DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry (May 19, 1893 – November 26, 1974) 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 Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania (1915–1916, 1918, 1921),

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

(1922–1925),

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

(1926–1940), and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

(1941–1942, 1945–1954), 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 ...

record of 143–149–13. McLaughry was also the head basketball coach at Brown from 1926 to 1929, tallying a mark of 17–32. He 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 coach in 1962. Of all coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, McLaughry is the only one with a winning percentage under .500.

Early life

Born on May 19, 1893, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, McLaughry was the son of James Alexander McLaughry Sr. (1860–1942) and his wife, Mary Graham McLaughry (1874–1952). He had at least seven siblings. He grew up in

Sharon, Pennsylvania Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwe ...

and attended

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 ...

for a year before transferring to Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Coaching career

McLaughry's coaching career at Dartmouth College was interrupted after two years due to World War II, where McLaughry served as a lieutenant colonel in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. Twenty years after graduating from high school, McLaughry attended night and summer classes to earn his law degree from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. While and after coaching at Dartmouth, McLaughry was also the chairman of the Physical Education Department there until 1960. McLaughry was instrumental in developing the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) during his lifetime, even serving a one-year term as President in 1936, and then remaining active with the organization as a volunteer secretary-treasurer from 1940 to 1960. It was after 1960 that McLaughry earned compensation for this position, and retired from the organization in 1965.

Personal life

On August 21, 1911 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, McLaughry married Florence Marguerite Jackson (July 20, 1892 – June 1, 1985), daughter of John Llouington Jackson (1849-1924) and Ella Adele (nee Lovett) Jackson (1856-1911). Together, they had three children: * Jeanne Marguerite McLaughry (1912-2007) * John Jackson McLaughry (1917-2007), who followed in his father's footsteps and played and coached football; he was the head football coach at

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

from 1947 to 1949,

from 1950 to 1958, and

from 1959 to 1966. He also served with the Marines in World War II as a Major. * Robert DeOrmond McLaughry (1921-2016) McLaughry died on November 26, 1974, at his home in

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshire acros ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughry, Tuss 1893 births 1974 deaths Amherst Mammoths football coaches Amherst Mammoths men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Illinois Brown Bears football coaches Brown Bears men's basketball coaches Dartmouth Big Green football coaches Massillon Tigers players Westminster Titans football coaches Westminster Titans men's basketball coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Northeastern University School of Law alumni Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Chicago United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps officers Military personnel from Illinois Presidents of the American Football Coaches Association