rose to become the coach's top assistant. When Parseghian was offered the head coaching job at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

at the end of 1963, he recommended Agase as his replacement. Agase got the job immediately after Parseghian left. Agase's first years as coach of the

Northwestern Wildcats football The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playing fo ...

team were unsuccessful. The team had losing records each season between 1964 and 1969. In 1970, however, the team finished with a 6–4 record, taking second place in the Big Ten Conference, and Agase was named the national coach of the year by the

. The Wildcats followed up with a 7–4 record in 1971, but fell to 2–9 in 1972.

Purdue

After nine seasons as the Northwestern coach, Agase accepted an offer at the end of 1972 to become head football coach at Purdue, one of the two schools for which he played. Taking the job was "not an easy decision to make", he said at the time, because he was happy at Northwestern. Agase coached at Purdue through the 1976 season. His teams never posted a winning record in his years there, although they did pull two noteworthy upsets of Top Ten teams, defeating #2 Notre Dame in South Bend in 1974 and #1 Michigan in West Lafayette in 1976. He was fired in early 1977 and took a job as

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 a ...

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

. He stayed in that job until 1982, when he unexpectedly resigned citing "personal reasons".

Later life and death

Agase remained active in college football by assisting

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

as a volunteer at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

until 1987, focusing on special teams. He was named to the Walter Camp Foundation all-century team in 1989 and the University of Illinois all-century team in 1990. Agase was inducted into the

in 1963. While living in Tarpon Springs, Florida, Agase was an active member of George Young United Methodist Church, later renamed East Lake United Methodist Church. He died in 2007 at a hospital near his home in

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

Head coaching record

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agase, Alex 1922 births 2007 deaths American football guards American football linebackers Baltimore Colts players Chicago Rockets players Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Texans (AFL) coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles athletic directors Illinois Fighting Illini football players Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Los Angeles Dons players Michigan Wolverines football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Evanston Township High School alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps officers Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Chicago American people of Iranian-Assyrian descent American people of Iranian descent Sportspeople of Iranian descent American people of Armenian descent Sportspeople of Armenian descent Assyrian sportspeople Military personnel from Illinois