Frank Lauterbur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francis X. Lauterbur (born August 8, 1925 in Cincinnati, Ohio) was a college football coach, most notably at the University of Toledo. He also coached at the University of Iowa and as an assistant in the NFL.
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[edit] Background
Frank Lauterbur was born in Ohio but when his widowed mother remarried, he moved north to Michigan. He played high school football at University of Detroit High School. Lauterbur served in the Marine Corps during World War II before going to college. He returned to Ohio and played three years of college football at Mount Union College.
Lauterbur began his coaching career at Wickliffe and Collinwood high schools near Cleveland, Ohio. He spent two years as an assistant coach at Kent State from 1953-1954, followed by two years as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts of the NFL. Lauterbur wanted to return to college football, so he left the Colts to take a job as the offensive line coach at Army under Coach Earl "Red" Blaik in 1957.
He spent five years at West Point, including the undefeated 1958 season that featured Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins. He then served as an assistant coach for one season at the University of Pittsburgh in 1962. Lauterbur was offered his first college head coaching job by the University of Toledo before the 1963 season. He was Toledo's head football coach and athletic director for eight years from 1963-1970.
Lauterbur struggled his first four seasons at Toledo, compiling an 11-27-1 record from 1963-1966. But he eventually turned the program around, going 9-1 in 1967 and winning the first Mid-American Conference title in school history. He then led Toledo to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1969 and 1970. Toledo was riding a 23 game winning streak and had won consecutive Tangerine Bowls at the end of the 1970 season. Lauterbur had led Toledo to a 37-5-1 record in his final four years, including three conference titles, two bowl victories, and a number 14 ranking in the final Associated Press poll in 1970. All these accomplishments caught the eye of Bump Elliott, the athletic director of the University of Iowa.
[edit] Iowa Coaching Career
Frank Lauterbur was hired as the 22nd head coach in the history of Iowa football before the 1971 season. He was expected to bring strong defense to Iowa, since his 1970 Toledo team had led the nation in total defense and pass defense and ranked second in the nation in scoring defense.
Iowa went just 1-10 in Lauterbur's first season in 1971, which was not a big surprise, considering that Iowa had graduated 17 starters off of a team that had won just three games the previous season. In 1972, Iowa improved to 3-7-1 and played competitively in most of the losses. Several players were set to return in 1973, and it looked as though progress was being made.
The 1973 season was a disaster. Iowa finished with the worst record in school history. The Hawkeyes lost all 11 games in 1973 to finish the year 0-11. The only other season in Iowa history where the Hawkeyes were winless was Iowa's first season in 1889. Iowa played one game, the first game in school history, and lost. It was the only game that season, and Iowa ended the year 0-1.
Despite the 0-11 record, Lauterbur had two years left on a five year contract, and Elliott considered retaining him. Iowa fans were unhappy with Lauterbur, obviously, but they were more unhappy with defensive coordinator Ducky Lewis. Lewis' defensive units, so spectacular at Toledo, were horrible at Iowa. In 1973, Iowa yielded 401 points on the season, the most in school history. In addition, Lewis was notoriously profane in public, which embarrassed and appalled several fans. That might be tolerated if Iowa was winning, but not at 0-11.
Elliott approached Lauterbur about firing Lewis as defensive coordinator. Lauterbur refused, stating that he had to have full control of his staff and that it was his right, not Elliott's, to hire and fire assistant coaches. Elliott agreed, but then reminded Lauterbur that it was his right, as athletic director, to hire and fire head football coaches by relieving him of his duties as Iowa head coach. [1]
Lauterbur's loyalty to his assistant backfired, as now Lauterbur and Lewis were both out of a job. Ron Maly, a reporter for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, wrote, "On the day he was fired, Lauterbur held an umbrella over my head so he could protect the notepad I was using from the rain that was falling near the stadium. He was a good guy, but Iowa clearly was not the right place for him." [2]
[edit] Retirement
Frank Lauterbur spent the rest of his career as an NFL assistant. He worked for years as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Rams, coaching in Super Bowl XIV in 1980. He also coached in the USFL for the Pittsburgh Maulers. After retiring from coaching, Lauterbur worked for a decade with the National Scouting Service.
Lauterbur retired in 1993 and lives in Ohio. He has a wife, Mary, as well as four children and two grandchildren.
[edit] References
- ^ 25 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, 1964-1988, by Al Grady, Page 50 (ASIN: B0006ES3GS)
- ^ Tales From The Iowa Sidelines, by Ron Maly, Page 141 (ISBN 1-58261-574-8)
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Ray Nagel |
University of Iowa Head Football Coaches 1971–1973 |
Succeeded by: Bob Commings |
| Iowa Hawkeyes Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Knipe • Chalmers • Catlin • Griffith • Hawley • Jones • Ingwersen • Solem • Tubbs • Anderson • Madigan • Crowe • Raffensperger • Evashevski • Burns • Nagel • Lauterbur • Commings • Fry • Ferentz |
| Toledo Rockets Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Brandeberry • Baxter • Hobt • Dwyer • Dwyer • Petcoff • Nicholson • Spears • Orwig • Stahley • Snyder • Greenwood • Dunn • England • Morton • Larche • Rush • Lauterbur • Murphy • Stobart • Simrell • Saban • Pinkel • Amstutz |
