Frank Wilton

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Frank Wilton
Date of birth 17 Aug. 1905
Place of birth Chicago, Ill
Date of death 1977
Sport Football
Title Head Coach
Overall Record 44-39-5
Championships
  won
Buckeye Conference
1932, 1933, 1936
Coaching Stats College Football DataWarehouse
School as a player
1926-28 Stanford
Position halfback
Schools as a coach
1928-1931
1932-41
Berlingame H.S., Calif.
Miami University

Frank S. Wilton Jr. was an American football coach and player. He is best known for being head coach for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1932-1941 with an overall record as a head coach is 44-39-5.

Contents

[edit] Player

Wilton lettered 3 years (1926-28) in football for Pop Warner at Stanford. In his three years Stanford went a combined 26-5-3 with two trips to the Rose Bowl. In 1927 against University of USC he caught a 74 yards touchdown pass from Biff Hoffmann. The Touchdown pass was at the time the longest in Stanford history.[1]

[edit] College Coach

[edit] Miami University

Wilton came to Miami from Stanford and installed a Pop Warner’s double wingback offensive system.[2] In his first two years, 1932 and 1933, he led the Redskins to the Buckeye Conference Championships. In those two years he only lost three games, two were to Big Ten Conference schools Indiana University and University of Illinois. The next two years his teams won only five games each year, but returned to championship form in 1936 with a Conference Co-championships and a 7-2 record. The Redskins slid to a 4-4-1 record in 1937 but rebounded in 1938 with a 6-3 record. The last 3 years of Wilton’s tenure saw a drastic down turn in victories. The 1939, 1940 and 1941 seasons produced a total of 3 wins. After the 1941 season he was replaced by Stu Holcomb. Shortly after the Japanese’s attack on Pearl Harbor Frank Wilton resigned his duties at Miami (affective at the end of the school year) to join the Navy.[3] He left Miami with the most wins in School History. A record he kept until Randy Walker broke it in 1997. Wilton’s 44 wins still are 3rd in Miami history in front of Hall of Fame coaches Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, George Little, Sid Gillman, and Bo Schembechler

Miami University record

Year Overall (Conf/place) Bowl Game
1932 7-1 (-/1st) None
1933 7-2 (-/1stT) None
1934 5-4 (-) None
1935 5-3-1 (-) None
1936 7-1-1 (-/1stT) None
1937 4-4-1 (-) None
1938 6-3 (-) None
1939 1-7-1 (-) None
1940 0-7-1 (-) None
1941 2-7 (-) None

[edit] After coaching

Wilton was commissioned Lieutenant, USNR. During World War II he was based at NRAB/NAS Millington, a pre-flight cadet training base in Memphis, Tennessee; As a Lieutenant Commander, with ComAir 7th Fleet, in the Pacific theater, he ran athletic programmes for aviators' R & R. After the War, Commander Wilton ran athletic programmes at NAS St. Mary's College, California. When he left the Navy, he became Training Co-ordinator, Neenah Mills, with the Kimberly Clark Corporation. In his early years there, he coached the Company football team for about 2 seasons.[4]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2005 Stanford Cardinal Media Guide
  2. ^ Kurz, Bob (1983) "Miami of Ohio, the Cradle of Coaches" p. 52 Library of Congress Catalog Card number 83-50645
  3. ^ Kurz, Bob (1983) "Miami of Ohio, the Cradle of Coaches" p. 54 Library of Congress Catalog Card number 83-50645
  4. ^ Wilton, Glenn Warner Paul [son]Miami, class of 1955.
Preceded by
Chester Pittser
Miami University Head Football Coaches
1932-1941
Succeeded by
Stu Holcomb