Tommy Hudspeth
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
September 14, 1931 Cherryvale, Kansas |
| Died | June 23, 2015 (aged 83) Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Alma mater | University of Tulsa |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1953 | Norman HS (OK) (assistant) |
| 1956 | Tulsa Central HS (OK) (assistant) |
| 1957–1960 | Tulsa (assistant) |
| 1961–1963 | Calgary Stampeders (assistant) |
| 1964–1971 | BYU |
| 1972 | UTEP (OC) |
| 1972–1973 | UTEP |
| 1974 | Chicago Fire (OB) |
| 1976–1977 | Detroit Lions |
| 1981 | Toronto Argonauts |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1974–1975 | Detroit Lions (scout) |
| 1975–1976 | Detroit Lions (CPS) |
| 1979–1981 | Toronto Argonauts (GM) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 40–56–1 (college) 11–13 (NFL) 2–4 (CFL) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 WAC (1965) | |
| Awards | |
| WAC Coach of the Year (1965) | |
Tommy Joe Hudspeth (September 14, 1931 – June 23, 2015) was an American and Canadian football coach and executive at both the collegiate and professional levels. He was the head coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1964 to 1971, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 1972 through 1973, compiling an overall college football record of 40–56–1. Hudspeth served in the same capacity for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 until 1977, and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1981, posting a mark of 13–17.
Hudspeth graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1953 after completing his playing career at the school. He moved into the coaching ranks that fall as an assistant coach at Norman High School in Oklahoma, then served the next two years in the military. Upon his release, he accepted an assistant position at Tulsa Central High School in 1956. Returning to his alma mater the following year, Hudspeth served as an assistant for the next four years, then moved up north to the Canadian Football League (CFL), working in a similar capacity with the Calgary Stampeders from 1961 to 1963.
In 1964, Hudspeth became a head coach for the first time, taking over the Brigham Young Cougars struggling football program. Husdspeth recruited a number of ex-Marines to play for the Cougars in his first couple of seasons and BYU saw a dramatic rise in its football fortunes. In his second season 1965 BYU won its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship and posted a 6–4 record. Hudspeth led the Cougars to an 8–2 mark in 1966 and had two more winning seasons in 1967 and 1969. Over an eight-year span, he compiled a record of 39–42–1. Hudspeth is credited with recruiting the program's first black player, Ronnie Knight, in 1970, following pressure from the LDS leadership and the "Black 14" Incident with Wyoming the previous year. On January 22, 1972, Hudspeth resigned and was replaced by one of his assistant coaches, Lavell Edwards. Edwards built BYU into a national power by the end of the decade and later led the school to its first and only football national championship in 1984.
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