Rusty Russell (American football coach)
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | December 1895 Fredonia, Texas |
| Died | December 21, 1983 (aged 90) Plano, Texas |
| Playing career | |
| 1919–1921 | Howard Payne |
| Position(s) | End |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1922 | Granger HS (TX) |
| 1925–1926 | Temple HS (TX) |
| 1927–1942 | FW Masonic Home (TX) |
| 1942–1944 | Highland Park HS (TX) |
| 1945–1949 | SMU (QB/RB) |
| 1950–1952 | SMU |
| 1953 | Schreiner |
| 1954–1960 | Victoria |
| 1962–1963 | Howard Payne |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 69–63–7 (college) 181–40–14 high school) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| 1950 Champion Spark Plug NCAA Sportsman of the Year All Conference End at Howard Payne (1921) Howard Payne University Hall of Fame 1989 The Texas Coaches Hall of Honor 1961 Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame 1990 The Texas Sports Hall of Fame 1971 |
|
Harvey N. "Rusty" Russell (December 1895 – December 21, 1983) was an American football coach. He is mostly known for head coaching Southern Methodist University from 1950-52 as well as the longtime head coach at an Orphanage in Fort Worth Texas, The Masonic Home and School. Russell was inducted to the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 1990, and is also a member of the Sports Hall of Fame at Howard Payne University, the school he graduated from in 1922, as well as The Texas High School Coaches Hall of Honor, and The Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He won NCAA National Coach of the week when at SMU, once in 1950 and again in 1951 for his respective wins over Ohio State and Notre Dame . He helped co-author the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Code of Ethics in 1952 along with Coaches Bill Murray of Duke, Lloyd Jordan of Harvard and Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma. That document is still used today. Russell was also a charter member of the National Football Hall of Fame Association. While in College at Howard Payne University in Texas, he was a three sport letterman (Track, Basketball and Football), was captain of both the Basketball and Football teams, and was named All Conference End in football in 1921 in the TIAA (Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association- forerunner of the Southwest Conference).
Russell started his coaching career at the high school level. In 1922 he was the head coach at Granger High School for one year (7-3 record). In 1923 he became the assistant head coach at Temple High School then Head Coach in 1925 and 1926 where he took them to the State Semi-finals in 1926.(1925–26; 20-3 record). In 1927 he became head coach at Fort Worth Masonic Home (1927–1942) he had a record of 127-30-12 (81% win percentage). The Masonic Home was an orphanage with a total High School enrollment of about 160 boys and girls. They played in the Top Class at the time, the "A" leagues in Texas, with schools who had thousands of students. In his 16 years at Masonic Home, he went to the State playoffs 10 times. Building a football program from scratch, Russell guided the Masonic Home’s 'Mighty Mites' to a tie versus Corsicana High School in the 1932 state championship game. Russell's 1941 team was undefeated but he withdrew from the playoffs following his first postseason win after finding he had an ineligible player who was a year older than the family had listed. The story of the Mighty Mites and their rise from a team of rag-tag orphans to a Texas football powerhouse was recently told by New York Times bestselling author and former Dallas-area sports writer Jim Dent in "Twelve Mighty Orphans" Jim Dent refers to Russell as "The Father of the Spread Offense". In 1942, he actually coached at both Masonic Home in Fort Worth, Texas, and at Highland Park High 35 Miles away in Dallas. He arranged to coach on alternate days and had the games arranged on Fridays and Saturdays so they would not conflict. Masonic Home was a coin toss away from playing Highland Park in the 1942 playoffs.
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