Elmer Clinton "Gloomy Gus" Henderson (March 10, 1889 – December 16, 1965) 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 wi ...
coach. He served as the head coach at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
(1919–1924), the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...
(1925–1935), and
Occidental College
Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
(1940–1942), compiling a career
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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
record of 126–42–7. Henderson's career winning percentage of .865 at USC is the best of any
Trojans football coach, and his 70 wins with the
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...
remain a team record. In between his stints at Tulsa and Occidental, Henderson moved to the professional ranks, helming the
Los Angeles Bulldogs
The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of ...
of the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
in 1937 and the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
of 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 majo ...
(NFL) in 1939. Henderson also coached
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
at USC, each for two seasons.
Early life
Henderson was born in
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students.
The town is the birthplace of th ...
on 10 March 1889. He graduated from
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...
, and then coached at
Broadway High School in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
.
USC
Henderson arrived at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC) in 1919 and set the
Trojans football team on its first steps toward national prominence. He led USC to a 6–0 record in 1920, the team's first perfect season of at least three games, and their first appearance in the
Rose Bowl in 1923. In the
1923 Rose Bowl
The 1923 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1923, was an American Football bowl game. It was the 9th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 14-3. Leo Calland, a USC guard, was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game when ...
, the first Rose Bowl game to be held in its
namesake stadium, USC's faced their first opponent from east of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
. The Trojans defeated the heavily favored
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The inte ...
, 14–3. Penn State arrived at the game 45 minutes late and ten minutes after the scheduled kickoff because of a traffic jam. Henderson accused Penn State coach
Hugo Bezdek
Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913� ...
of doing so as a psychological tactic, and the coaches nearly began throwing punches. Later, they exchanged public insults after the game.
Gordon Campbell, a
halfback USC's 1923 Rose Bowl team, said of Henderson, "He put the Trojans on the map. He was a great coach when we needed one most because we were just growing up."
Under Henderson's tenure, USC joined the
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including ...
in 1922 and, in 1923, moved from Bovard Field on campus to play in the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...
. He received his nickname from ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' sports editor Paul Lowry because of his tendency to poor-mouth the Trojans' prospects before a game. Gloomy Gus was a character in a popular era comic strip, ''
Happy Hooligan
''Happy Hooligan'' is an American comic strip, the first major strip by the already celebrated cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper. It debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11, 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first p ...
''.
Regarding his offensive tactics, which proved successful, ''Los Angeles Times'' sports editor Paul Zimmerman noted, "Until someone proves otherwise, it must be assumed that Henderson invented the
spread formation
Spread may refer to:
Places
* Spread, West Virginia
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film.
* '' $pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers
* "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/ ...
, variations of which have become an important form of attack in modern day football."
During his time at USC, Henderson also coached the
Trojans baseball team in 1920 and 1921 and
school's basketball team for two seasons from 1919 to 1921.
Henderson left USC following the 1924 season, despite a 45–7 record, partly due to his inability to defeat rival
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in five tries. USC's loss to California in 1924 loss followed one week later by an upset at the hands of
Saint Mary's. Henderson's contract was bought out at the end of the year.
At the time, USC also had strained relations with Cal and
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
, who threatened to sever conference ties with USC due to their belief that USC was using cash to recruit players.
USC
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 Am ...
Chet Dolley was dismissive of the idea, noting, "That was really a joke, because the university didn't have a dime." He stated that Henderson "made his players responsible for bringing in athletes. I came from
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporat ...
, so I was assigned to that area. So, naturally, I was in charge of getting
Morley Drury."
Among the other players who arrived at USC during Henderson's tenure was the school's first two
All-Americans
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
,
Brice Taylor
Brice Union Taylor (July 4, 1902 – September 18, 1974) was an American football player and coach and track athlete. He played college football as a guard at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was one of first All-Americans in ...
and
Mort Kaer
Morton Armour Kaer (September 7, 1903 – January 11, 1992), nicknamed "Devil May," was an athlete in track and an All-American collegiate and professional American football player. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and died in Mount Shasta, Cal ...
, as well as future
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
r,
Red Badgro
Morris Hiram "Red" Badgro (December 1, 1902 – July 13, 1998) was an American football player and football coach who also played professional baseball. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
A native of Orillia, Washington ...
.
Taylor recalled his former coach, "Not only was he a great coach, but he was a wonderful man. He was real person. I'll never forget the day I was standing on a corner, shivering, because it was cold, and Gus drives by in his car. He sees me, stops and backs up, and says, 'What's the matter Brice, are you cold?' And I said, 'I sure am coach.' So he reaches into the back seat and takes out his brand new, blue Chesterfield coat and says, 'Here, take this, it's yours.' You know, years after I left SC, when I was teaching in the South, I was still wearing that coat."
USC finished its 1924 regular season with their first-ever regularly scheduled game against an eastern team, winning at home over
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
* Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
* Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
** North Syracuse, New York
* Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, M ...
, 16–0. The Trojans ended the year with a 20–7 win over
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
in the
Christmas Festival Bowl, held at the Coliseum.
Howard Jones of
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
succeeded Henderson as USC's head coach in 1925, and controversies quickly abated, although California still canceled its 1925 game against USC, the only year between 1920 and 2020 in which the teams have not met.
Tulsa
Henderson moved to the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...
in 1925 and served as the
Golden Hurricane
The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...
head coach for the next 11 seasons. He oversaw the construction of the
Skelly Field
Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the south central United States, located on the campus of the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Commonly known as H. A. Chapman Stadium, it is the hom ...
, which opened in 1930. Under Henderson, Tulsa captured five conference championships: the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference title in 1925, the Big Four Conference titles in 1929, 1930, and 1932, and the
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
title in 1935. Henderson's final record at Tulsa was 70–25–5.
Later coaching career
Henderson returned to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
and became the head coach of the professional
Los Angeles Bulldogs
The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor of ...
, which operated as an independent team in 1936 before joining the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
in 1937 and capturing the conference title with a perfect 8–0 record. The Bulldogs returned to independent play in 1938 when the league folded. In
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
, Henderson was hired as coach of 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 majo ...
's
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
by team owner Dick Richards, who also owned Los Angeles radio station
KMPC
KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
. The Lions posted a 6–5 record in 1939, but the team was sold before the 1940 season, and, despite a three-year contract, Henderson was released by new owner Fred Mandel.
Again, Henderson returned to Los Angeles to take over the football program at
Occidental College
Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
. As a head coach from 1940 to 1942, he posted a record of 11–10–2, but the program was suspended due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, and he ended his coaching career.
Death
Henderson died on 16 December 1965 at age 76 in
Desert Hot Springs, California
Desert Hot Springs is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 census, up from 16,582 at the 2000 census. The city has exp ...
of complications from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
. He was survived by his wife, Kathryn, and their daughter. His cremated remains were returned to Oberlin, Ohio. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Head coaching record
College football
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Gus
1889 births
1965 deaths
Basketball coaches from Ohio
Detroit Lions coaches
Occidental Tigers football coaches
Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches
USC Trojans baseball coaches
USC Trojans football coaches
USC Trojans men's basketball coaches
High school football coaches in Washington (state)
Oberlin College alumni
People from Oberlin, Ohio
People from Desert Hot Springs, California
Sportspeople from Riverside County, California
Detroit Lions head coaches