W. G. Speer
Whitcomb Glenn "Bunt" Speer (November 6, 1884 – April 24, 1955) was an American football and basketball coach. He served as the head football coach at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas from 1915 to 1918 and Nebraska State Normal School—now known as Peru State College–from 1919 to 1922, and Midland College—now known as Midland University—in Fremont, Nebraska from 1923 to 1924, compiling a career college football coaching record of 50–21–3.[1] Speer was also the head basketball coach at Nebraska State Normal from 1919 to 1923, tallying a mark of 71–22.
Speer pictured in Reveille 1917, Fort Hays yearbook | |
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Kansas, US | November 6, 1884
Died | April 24, 1955 70) Manhattan, Kansas, US | (aged
Playing career | |
Football | |
1908–1910 | Kansas State |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
c. 1912 | Kansas State (freshmen) |
1915–1918 | Hays Normal |
1919–1922 | Peru Normal |
1923–1934 | Midland |
Basketball | |
1916–1919 | Hays Normal |
1919–1923 | PeruNormal |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 50–21–3 (football) 71–22 (basketball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Football 1 KCAC (1917) |
While coaching at Fort Hays, he led the Tigers to 12 consecutive victories from the second game in the 1916 season to seventh game in the 1917 season—a record that stands as of the conclusion of the 2007 season. His 1915 and 1917 teams also are tied for the most consecutive games without being scored upon.[2]
Speer died of a heart attack, on April 24, 1955, at a hospital in Manhattan, Kansas.[3]
Head coaching record
Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hays Normal (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1915–1918) | |||||||||
1915 | Hays Normal | 4–3 | 3–3 | T–6th | |||||
1916 | Hays Normal | 5–2 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
1917 | Hays Normal | 7–0 | 6–0 | T–1st | |||||
1918 | Hays Normal | 2–1 | |||||||
Hays Normal: | 18–6 | ||||||||
Peru Normal Bobocats (Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference) (1919–1922) | |||||||||
1919 | Peru Normal | 5–2 | 4–2 | T–3rd | |||||
1920 | Peru Normal | 5–4 | 5–4 | 6th | |||||
1921 | Peru Normal | 5–3 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
1922 | Peru Normal | 6–1 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
Peru Normal: | 21–10 | 19–10 | |||||||
Midland Warriors (Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference / Nebraska College Athletic Conference) (1923–1934) | |||||||||
1923 | Midland | 8–2–1 | 7–1–1 | 3rd | |||||
1924 | Midland | 3–3–2 | 3–1–1 | 5th | |||||
Midland: | 11–5–3 | 10–2–2 | |||||||
Total: | 50–21–3 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth |
References
- "Fort Hays State University coaching records". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- FHSU Football Records/Media Guide
- "W. G. 'Bunt' Speer, 72, Dies of Heart Attack Sunday". The Manhattan Mercury. Manhattan, Kansas. April 25, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved June 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .