Sam P. McBirney
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
Chetopa, Kansas c. 1877 |
| Died | January 20, 1936 Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1908 | Kendall |
| 1914–1916 | Kendall |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 24–6–1 |
Sam P. McBirney (c. 1877 – January 20, 1936) was an Irish-American football coach and banker. He was the head football coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team in 1908 and from 1914 to 1916. His undefeated 1916 team outscored opponents 566 to 40 to become the highest scoring college football team during the 1916 college football season. He has been called "one of the fathers of football in Oklahoma." McBirney was also a founder and vice president of Tulsa's Bank of Commerce from 1904 until his death in 1936.
McBirney was born in Chetopa, Kansas in approximately 1877. He was the fourth child of Reverend Hugh McBirney and Susan Mark McBirney, who immigrated from County Tipperary, Ireland in approximately 1875. Rev. McBirney served for 30 years at a Methodist Episcopal Church in southern Kansas.
McBirney was an athlete who won a wide reputation as a baseball player. After playing for baseball teams in Columbus and Coffeyville in southeastern Kansas, McBirney moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1897 as the head of an independent baseball team. McBirney's older brother, James H. McBirney (1870–1944), also played as a pitcher for the Tulsa baseball team. One author has written that the McBirney brothers were brought to Tulsa as "ringers" for the city's baseball team.
While living in Tulsa, McBirney was also introduced to American football. McBirney played on a local football team that was described by an Oklahoma newspaper as "a rough-and-ready semi-pro team that met anybody, anywhere."
In the late 1890s, the McBirney brothers began working as bookkeepers for the Tulsa Banking Company. In 1904, after the Tulsa Banking Company was reorganized with majority control by individuals from outside Tulsa, Sam and James McBirney, along with two other investors, formed the Bank of Commerce (later known as the National Bank of Commerce) in Tulsa. McBirney served as a cashier and later as vice president of the bank. His older brother served as the president of the bank. The bank grew into the largest bank in Tulsa, and according to the Tulsa Historical Society, "became a cornerstone in the future growth of Tulsa."
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