Franklin Dean "Muddy" Waters Jr. (January 30, 1923 – September 20, 2006) 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 served as the head football coach at

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

(1954–1973), Saginaw Valley State University (1975–1979), and

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(1980–1982), 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 173–96–7. Waters 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 2000.

Early years and playing career

Waters was born in

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...

and grew up in

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The town is part ...

. He attended Pawling School in Pawling, New York. He was both football and track captain at the

Choate School Choate Rosemary Hall ( ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present name and began a co-educational system with the 1978 merger of ''The Ch ...

, from which he graduated in 1943, and where he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. He played fullback for Michigan State from 1946 to 1949 under coaches Charlie Bachman and

Biggie Munn Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Albright College (1935–1936), Syracuse University (1946), and m ...

. In May 1950, Water signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

of 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).

Coaching career

High school

Waters began his coaching career in 1950 as head football coach at Walled Lake High School in

Walled Lake, Michigan Walled Lake is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Walled Lake is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,246. History The town ...

. He led Walled Lake to an undefeated season in 1951 before leaving the school the following year to become head football coach at Albion High School in

Albion, Michigan Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,700 at the 2020 census. Albion is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area. The earliest ...

Hillsdale

In 1953, Waters was appointed athletic director at

Hillsdale, Michigan Hillsdale is the largest city, and county seat, of Hillsdale County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,036, at the 2020 census. The city is the home of Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college. History This a ...

, and was also hired to serve as an assistant football coach under his former mentor at Michigan State, Charlie Bachman. He succeeded Bachman as head football coach in 1954. His Hillsdale Chargers teams won 34 consecutive games from 1954 to 1957 while playing as member of the

Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division III (NCAA), Division III. There are nine ...

(MIAA). In 1955, his 9–0 team refused to play in the Tangerine Bowl when game officials prohibited the team's black players from participating. He was named NAIA Coach of the Year in 1957, a year in which the team played in the NAIA football national championship and was chosen by the

Washington D.C. Touchdown Club The DC Touchdown Club, earlier known as The Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C., was started in 1935 with a passion for charity and sports. In the ensuing years the Club has benefited many local charities as well as providing scholarships to deservi ...

as the best small college team in the country. In his final year at the school, its stadium was renamed "Frank 'Muddy' Waters Stadium."

Saginaw Valley State

After leaving Hillsdale with a 138–47–5 record, Waters went on to serve as the first head coach of the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals from 1975 to 1979, posting a 25–26–2 record and capturing a

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its eleven member ...

title in his final season.

Michigan State

In 1980, Michigan State hired Waters as head football coach after an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

probation. Waters coached for three seasons, but got fired after a 10–23 record in three seasons. Despite his firing just before the last game of the season, Waters was popular enough with players and fans to be carried off the field after his final 24–18 loss to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Later life and death

After leaving MSU's head coach position, Waters continued to live in

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

and participated as a member of the MSU community for the next two decades. He was inducted into the

in 2000 in the Small College category. Waters died of congestive heart failure at age 83 in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Muddy 1923 births 2006 deaths American football fullbacks Hillsdale Chargers athletic directors Hillsdale Chargers football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Michigan State Spartans football players Saginaw Valley State Cardinals athletic directors Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football coaches High school football coaches in Michigan College Football Hall of Fame inductees Choate Rosemary Hall alumni Sportspeople from Chico, California Players of American football from Saginaw, Michigan People from Wallingford, Connecticut Players of American football from New Haven County, Connecticut Coaches of American football from Connecticut