Howard Harpster

Howard Harpster

Sport(s)	Football
Biographical details
Born	(1907-05-14)May 14, 1907 Salem, Ohio
Died	March 9, 1980(1980-03-09) (aged 72) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Playing career
1926–1928	Carnegie Tech
Position(s)	Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1930–1932	Geneva
1933–1936	Carnegie Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	34–26–5
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1956 (profile)

Howard Harpster (May 14, 1907 – April 9, 1980) was an American football player and coach. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956.

Playing career

Harpster played quarterback for the Carnegie Mellon University (then called "Carnegie Tech") from 1926 until 1928. The College Football Hall of Fame states that he was known as "one of the great Eastern quarterbacks of the late 1920s."^[1] In 1926, Carnegie Tech's football team beat Knute Rockne's Notre Dame Fighting Irish.^[2] The game was ranked the fourth-greatest upset in college football history by ESPN.^[3]

Harpster was one of 11 All-American football players to appear in the 1930 film "Maybe It's Love".^[4]

Coaching career

Geneva

Harpster was the 15th head football coach at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and he held that position for three seasons, from 1930 until 1932. His coaching record at Geneva was 22 wins, 6 losses, and 2 ties.^[5]

Geneva College fans generally consider him among the best coaches in the history of the school.^[6] His teams were considered among the leading small college teams in the country at the time.^[7]

Carnegie Tech

In 1933, Harpster returned to Carnegie Tech and coached for four years where his teams produced a record of 12 wins, 20 losses, and 3 ties.^[8]

References

External links

• Howard Harpster at the College Football Hall of Fame