Alvin E. Loucks (June 15, 1895 – April 1973) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He played college football at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1916, 1919) and professional football for the Detroit Heralds (1920). He later served as the football coach at Duluth Junior College (1927-40).

Michigan

Loucks was a native of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

and the son of James C. Loucks. He attended Union High School in

before enrolling at the

. He played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team in 1916 and 1919.

Detroit Heralds

After leaving the University of Michigan, Loucks played professional football for the Detroit Heralds in 1920. In 1920, the Heralds played in the inaugural season of the American Professional Football Association -- renamed the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in 1922. The 1920 Heralds compiled a 1–3 record, while inclement weather eliminated their November schedule. The cancellations were financially devastating, and the team folded.

Escanaba

In 1921, after a brief stint as a teacher in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

, Loucks was hired as the physical education director for the public schools in Escanaba, Michigan. He also served as the head football coach at Escanabla, where his 1922 football team won the football championship of the Upper Peninsula.

Duluth

In 1927, Loucks moved to

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, where he became one of the original faculty members at the Duluth Junior College. Loucks was assigned to serve as a physical education instructor and to organize and coach every athletic team at the new college, including football, basketball and wrestling. He was described by students as "rough, gruff and rawboned", but having a "heart of gold." In the first year, Loucks' team lost every game, but in 1928 his team compiled an undefeated record and won the conference championship with victories over teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (including the Michigan School of Mines). In 1940, the football team was short of players. Only 18 players reported, with only six lettermen returning from the prior year. In November 1940, the student body voted to abolish intercollegiate football and replace it in 1941 with six-man intramural football. In 1941, Loucks became employed as the head football coach at Duluth Central High School, where he remained until his retirement in 1963.

Family and later years

Loucks was married to Evelyn Loucks (born c. 1901), and they had two daughters, Joan Loucks (born c. 1926) and Sally Loucks (born c. 1931). Loucks lived in Hopkins, Minnesota in his later years. He died in 1973 at age 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loucks, Alvin 1895 births 1973 deaths American football guards Detroit Heralds players Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan Junior college football coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Michigan