Frank G. McCormick (November 5, 1894 – March 24, 1976) 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 and coach. He was the first

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

n to play professional football. He played from 1920 to 1921 with the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional American football, football team that played in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-professional, semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros ...

and the

Cincinnati Celts The Cincinnati Celts (pronounced with a hard C) was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Foot ...

of the American Professional Football Association (AFCA)—the league changed its name to 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 ...

(NFL) in 1922. Originally a

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 ...

, Frank was made a wingback by the Pros. He won an AFPA championship with Akron in 1920. Before playing professional football, McCormick 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 ...

at the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

. He played with the Coyotes from 1912 until 1916. He also played basketball and baseball while at South Dakota. In 1973, McCormick was inducted into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame. McCormick served as the head football coach at Columbus College in

Chamberlain, South Dakota Chamberlain is a city in Brule County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, at the dammed section of the Lake Francis Case, close to where it is crossed by Interstate 90. The population of Chamberl ...

from 1922 to 1924. In 1930, he was hired as the backfield coach at 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 ...

. At Minnesota, he was also head coach of the

Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball : ''For information on all University of Minnesota sports, see Minnesota Golden Gophers'' The Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United S ...

team from 1931 to 1941 and the school'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 ...

for two stints, from 1932 to 1941 and 1945 to 1950.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Frank 1894 births 1976 deaths American football halfbacks American men's basketball players Akron Pros players Cincinnati Celts players Columbus Mariners athletic directors Columbus Mariners football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers athletic directors Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches South Dakota Coyotes baseball players South Dakota Coyotes football coaches South Dakota Coyotes football players South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball players United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II People from Charles Mix County, South Dakota People from Genoa, Nebraska Coaches of American football from South Dakota Players of American football from South Dakota Baseball players from South Dakota Basketball players from South Dakota Military personnel from South Dakota 20th-century American sportsmen