Chester Leland Brewer (November 26, 1875 – April 16, 1953) was an American

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 ...

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

, and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach and

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 ...

. He served as the head football coach at

Albion College Albion College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students as of Fall 2021 ...

(1899–1902), Michigan Agricultural College—now known as

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(1903–1910, 1917, 1919), the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

(1911–1913), and the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture—now known as the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

(1922), compiling a career college football head coaching record of 94–52–14. Brewer was also the head basketball coach at Michigan Agricultural (1903–1910), Missouri (1910–1911) and Northern Branch (1922–1923), tallying a mark of 84–36, and the head baseball coach at Michigan Agricultural (1904–1910, 1918–1920) and Missouri (1911, 1914–1917, 1933–1934), amassing a record of 148–93–4.

Coaching career

From 1903 to 1910, and in 1917 and 1919, Brewer coached football at

Michigan Agricultural College Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, where he compiled a 58–23–7 record, making him one of the school's most prolific coaches. From 1911 to 1913, he coached football at the

, where he compiled a 14–8–2 record. During his years at the Missouri, Brewer fulfilled many roles. He was hired as athletic director in 1910 and wasted little time in leaving his mark at the university, as he was one of the founding members of the M Men's Club. He founded the club on the eve of the 1911 football game against

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and the organization became the sponsor for intramural sports championships at the university. Brewer was also the coach of the 1911 baseball team, which had an 8–3 record. He assumed the leadership of the baseball team a second time from 1914 to 1917 and achieved a 49–15–3 record. He remained at the Missouri until 1917 and at different periods also coached basketball and track. Brewer is also credited with beginning the

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

tradition at the University of Missouri and the entire nation with the 1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game. Brewer left Missouri at the end of the 1917 school year to serve in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He spent the next year directing training camp activities at universities around the country. He returned to Michigan Agricultural College after the war. In 1922, he coached football at the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture in

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of ...

, where he compiled a 3–4–2 record. Brewer returned to Missouri in 1923 and was named athletic director and a professor of

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

. His second tenure as athletic director lasted until 1935. During these twelve years of leadership, he helped oversee the construction of Brewer Fieldhouse, which was named for him on February 8, 1930. Brewer also coached the Missouri Tigers baseball team one final time from 1933 to 1934 and finished with a 12–17 record. His final record as Missouri's baseball coach was 69–32–3.

Later life and death

Brewer remained with the university as a professor until his death. He died on April 16, 1953, at the age of 77 in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links