Harris G. Cope
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Harris Goodwin Cope (March 16, 1880 – September 24, 1924) 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 ...
and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player and football coach. He served as the head football coach at Sewanee: The University of the South in
Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Winchester, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home ...
from 1909 to 1916 and
Howard College Howard College is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Big Spring, Texas. It also has branch campuses in San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo and Lamesa, Texas, Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was establishe ...
—now known as
Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...
—in
Marion, Alabama Marion is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...
from 1922 to 1923, compiling a career
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 ...
head coaching record of 48–28–12. Cope was a member of the National Football Rules Committee in 1914–15.


Early life and playing career

Cope first played at the
Taft School The Taft School is a private coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 9–12. Overview History The school was founded in 1890 as Mr. Taft's School (renamed t ...
in
Watertown, Connecticut Watertown is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 22,105 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Waterbury. The urban center of the town is the Wat ...
.


Sewanee

In his first year of varsity football, Cope was a substitute
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 ...
on the undefeated "Iron Men" of the
1899 Sewanee Tigers football team The 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team represented Sewanee: The University of the South in the 1899 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. Sewanee was one of the first college football powers of the South and the 1899 te ...
. He was the
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
and the starting quarter for Sewanee's 1901 team. Cope played
third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...
on the Sewanee baseball team.


Coaching career

Cope worked for a short time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. For many years, he returned to Cartersville during the off-seasons to manage the Cartersville Colts semi-professional men’s baseball team.


Sewanee

Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach (43), behind
Shirley Majors Shirley Inman Majors (May 7, 1913 – April 5, 1981) was an American football and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Huntland High School in Franklin County, Tennessee from 1949 to 1956 and at Sewanee: The University of the ...
' 93 and
John Windham John Windham (born June 23, 1964) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Sewanee: The University of the South from 1996 to 2006, compiling a record of 45–61. Windham was the defensive coordinator Colorado Colle ...
's 45; and has the highest winning percentage of any Sewanee coach who coached for more than 3 seasons. His continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years.


1909

In Cope's first year at head coach he led the Sewanee Tigers to a
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...
(SIAA) championship in
1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escapes death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Janu ...
, beating previous season's champion
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
and handing Vanderbilt its first loss to a Southern team in six years.


Howard

Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard. Cope was also a very astute golfer, playing in club tournaments during his off-seasons.


Death

Cope died of pneumonia in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, on September 24, 1924, just before the start of Howard's football season.


Legacy

Cope's disciples include: * Bob Taylor Dobbins, played for Sewanee (1913–1915), assistant for Howard (1922–1923) *
Frank Faulkinberry Frank Albert Faulkinberry (November 27, 1887 – May 13, 1933) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the father of football coach Russ Faulkinberry. Early years Faulkinberry was born on November 27, 1887, ...
, played for Sewanee (1907–1910), head coach for Middle Tennessee State (1926–1932) *
Jenks Gillem Jennings Frederick Gillem ( – November 11, 1951), nicknamed "Jenks" and "Sam", was an American college football player and coach. Gillem played for the Sewanee Tigers of Sewanee: The University of the South, and was selected All-Southern in ...
, played for Sewanee (1910–1912), head coach for Howard (1925–1926), Birmingham–Southern (1928–1939), head coach for Sewanee (1940–1941) *
Frank Juhan Francis Alexander "June" Juhan (April 27, 1887 – December 31, 1967) was an American football player and coach as well as an Episcopal bishop. He played center for the Sewanee Tigers football team and was the first roving linebacker in the S ...
, played for Sewanee (1908–1910), assistant for Sewanee (1913–1915) *
Henry D. Phillips Henry Disbrow Phillips (January 16, 1882 – June 29, 1955) was an American Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal bishop (1938–1955) and college football player and coach (1900–1909). Early life Henry Disbrow Phillips was born on J ...
, assistant for Sewanee (1909–1915) *
Silas Williams Silas McBee "Sike" Williams (June 9, 1888 – December 8, 1944) was an American college football player and coach as well as a lawyer. Sewanee Williams was a prominent end for the Sewanee Tigers of Sewanee:The University of the South, selected ...
, played for Sewanee (1908–1909), assistant for Sewanee (1914–1915), head coach for
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...
(1919–1921)


Head coaching record


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Harris G. 1880 births 1924 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football quarterbacks Baseball third basemen Samford Bulldogs athletic directors Samford Bulldogs football coaches Sewanee Tigers athletic directors Sewanee Tigers baseball players Sewanee Tigers football coaches Sewanee Tigers football players Taft School alumni Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Savannah, Georgia Baseball players from Savannah, Georgia Deaths from pneumonia in Alabama