George Welsh (American football)
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
August 26, 1933 Coaldale, Pennsylvania |
| Playing career | |
| 1952–1955 | Navy |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1963–1972 | Penn State (assistant) |
| 1973–1981 | Navy |
| 1982–2000 | Virginia |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 189–132–4 |
| Bowls | 5–10 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 ACC (1989, 1995) | |
| Awards | |
| First-team All-American (1955) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (1991) 4x ACC Coach of the Year (1983, 1984, 1991, 1995) |
|
|
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2004 (profile) |
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George Welsh (born August 26, 1933) is an American former college football player and coach. He served as head football coach of the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy from 1973 to 1981, and the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia from 1982 to 2000. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2004. Welsh compiled the most wins in the history of both the Navy and Virginia football programs.
Welsh was born in Coaldale, Pennsylvania. He played for the Navy Midshipmen from 1952 to 1955, and was a first-team All-American at quarterback in 1955. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956, he served as an assistant coach under Rip Engle and Joe Paterno at Penn State from 1963 to 1972. Welsh began his head coaching career at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973. He inherited a Navy Midshipmen football program that had only had one winning season since the end of the Roger Staubach era. He led the Midshipmen to three bowl game appearances and their first nine-win season in 16 years. In nine seasons, Welsh compiled a record of 55–46–1, making him the service academy's most successful coach.
In 1982, Welsh left Navy to become the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers, who had just finished a 1-10 season. He walked into a situation even worse than the one he had inherited at Navy. Prior to his arrival, Virginia had only two winning seasons in the previous 29 years and had never been to a post-season bowl game. The Cavaliers had also only one winning record in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, had only finished higher than fourth twice, and had only won 33 conference games in 29 years of ACC play. Welsh turned around the program quickly. In his third season he led the Cavaliers to their first-ever bowl appearance, a victory in the 1984 Peach Bowl. In 1987, Virginia started a streak of 13 straight seasons with seven or more wins. This stretch included shared ACC titles in 1989 and 1995 and 11 additional bowl appearances. His teams also compiled four nine-win seasons, including a school-record 10 wins in 1989. His 1990 team was ranked No. 1 in both polls for two weeks in October—to date, the only time a Division I team from the Commonwealth has been ranked No. 1 in a major poll. His 1995 team defeated Florida State 33-28 on November 2, the first time the Seminoles had lost a conference game since joining the conference. He retired after the 2000 season due to health concerns.
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