William Orville "Potch" Pottenger (November 7, 1921 – April 9, 1978) 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.

Career

Pottenger served as the head football coach at his alma mater, Southwest Missouri State University now known as

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

—in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, from 1961 to 1964, compiling a record of 24–12–1. Pottenger was a three-time letter-winner at Southwest Missouri State, from 1939 to 1941. He was the head football coach at Lamar High School in

Lamar, Missouri Lamar is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,266. It is known as the birthplace of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. The city governme ...

from 1952 to 1955 and Parkview High School in Springfield from 1956 to 1960. Before that, beginning June 1949, Pottenger was an assistant football coach at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

Georgetown, Texas Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census. It is 30 miles (48 km) north of Austin. Founded in 1875 from four existing colleges, the oldest of ...

, under head coach

Spot Collins William Harold "Spot" Collins (March 4, 1922 – March 26, 1996) was a college and professional football player and coach in the 1940s. He was a quarterback and guard who led the Texas Longhorns to their first bowl game; and – north of Austin ...

(1922–1996). Pottenger and Collins were also members of the Marine Corps Reserve unit, Company A (a rifle company), 15th Infantry Battalion, of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. Company A was mobilized July 27, 1950, after the outbreak of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. The company was composed of about 160 men, half of whom had served in World War II. Company A also included Lieutenant John Hargis (1920–1986), a basketball star of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Pottenger served in the Marines during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

. In 1954, Pottenger earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. In 1968, while serving as director of athletics for the Springfield Public School system, Col. Pottenger relieved Col. Lang Rogers ''(né'' Harrison Lang Rogers; 1919–2002) of Joplin as Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps Volunteer Training Unit 9-15. Col. Rogers was also editor and publisher of '' The Joplin Globe and News Herald.''

Head coaching record

College

Bibliography

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pottenger, Orville 1921 births 1978 deaths American football centers Missouri State Bears football coaches Missouri State Bears football players High school football coaches in Missouri Missouri State University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War