Glassford from 1951 Cornhusker
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Sport(s) | Football |
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Biographical details | |
Born |
Lancaster, Ohio |
March 8, 1914
Died | September 19, 2016 Scottsdale, Arizona |
(aged 102)
Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh (1936) |
Playing career | |
1934–1936 | Pittsburgh |
1937 | Cincinnati Bengals (AFL II) |
Position(s) | Fullback, guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1937–1939 | Manhattan (assistant) |
1940–1941 | Carnegie Tech (assistant) |
1942 | Yale (line) |
1946–1948 | New Hampshire |
1949–1955 | Nebraska |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 50–40–4 |
Bowls | 0–1 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 New England Conference (1946) 2 Yankee Conference (1947, 1948) |
James William "Bill" Glassford (March 8, 1914 – September 19, 2016) was an American football player and coach. He attended the University of Pittsburgh where he played football earning first-team All-American status at guard. Born in Lancaster, Ohio, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and graduated in 1936. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals of the second American Football League in 1937. During World War II, Glassford served in the United States Navy.
From 1946 to 1948, Glassford coached at the University of New Hampshire, where he compiled a 19–5–1 record. This includes an 8–1 record in 1947. From 1949 to 1955, he coached at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he compiled a 31–35–3 record. In 1949 his team went 4–5, 6–2–1 in 1950, 2–8 in 1951, 5–4–1 in 1952, 3–6–1 in 1953, 6–5 in 1954, and 5–5 in 1955. His three winning seasons were the only winning seasons the school had between 1941 and 1961. He also coached three All-Americans in Tom Novak (1949), Bobby Reynolds (1950), and Jerry Minnick (1952). He led the school to its first ever Orange Bowl in 1955, where they lost to Duke, 34–7. He retired after the 1955 season and went into private business in Arizona. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and turned 100 in 2014. Glassford died in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 102, and was at that time the oldest still-living former pro player, and one of only seven total to have lived a century.