Henry Frnka
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
March 16, 1903 Garwood, Texas |
| Died | December 18, 1980 (aged 77) San Antonio, Texas |
| Playing career | |
| 1922 | Austin |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1935–1939 | Vanderbilt (assistant) |
| 1940 | Temple (assistant) |
| 1941–1945 | Tulsa |
| 1946–1951 | Tulane |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1941–1945 | Tulsa |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 71–32–5 (college) 103–8–7 (high school) |
| Bowls | 2–3 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 MVC (1941–1943) 1 SEC (1949) |
|
Henry E. Frnka (/ˈfræŋkə/ FRANGK-ə; March 16, 1903 – December 18, 1980) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Tulsa from 1941 to 1945 and at Tulane University from 1946 to 1951, compiling a career college football record of 71–32–5. Frnka was also the athletic director at Tulsa from 1941 to 1945.
Prior to his coaching career at the college level, Frnka was the head coach of a high school team in Greenville, Texas and led them to a Texas state championship in 1933. He used the fumblerooski for the very first time in the 1933 Texas High School Championship game with the Greenville Lions.
From 1941-45, Frnka coached at the University of Tulsa, and compiled a 40–9–1 record. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane had never been to a bowl game before, and he took them to five straight, becoming Tulsa's most prolific coach. The Golden Hurricane won three league titles, and outscored opponents 1,552 to 375. He led the team to their first bowl game and a school-best national ranking of No. 4 at the end of the 1942 season.
From 1946 to 1951, Frnka coached at Tulane University, and compiled a 31–23–4 record. Since the 1920s, the Tulane Green Wave had been a national power in college football, and Frnka-led teams produced records of 9–1 in 1948, 7–2–1 in 1949, and 6–2–1 in 1950. In a 1949 issue devoted to a preview of that year's college football season, SPORT magazine declared that Tulane was the best team in the country.
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