Henry Russell Cohen (February 13, 1893 – April 7, 1981) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

(LSU) from 1928 to 1931 and at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

from 1935 to 1937, compiling a career college football coaching record of 31–25–4.

Playing career

Cohen played as a prominent

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: **End (category theory) ** End (topology) ** End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) ** End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footba ...

for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

teams, serving as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of its "point-a-minute"

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) champion 1915 team, with the likes of

Josh Cody Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he played several sports. As a versati ...

and

Irby Curry Irby Rice "Rabbit" Curry (August 4, 1894 – August 10, 1918) was an American football quarterback for Vanderbilt University from 1914 to 1916. He was selected as a first-team All-Southern player in 1915 and 1916 and a third-team All-American i ...

. Cohen was selected All-Southern the same year.

Coaching career

Cohen was first hired by

at Mercer. He then scouted teams for

Wallace Wade William Wallace Wade (June 15, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Alabama fro ...

at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

LSU

As was tradition for football coaches at the time, he also served as the

athletics 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 and ...

at LSU during his tenure as head football coach. His record with the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

was 23–13–1. McGugin recommended Cohen for the LSU job.

Huey P. Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

was an ardent supporter of the team. Cohen's best year at LSU was probably his first, in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

. Led by All-Southern captain

Jess Tinsley Jess D. Tinsley (October 18, 1908 – March 4, 1955) was an American football tackle in the National Football League (NFL). A native of Homer, Louisiana, Tinsley played college football at Louisiana State University for the LSU Tigers, where he w ...

, the Tigers posted a 6–2–1 record, suffering losses to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

and Wade's

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. Star halfback Percy Brown broke his shoulder against Alabama. The tie was to

Bill Banker Willis Burton "Bill" Banker (April 4, 1907 – September 25, 1985) was an American college football player and one-time vice president of Pinnacle Oil Co. His younger brother Buddy Banker was also an athlete. Tulane University Banker was a promi ...

and rival

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, which was as good as its ever been from 1929 to 1931. In

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

LSU played its first night game in Tiger Stadium, a 31–0 victory over Spring Hill.

Cincinnati

With the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

, he compiled an 8–12–3 mark.

Head coaching record

*Last 5 games of season were coached by Wade Woodworth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Russ 1893 births 1981 deaths American football ends Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers athletic directors LSU Tigers football coaches Mercer Bears football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football players All-Southern college football players People from Waynesboro, Georgia Players of American football from Augusta, Georgia