Pappy Waldorf

Pappy Waldorf
Waldorf pictured in The Redskin 1930, Oklahoma A&M yearbook
Sport(s)	Football
Biographical details
Born	(1902-10-03)October 3, 1902 Clifton Springs, New York
Died	August 15, 1981(1981-08-15) (aged 78) Berkeley, California
Playing career
1922–1924	Syracuse
Position(s)	Tackle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1926–1927 1928 1929–1933 1934 1935–1946 1947–1956	Oklahoma City Kansas (line) Oklahoma A&M Kansas State Northwestern California
Head coaching record
Overall	157–89–19
Bowls	0–3
Statistics College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships 3 Missouri Valley (1930, 1932, 1933) 1 Big Six (1934) 1 Big Ten (1936) 3 Pacific Coast (1949, 1950, 1951)
Awards AFCA Coach of the Year (1935) Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1970)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1966 (profile)

Lynn Osbert "Pappy" Waldorf (October 3, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College—now Oklahoma State University–Stillwater (1929–1933), Kansas State University (1934), Northwestern University (1935–1946), and the University of California, Berkeley (1947–1956), compiling a career college football record of 157–89–19. Waldorf had the most career victories of any Cal head coach at 67 until he was surpassed in 2010 by Jeff Tedford. Waldorf was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1966.

Early years

Waldorf, son of Methodist bishop Ernest Lynn Waldorf, was born in Clifton Springs, New York.^[1] As a collegiate athlete, Waldorf played tackle for Syracuse University from 1922 to 1924.

Coaching career

Oklahoma A&M

Waldorf began his major college career as head football coach at Oklahoma A&M from 1929 to 1933. In his five seasons at Oklahoma A&M Waldorf went 34–10–7, won three Missouri Valley Conference championships, and never lost to arch-rival Oklahoma. In 1932, Waldorf was also promoted to Director of Athletics at the school.

Kansas State

In 1934, Waldorf replaced Bo McMillin as football coach at Kansas State. Waldorf coached K-State for only one season, 1934. They won the Big Six Conference championship, the first Big Six title in football for the school (it would be 69 years, in 2003 when the Wildcats would win their next conference title in the Big 12 Conference).

Northwestern

In 1935, Waldorf moved to Northwestern University, where he remained head coach until 1946. In his very first season at Northwestern, he was named college football's first national coach of the year. In his second season, he took Northwestern to the Big Ten Conference crown. His 12-year mark at Northwestern was 49–45–7. While at Northwestern, Waldorf also convinced future legend Otto Graham to try out for football.^[2]

California

As head football coach at University of California from 1947–1956, Waldorf established a 67–32–4 record. For three consecutive seasons, 1949–1951, his teams were undefeated in the regular season, won the Pacific Coast Conference title, and qualified for the Rose Bowl. Waldorf had a 7–1–2 record against rival Stanford University. After retiring from Cal in 1956, he joined the San Francisco 49ers as head of personnel and scouting, remaining with the team until 1972.

Head coaching record

References

External links

• Pappy Waldorf at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Pappy Waldorf at the College Football Data Warehouse