Charles R. Stobart (October 27, 1932 – November 29, 2022) 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 ...

player and coach. He played as a

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 ...

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

in the 1950s. He was a football coach at various schools for 42 years from 1959 to 2000, including 36 consecutive seasons as a coach at Division I collegiate programs. Stobart began his coaching career in 1959 as a high school coach in Ohio. His college coaching positions included stints as the head football coach at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

(1977–1981), the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

(1982–1984), and the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

(1989–1994). He was twice selected as the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

) and was inducted into the University of Toledo Athletics Hall of Fame. Stobart also served as offensive backfield coach 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 ...

(1969–1976) during The Ten Year War and offensive coordinator at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

(1985),

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

(1986),

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(1987–1988), and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(2000).

Early years

Stobart grew up in

Middleport, Ohio Middleport is the largest village in Meigs County, Ohio, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,208 at the time of the 2020 census. History Middleport was founded during the 1820s, a time of great prosperity and rapidly increasing commerce ...

. Stobart became a star athlete at Middleport High School, playing football, basketball, and baseball. After high school, Stobart served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He then attended

where he played football and basketball. He was the quarterback for the

Ohio Bobcats football The Ohio Bobcats football team is a major intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as the senior member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdiv ...

team from 1956 to 1958 and was played at third base for the baseball team.

Coaching career

High school coach

Stobart started his coaching career in the fall of 1959 as the head football coach at Berne Union High School in Sugar Grove, Ohio. He led Berne Union to a conference championship and an 8–1 record during the 1959 season. In 1960, he was hired as head football coach at Gallia Academy in

Gallipolis, Ohio Gallipolis ( ) is a village in Gallia County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about southeast of Chillicothe and northwest of Charleston, West Virginia. The population was 3,313 at ...

. He led Gallia to a perfect 9–0 record in 1960. In 1961, he was hired as the head football coach at Mount Vernon High School in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Kokosing River, northeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 16,956 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Th ...

. He remained at Mount Vernon through the 1964 season. His teams compiled a 17–1 record during the 1963 and 1964 seasons.

Marshall and Cincinnati

In June 1965, Stobart was hired by

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

as offensive backfield coach for the football team and head coach for the baseball team. The 1965 Marshall Thundering Herd football team compiled a 5–5 record. In January 1966, Stobart was hired as backfield coach at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. The 1966 Cincinnati Bearcats football team compiled a 3–7 record.

Schembechler years (Miami and Michigan)

In February 1967, Stobart was hired as an assistant coach on

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 ...

's staff at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

. He served as Schembechler's offensive backfield coach during the 1967 and 1968 seasons, when the team compiled records of 6–4 and 7–3. In December 1968, Schembechler was hired as the head coach at the

. In January 1969, Schembechler hired Stobart to join him as offensive backfield coach at Michigan. He spent the next seven years from 1969 to 1976 as Michigan's backfield coach, working with Schembechler and mentoring Michigan backs including

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

Don Moorhead Don Moorhead (born October 11, 1948) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the BC Lions from 1971 to 1975 and for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1969 and 1970. He set 24 football ...

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

, Dennis Franklin,

Gordon Bell Chester Gordon Bell (August 19, 1934 – May 17, 2024) was an American electrical engineer and manager. An early employee of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), from 1960–1966, Bell designed several of their PDP machines and later served as ...

Rick Leach Rick Leach (born December 28, 1964) is a former professional tennis player and coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won five Grand Slam doubles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open) ...

, and

Rob Lytle Robert William Lytle (November 12, 1954 – November 20, 2010) was an American football running back who played for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. Lytle played college football for the Michigan Wolver ...

. Stobart spent a decade on Schembechler's staff at Miami and Michigan. Throughout his career, Stobart said Schembechler was the biggest football influence in his life.

Toledo

In December 1976, Stobart was hired as head football coach at the

. At the time of the hiring, Schembechler said:

I don't know how Toledo could have hired a better man. . . . He is a tremendous football man. He knows football, but more than that he is an idea man. He is an excellent recruiter and a really tireless worker. The guy can go all day. I am really sorry to see him go.

Stobart was head coach at Toledo for five years from 1977 to 1981, compiling a 23–30–1 record. His 1981 Toledo Rockets football team went 9–3, won the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) championship, and defeated San Jose State in the 1981 California Bowl. He out-polled Mike Kelly and

Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of ...

to win Ohio Coach of the Year honors in December 1981. He was inducted into the University of Toledo Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Utah

In December 1981, he was hired as the head coach at the

. He held that position for three years from 1982 to 1984, compiling a 16–17–1 record. In November 1984, Utah announced it was seeking a new football coach and advised that Stobart was free to pursue other options.

Pittsburgh, Arizona and USC

In January 1985, the

hired Stobart as its offensive coordinator. At the end of the 1985 season, Pitt's head coach

Foge Fazio Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio (February 28, 1938 – December 2, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 1982 to 1985. Fazio was an assistant coach with five teams ...

was fired. Stobart was hired in January 1986 as the offensive coordinator at the

. In January 1987, Arizona head coach Larry Smith was hired as the head football coach at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. Smith promptly hired Stobart as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at USC. Stobart held that position for two years, helping USC to an 8–4 record and 26.8 points per game in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and a 10–2 record and 30.8 points per game in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Memphis

In June 1989, Stobart was hired as the head football coach at the

. At the time, the program was embroiled in controversy due to NCAA rules violation and waiting for an NCAA decision on sanctions. Larry Smith of USC praised the selection of Stobart, saying, "He brings integrity, responsibility and maturity, plus a tremendous knowledge of the game and coaching skills." Stobart compiled a 29–36–1 record in six years at Memphis. He was fired from his post at Memphis in December 1994.

Ohio State

In March 1995, Stobart was hired as the wide receivers coach at the

. He held that post for five seasons from 1995 to 1999. He was position coach to

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

winner

Terry Glenn Terry Tyree Glenn (July 23, 1974 – November 20, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was ...

in 1995. In 2000, he was promoted to offensive coordinator at Ohio State. In Stobart's lone season as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, the Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record and scored an average of 27.6 points per game. In January 2001, Ohio State head coach John Cooper was fired. Ohio State's new head coach

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...

then hired Jim Bollman to replace Stobart as the team's offensive coordinator.

Family and later years

Stobart and his wife Diana had five children. In retirement, he lived in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Stobart died on November 29, 2022, at age 90 in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stobart, Chuck 1932 births 2022 deaths American football quarterbacks Arizona Wildcats football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Coaches of American football from Ohio High school football coaches in Ohio Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Military personnel from Ohio Ohio Bobcats football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches People from Gallipolis, Ohio People from Middleport, Ohio Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Players of American football from Ohio Toledo Rockets football coaches USC Trojans football coaches Utah Utes football coaches