Charles R. Stobart (October 27, 1932 – November 29, 2022) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and coach. He played as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

in the 1950s. He was a football coach at various schools for 42 years from 1959 to 2000, including 36 consecutive seasons as a coach at Division I collegiate programs. Stobart began his coaching career in 1959 as a high school coach in Ohio. His college coaching positions included stints as the head football coach at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

(1977–1981), the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

(1982–1984), and the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

(1989–1994). He was twice selected as the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

) and was inducted into the University of Toledo Athletics Hall of Fame. Stobart also served as offensive backfield coach 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 ...

(1969–1976) during

The Ten Year War The Ten Year War was a series of college football games, played from 1969 to 1978, in the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry that pitted coach Woody Hayes of the Ohio State Buckeyes against coach Bo Schembechler of the Michigan Wolverines. ...

and offensive coordinator at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

(1985),

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

(1986),

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(1987–1988), and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

(2000).

Early years

Stobart grew up in

Middleport, Ohio Middleport is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,530 at the time of the 2010 census. History Middleport was founded during the 1820s, a time of great prosperity and rapidly increasing commerce in Meigs Co ...

. Stobart became a star athlete at Middleport High School, playing football, basketball, and baseball. After high school, Stobart served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He then attended

where he played football and basketball. He was the quarterback for the

Ohio Bobcats football The Ohio Bobcats football team is a major intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as the senior member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdi ...

team from 1956 to 1958 and was played at third base for the baseball team.

Coaching career

High school coach

Stobart started his coaching career in the fall of 1959 as the head football coach at

Berne Union High School Berne Union High School is a public high school in Sugar Grove, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Berne Union Local Schools district. Their nickname is The Grove. Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships * Boys Baseball ...

in Sugar Grove, Ohio. He led Berne Union to a conference championship and an 8–1 record during the 1959 season. In 1960, he was hired as head football coach at Gallia Academy in

Gallipolis, Ohio Gallipolis ( ) is a chartered village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia County. The municipality is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about 55 miles southeast of Chillicothe and 44 miles northwest of Charlesto ...

. He led Gallia to a perfect 9–0 record in 1960. In 1961, he was hired as the head football coach at Mount Vernon High School in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. History The community was platted in 1805, and named after Mo ...

. He remained at Mount Vernon through the 1964 season. His teams compiled a 17–1 record during the 1963 and 1964 seasons.

Marshall and Cincinnati

In June 1965, Stobart was hired by

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

as offensive backfield coach for the football team and head coach for the baseball team. The 1965 Marshall Thundering Herd football team compiled a 5–5 record. In January 1966, Stobart was hired as backfield coach at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. The 1966 Cincinnati Bearcats football team compiled a 3–7 record.

Schembechler years (Miami and Michigan)

In February 1967, Stobart was hired as an assistant coach on

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

's staff at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

. He served as Schembechler's offensive backfield coach during the 1967 and 1968 seasons, when the team compiled records of 6–4 and 7–3. In December 1968, Schembechler was hired as the head coach at the

. In January 1969, Schembechler hired Stobart to join him as offensive backfield coach at Michigan. He spent the next seven years from 1969 to 1976 as Michigan's backfield coach, working with Schembechler and mentoring Michigan backs including

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

Don Moorhead Don Moorhead (born October 11, 1948) is a former Canadian Football League quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the BC Lions from 1971 to 1975 and for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1969 and 1970. He set 24 football record ...

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

Dennis Franklin Dennis E. Franklin (born August 24, 1953) is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in the 1975 NFL Draft. Prior to playing for the NFL he played college footbal ...

Gordon Bell Chester Gordon Bell (born August 19, 1934) is an American electrical engineer and manager. An early employee of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) 1960–1966, Bell designed several of their PDP machines and later became Vice President of Engi ...

Rick Leach Rick Leach (born December 28, 1964) is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won five Grand Slam doubles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open) ...

, and

Rob Lytle Robert William Lytle (November 12, 1954 – November 20, 2010) was an American football player. Lytle played college football at the University of Michigan from 1973 to 1976. A running back, he broke Michigan's career record with 3,317 rushing ...

. Stobart spent a decade on Schembechler's staff at Miami and Michigan. Throughout his career, Stobart said Schembechler was the biggest football influence in his life.

Toledo

In December 1976, Stobart was hired as head football coach at the

. At the time of the hiring, Schembechler said:

I don't know how Toledo could have hired a better man. . . . He is a tremendous football man. He knows football, but more than that he is an idea man. He is an excellent recruiter and a really tireless worker. The guy can go all day. I am really sorry to see him go.

Stobart was head coach at Toledo for five years years from 1977 to 1981, compiling a 23–30–1 record. His 1981 Toledo Rockets football team went 9–3, won the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) championship, and defeated San Jose State in the 1981 California Bowl. He out-polled Mike Kelly and

Earle Bruce Earle Bruce (March 8, 1931 – April 20, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa (1972), Iowa State University (1973–1978), Ohio State University (1979–1987), the University of N ...

to win Ohio Coach of the Year honors in December 1981. He was inducted into the University of Toledo Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Utah

In December 1981, he was hired as the head coach at the

. He held that position for three years from 1982 to 1984, compiling a 16–17–1 record. In November 1984, Utah announced it was seeking a new football coach and advised that Stobart was free to pursue other options.

Pittsburgh, Arizona and USC

In January 1985, the

hired Stobart as its offensive coordinator. At the end of the 1985 season, Pitt's head coach

Foge Fazio Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio (February 28, 1938 – December 2, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 1982 to 1985. Fazio was an assistant coach with five teams ...

was fired. Stobart was hired in January 1986 as the offensive coordinator at the

. In January 1987, Arizona head coach Larry Smith was hired as the head football coach at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. Smith promptly hired Stobart as associate head coach and offensive coordinator at USC. Stobart held that position for two years, helping USC to an 8–4 record and 26.8 points per game in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and a 10–2 record and 30.8 points per game in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Memphis

In June 1989, Stobart was hired as the head football coach at the

. At the time, the program was embroiled in controversy due to NCAA rules violation and waiting for an NCAA decision on sanctions. Larry Smith of USC praised the selection of Stobart, saying, "He brings integrity, responsibility and maturity, plus a tremendous knowledge of the game and coaching skills." Stobart compiled a 29–36–1 record in six years at Memphis. He was fired from his post at Memphis in December 1994.

Ohio State

In March 1995, Stobart was hired as the wide receivers coach at the

. He held that post for five seasons from 1995 to 1999. He was position coach to

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

winner

Terry Glenn Terry Tyree Glenn (July 23, 1974 – November 20, 2017) was an American football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by t ...

in 1995. In 2000, he was promoted to offensive coordinator at Ohio State. In Stobart's lone season as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, the Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record and scored an average of 27.6 points per game. In January 2001, Ohio State head coach John Cooper was fired. Ohio State's new head coach

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...

then hired Jim Bollman to replace Stobart as the team's offensive coordinator.

Family and later years

Stobart and his wife Diana had five children. In retirement, he lived in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. Stobart died on November 29, 2022, at age 90 in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stobart, Chuck 1932 births 2022 deaths American football quarterbacks Arizona Wildcats football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Coaches of American football from Ohio High school football coaches in Ohio Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Military personnel from Ohio Ohio Bobcats football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches People from Gallipolis, Ohio People from Middleport, Ohio Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Players of American football from Ohio Toledo Rockets football coaches USC Trojans football coaches Utah Utes football coaches