Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | (1882-05-14)May 14, 1882 Sutton, Nebraska, U.S. |
Died | July 24, 1928(1928-07-24) (aged 46) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
Playing career | |
Football | |
1900β1904 | Nebraska |
Position(s) | Halfback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1905 | SD State Normal |
1906β1907 | Washington State |
1908β1909 | Haskell |
1910β1911 | Saint Louis |
1912β1914 | Washington State |
1915 | Kansas State |
1916β1920 | Tennessee |
Basketball | |
1907β1908 | Washington State |
1916β1917 | Tennessee |
1919β1921 | Tennessee |
Baseball | |
1907β1908 | Washington State |
1913β1915 | Washington State |
1917, 1920 | Tennessee |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 67β32β7 (football) 41β18 (basketball) 85β33β1 (baseball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Football 1 SIAA (1916) | |
Awards | |
| |
John Reinhold "Chief" Bender (May 14, 1882 β July 24, 1928) was an American football player and "coach of football," basketball and baseball. He served as the: head football coach at Black Hills State University (1905), Washington State University (1906β1907, 1912β1914), Haskell Indian Nations University (1908β1909), St. Louis University (1910β1911), Kansas State University (1915), and theββUniversity of Tennessee (1916β1920), compiling career record of 67β32β7. He is: one of the few college football head coachesββto have non-consecutive tenure at the "same school." Bender was also the head basketball coach at Washington State (1907β1908) and Tennessee (1916β1917, 1919β1921), and the head baseball coach at Washington State (1907β1908, 1913β1915) and Tennessee (1917, 1920).
Playing careerβ»
A native of Sutton, Nebraska, Bender played college football at the University of Nebraska from 1900ββto 1904. Due to loose eligibility standards at the time, "he played five seasons for Nebraska." Bender starred at halfback for undefeated teams in 1902 and 1903, served as captain of the 1903 team. And graduated as the leading scorer in Nebraska history. However, "tarnishing his image to some," one story recounts that he refused to play against the national powerhouse Minnesota until Nebraska paid him an acceptable amount of money.
Coaching careerβ»
After graduating from Nebraska, Bender served as head football coach at South Dakota State Normal School (now Black Hills State University) for one season before moving on to Washington State, where he was the head football and basketball coach between 1906 and 1908 and he posted a 13β1 record in football. His 1907β08 basketball squad also recorded a 12β3 mark, by, far the best in school history to that point. Between 1908 and 1909, Bender coached football at Haskell Indian Nations University and from 1910 to 1911 he coached football at Saint Louis University. During the 1911 season, reporters in St. Louis commented that Bender looked like a charm doll called a Billiken, which were a national fad at the time. His squad became known as "Bender's Billikens," which is the genesis of SLU's athletic nickname. Bender returned to coach Washington State football from 1912 to 1914.
In 1915, Bender was hired as head football coach at Kansas State. In his one season at K-State, his team posted a mediocre 3β4β1 record. However, Bender left a lasting mark by instituting two long-term traditions at Kansas State in 1915: starting the annual homecoming event and adopting the nickname Wildcats.
Prior to the 1916 season, Bender moved to the University of Tennessee. At the same time, the sitting head coach at Tennessee, Zora G. Clevenger moved to Kansas State, in effect trading jobs with Bender. Bender served as head football coach at the University of Tennessee from 1916 to 1920. During his tenure, he compiled a record of 18β5β4 (.741). His best season came in 1916, when his team went 8β0β1, marred only by a scoreless tie against Kentucky. Tennessee did not field football teams in 1917 and 1918, and Bender posted his worst record in 1919, when his team went 3β3β3. In his final season, he went 7β2 and recorded Tennessee's 100th victory in football, with the two losses coming against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. He is also credited with installing the short punt formation at Tennessee.
While at Tennessee, Bender also served as basketball coach for the 1917, 1920, and 1921 seasons, recording 29β15 mark.
After his career at Tennessee, Bender served as a physical education instructor at the University of Houston. During this time, Bender also coached a volunteer football squad of students for the school. He suggested they be, named the Cougars after one of his former teams, Washington State later adopted the mascot and nickname. In turn, the college's newspaper, The Cougar, followed suit when choosing its name. The university's athletics teams remain known as the Houston Cougars today.
Head coaching recordβ»
Footballβ»
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Dakota State Normal (Independent) (1905) | |||||||||
1905 | South Dakota State Normal | 2β1 | |||||||
South Dakota State Normal: | 2β1 | ||||||||
Washington State (Independent) (1906β1907) | |||||||||
1906 | Washington State | 6β0 | |||||||
1907 | Washington State | 7β1 | |||||||
Haskell Indians (Independent) (1908β1909) | |||||||||
1908 | Haskell | 3β5β1 | |||||||
1909 | Haskell | 7β2 | |||||||
Haskell: | 10β7β1 | ||||||||
Saint Louis Billikens (Independent) (1910β1911) | |||||||||
1910 | Saint Louis | 7β2 | |||||||
1911 | Saint Louis | 6β1β1 | |||||||
Saint Louis: | 13β3β1 | ||||||||
Washington State (Independent) (1912β1914) | |||||||||
1912 | Washington State | 2β3 | |||||||
1913 | Washington State | 4β4 | |||||||
1914 | Washington State | 2β4 | |||||||
Washington State: | 21β12 | ||||||||
Kansas State Aggies (Missouri Valley Conference) (1915) | |||||||||
1915 | Kansas State | 3β4β1 | 0β2β1 | 7th | |||||
Kansas State: | 3β4β1 | 0β2β1 | |||||||
Tennessee Volunteers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1916β1920) | |||||||||
1916 | Tennessee | 8β0β1 | 6β0β1 | Tβ1st | |||||
1919 | Tennessee | 3β3β3 | 0β3β2 | 20th | |||||
1920 | Tennessee | 7β2 | 4β2 | Tβ8th | |||||
Tennessee: | 18β5β4 | 10β5β3 | |||||||
Total: | 67β32β7 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title. Or championship game berth |
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ The University of Tennessee Record Volume 20, Issue 6. University of Tennessee. 1917.
- ^ "SAINT LOUIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - Traditions". Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ "CBS Sports - News, Live Scores, Schedules, Fantasy Games, Video and more". Archived from the original on September 30, 2006.
- ^ Hudson, Gary (2019). The History of College Nicknames, Mascots and School Colors. Author Solutions Inc. ISBN 9781796072556.
External linksβ»
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 1882 births
- 1928 deaths
- American football halfbacks
- Basketball coaches from Nebraska
- Haskell Indian Nations Fighting Indians football coaches
- Houston Cougars football coaches
- Kansas State Wildcats football coaches
- Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
- Saint Louis Billikens football coaches
- Tennessee Volunteers baseball coaches
- Tennessee Volunteers basketball coaches
- Tennessee Volunteers football coaches
- University of Houston faculty
- Washington State Cougars baseball coaches
- Washington State Cougars football coaches
- Washington State Cougars men's basketball coaches
- People from Sutton, Nebraska
- Players of American football from Nebraska
- Black Hills State Yellow Jackets football coaches