Paul O. Bixler (January 25, 1907 – November 18, 1985) 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 administrator and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

for one season in 1946 and at

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

from 1947 to 1951, compiling a career record of 18–30–4. Bixler was also the head basketball coach at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

(1936–1939) and Colgate (1939–1941), tallying a mark of 52–27. He later served as director of player personnel for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

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). Bixler was a 1929 graduate of Mount Union College where he was a member of

Phi Kappa Tau Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of May 2024, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 83 active chapters, 7 associate chapters, a ...

fraternity and played

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 ...

and fullback on the football team. He started his coaching career in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

at Canton Central Junior High and then at

Canton McKinley High School McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus (mostly known as Early College High School or Timken H ...

. He then became an assistant football coach at the

where he also served as head basketball coach. Bixler was the 24th head football coach at

located in

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...

and he held that position for five seasons, from 1947 until 1951. His overall coaching record at Colgate was 14–27–2. Bixler died after suffering a heart attack in 1985."Former Buckeye coach dies, was 77", ''Gettysburg Times'', November 19, 1985, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Head coaching record

Football

References

1907 births 1985 deaths American football fullbacks American football guards Akron Zips football coaches Akron Zips men's basketball coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Cleveland Browns executives Colgate Raiders football coaches Colgate Raiders men's basketball coaches Mount Union Purple Raiders football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Basketball coaches from Ohio {{1940s-collegefootball-coach-stub