Raymond Wolf

Raymond Bernard Wolf (July 15, 1904 – October 6, 1979), nicknamed "Bear" Wolf, was an American football and baseball player and coach. Wolf was a native of Illinois and an alumnus of Texas Christian University (TCU), where he played college football and college baseball. He played professional baseball for two seasons, and appeared in one Major League Baseball game for the Cincinnati Reds in 1927. Wolf served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina (1936–1941), the University of Florida (1946–1949) and Tulane University (1952–1953). He was also the head baseball coach at his alma mater, TCU, from 1935 to 1936 and the athletic director at Florida from 1946 to 1949.

Early years

Wolf was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1904. He attended Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, where he played tackle for the Texas Christian Horned Frogs football team from 1924 to 1926.United Press,
Frnka Resigns as Tulane Coach; Wolf Appointed to Football Post
" ''The New York Times'' (March 20, 1952). Retrieved April 29, 2010. He played professional baseball for the Cincinnati Reds organization for a single season in 1927, but returned to TCU to graduate in 1928.TCU Lettermen's Association, Hall of Fame
Alpha List of Hall of Fame Inductees
Retrieved April 29, 2010. Thereafter, Wolf got his start in coaching, working with the TCU linemen from 1929 to 1935.

Coaching career

From 1936 to 1941, Wolf was employed by the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to coach the North Carolina Tar Heels football team, and compiled a 38–17–3 record in six seasons.College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records
Raymond "Bear" Wolf Records by Year
Retrieved April 29, 2010. The university board of trustees renewed his contract at an increased salary in 1941 for an additional five years, but his service in the navy prevented him from coaching during World War II.

Wolf became an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1942 during World War II. After initial training, he worked as a football coach at two of the service's naval aviation training stations, including the Navy's Pre-Flight School in Athens, Georgia and Flight Preparatory School in Austin, Texas. He led the 1942 Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers football team to a 7–1–1 record, including victories over Penn, Auburn, and Alabama. He was eventually promoted to lieutenant commander, and after the war ended in September 1945, the Navy released Wolf to inactive duty.Associated Press,
Bear Wolf Gets Naval Discharge
" ''Miami Daily News'', page 7 (September 8, 1945). Retrieved May 14, 2010.

In 1946, Wolf was hired by the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida to be the new head football coach of the Florida Gators football team, replacing coach Tom Lieb. Wolf coached the Gators for four seasons from 1946 to 1949 and posted a 13–24–2 record, but his Southeastern Conference (SEC) record was 2–17–2.
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pages 109, 115, 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012. The Florida Board of Control balked at renewing his contract when his initial three-year term expired after the 1948 season, but offered him a two-year contract extension in the aftermath of widespread public demonstrations of support by the football team and the Florida student body. Wolf was fired after the 1949 season, but nevertheless managed to leave Florida on a high note when his 1949 Gators upset the rival Georgia Bulldogs 28–7 for the first and only time during his tenure. In retrospect, Wolf's loyal Gators football players ironically dubbed his tenure as the "Golden Era," and many of his returning players formed the nucleus of Bob Woodruff's improving Gators football teams of the early 1950s.Tom McEwen, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, pages 149–151, 167 (1974).

In 1950, Wolf was hired by head coach Henry Frnka of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana