Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) 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 ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1856 and had an enrollment of 1,652 students as of fall 2023. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when "Union Sem ...

(1935–1936),

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

(1946), and most notably Michigan State College (1947–1953), where his 1952 squad won a national championship. Munn retired from coaching in 1953 to assume duties as Michigan State'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 a ...

, a position he held until 1971. Each year, the Michigan State Spartans football team hands out the "Biggie Munn Award" to the team's most motivational player. Michigan State's Munn Ice Arena, built in 1974, is named in his honor. Munn 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 ...

as a coach in 1959, and, in 1961, he became Michigan State's first inductee into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He authored the coaching textbook ''Michigan State Multiple Offense'' in 1953.

Early life and playing career

Munn was born in the former Grow Township, now known as Andover, Minnesota. A 1932 graduate of 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 ...

, he played guard and fullback for the Golden Gophers under head coach Fritz Crisler. Munn was a two-time first-team All-

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 ...

selection and during his senior year in 1931, he served football team captain, was a consensus

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 ...

, and was awarded 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 Big Ten's best player. Many considered Munn as the top collegiate punter in the nation. He stood just under six feet and weighed 215 pounds, but was recorded running 100 yards in 10 seconds. Munn also served as captain of Minnesota's track and field team, finishing runner-up in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

at the 1932 NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Early coaching career

Three years after his playing career ended, Munn got his first head coaching job at

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

, where he stayed for two seasons (1935–1936), compiling a record of 13–2–1. From 1938 to 1945, he was an assistant football 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 ...

, once again under Crisler. Munn served as head coach at

for one season in 1946 before leaving for Michigan State. One of Munn's assistants at Syracuse was former Orangeman standout Duffy Daugherty, who followed Munn to Michigan State and assisted him there for seven seasons before succeeding Munn as head coach. Munn is one of the few people to have coached at both Michigan State and its archrival Michigan.

Coaching career at Michigan State

In 1947, Munn and the Michigan State administration, led by university president John A. Hannah, approached

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 ...

president Father Cavanaugh to have his Fighting Irish play the Spartans for the first time since 1921. Michigan State initially offered to let Notre Dame take 80 percent of the gate, but Cavanaugh insisted they split the receipts down the middle. Munn was the only coach to beat Notre Dame head coach

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to ...

three years in a row (1950–1952). Munn developed the "Wingback Deep" formation of his formula "Michigan State Multiple Offense." The play featured a shifting back and forth between a T-formation and a single-wing formation with a direct snap to the tailback between a T-formation

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 ...

's legs. On the Michigan State dressing room wall, Munn hung a statement on fundamentals that his players were required to read before every home game: "Do not cheat your team or your teammates. Know your plays. Block. Protect. Add to what we are trying to do. ignedBiggie." During the latter part of his coaching career, Munn developed the talents of Willie Thrower, the Big Ten's first black quarterback. In 1953 with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, Thrower became the first black quarterback to play in the

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 ...

. In 1952, Munn was named the AFCA Coach of the Year, coaching Michigan State to 9–0 record and a national championship. In 1953, Michigan State's first year of conference play in the Big Ten, the Spartans shared the conference title with

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and went to the Rose Bowl, where they beat

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 28–20. Shortly after the Rose Bowl victory, Michigan State's

, Ralph H. Young retired. Munn stepped down from coaching to assume duties as athletic director and remained in that position until 1971. Munn named his assistant, Duffy Daugherty, as his to successor to helm the football team. During his tenure as Michigan State's head football coach, Munn tutored 17 All-Americans. His teams have retained the school's top four season marks for rushing-yards-per-game: 1948 (304.5 yards/game), 1951 (293.9 yards), 1952 (272.4), and 1950 (269.3). Munn was inducted into the

in 1959. Syracuse University enshrined him in its hall of fame in 1973. Munn was inducted into Minnesota's "M" Club in 1993.

Family and death

Munn married the former Vera Jane Wattles (January 21, 1905 – January 4, 2004) in June 1935. The couple adopted two children: Michael and Jane Austin. Munn died on March 18, 1975, in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, at the age of 66.

Head coaching record

Football

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munn, Biggie 1908 births 1975 deaths American football fullbacks American football guards Albright Lions football coaches Albright Lions men's basketball coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan State Spartans athletic directors Michigan State Spartans football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Syracuse Orange football coaches All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Andover, Minnesota Sportspeople from Anoka County, Minnesota Coaches of American football from Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota Basketball coaches from Minnesota American male shot putters Minnesota Golden Gophers men's track and field athletes