Clarence "Buckshot" Underwood (October 3, 1912 – December 22, 1985) 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 wit ...
coach.
Early life
Underwood played football player at
Woodrow Wilson High School in
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus.
...
. He played tackle and fullback where the coaches referred to him, “as one of the greatest gridders ever turned out by Woodrow Wilson.” He was awarded a gold football by Woodrow Wilson, an honor rarely attained. Upon graduation from Woodrow Wilson, “Red” (a nickname he picked up while in high school) entered the
Oak Ridge Military Academy
Oak Ridge Military Academy (ORMA) is a college-preparatory military school in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. The school is the third oldest military academy in the United States and the first military boarding school to admit girls ...
in North Carolina, where he played football and boxed.
After one year at the military academy, Red enrolled at Marshall College (now
Marshall University
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
The university is currently composed of nine colleges: ...
), Huntington, West Virginia, in 1934. Red made the Buckeye Conference All-Star Team where he played guard all three years. During his time at Marshall, Red continued his boxing career, leading Marshall to several conference titles.
Military
Clarence Underwood served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
from December 22, 1942, until his honorable discharge on February 23, 1946. Lt. Underwood served for over four years in the
Asiatic-Pacific Area, where he received the
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945.
The Wo ...
.
Coaching career
Woodrow Wilson High School
In the fall of 1938, Clarence Underwood became an assistant coach at
Woodrow Wilson High School in
Beckley,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
, his hometown, under the nationally known head coach Jerome Van Meter. Clarence served as the head coach during the 1942 season.
University of Kentucky
In 1948 after serving in the US Navy, and still using the nickname "Red," Clarence Underwood began serving as an Assistant Line Coach at the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...
, under
Paul "Bear" Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
. He quickly rose to Head Line Coach. In addition to coaching under Bear Bryant, Red refined his career at Kentucky under
Coach Blanton Collier. Red was at the University of Kentucky for just over seven years, and during that time, under Coaches Bryant and Collier, Kentucky won three
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
championships and played in the 1950
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...
, won the 1951
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed on ...
, and the 1952
Cotton Bowl Classic
The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium in ...
.
While he served as Head Line Coach at Kentucky, Coach Underwood received is masters in secondary education (1951) and took responsibility for academic and disciplinary issues affecting the football team. It was during this time coaching that Bear Bryant and Blanton Collier changed Red's nickname to “Buckshot.”
Thomas Jefferson High School
On December 16, 1956, Coach Underwood wrote to the superintendent of schools in
Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United St ...
, indicating his interest in the head football coaching job at Port Arthur High School. On February 29, 1957, Buckshot was officially installed as the head coach and director of physical education at
Thomas Jefferson HS, in Port Arthur, Texas. Shortly thereafter, Coach Underwood joined the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA).
Buckshot took his Thomas Jefferson High School team to the state finals in 1957 against Highland Park High School, in Dallas, Texas. That same year, 1957, he was named Texas High School Coach of the Year, and was granted the honor of serving as chairman of the Hall of Honor Selection Committee. During his time with the association, he served on the THSCA board of directors. During this same time, Buckshot was the representative of high school coaches on the NCAA Rules Committee for a period of four years. In 1960, he was selected as head coach of the South All-Star team.
After 10 years at Thomas Jefferson High School, Buckshot returned to the University of Kentucky in 1966 where he continued to coach until 1977.
Coach Underwood love the game of football. In 1981 he coached the 8th grade football at Strack Intermediate School in the Klein ISD school district.
Personal
Buckshot enjoyed writing and produced articles for various football magazines, usually on defensive strategy and tactics. He was credited to be the first coach to install the 27 defense.
Edith Smith, daughter of Charles and Rosa Smith, met Coach Underwood on a blind date in Beckley, West Virginia. The two were married after only four months of dating, eloping to Jackson, Tennessee, in 1940. Edith and Buckshot had three daughters, Janet, Nancy and Barbara.
Buckshot retired from the University of Kentucky in 1977 and returned to Texas to teach and serve as an assistant coach in the Klein School District where he renewed his membership with the THSCA. When Buckshot died in 1985 he was serving as a volunteer coach at
Tomball High School
Tomball High School is an accredited public high school in the city of Tomball, Texas. It was the only high school in the Tomball Independent School District before the construction of Tomball Memorial High School in 2011. The high school was re ...
.
Honors
Texas High School Coach of the Year, 1957
Sixteen (16) years of active membership with the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA)
Coach Herbert Allen, of Klein, Texas, nominated Buckshot for the Texas High School Coaches Hall of Honor Induction, November 1984
Inclusion into the Hall of Honor of the Texas High School Coaches Association, July 2013
References
External links
A Tribute to Coach “Buckshot” Underwood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Clarence
1912 births
1985 deaths
American football guards
Kentucky Wildcats football coaches
Marshall Thundering Herd football players
High school football coaches in West Virginia
United States Navy officers
Sportspeople from Beckley, West Virginia
Players of American football from West Virginia
High school football coaches in Texas
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Woodrow Wilson High School (Beckley, West Virginia) alumni