Paul Preston "Pepper" Sheeks (October 18, 1889 – September 17, 1968) 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 ...

and

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 ...

player and coach. He played professional football with the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...

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 ...

(NFL) in 1922 and 1923. Before he joined the NFL, Sheeks played

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 ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

. He then became the 20th head college football coach for the Wabash College Little Giants located in

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...

and he held that position for two seasons, from 1915 until 1916. In 1915 Sheeks guided the Little Giants to a 7–0–1 record. Wabash would not have another undefeated season until 1951. Sheek's football coaching record at Wabash was 14–2–1 ties, ranking him 11th at Wabash in total wins and second at the school in winning percentage (.853). Sheeks was also coached the Wabash College basketball team, from 1916 to 1917. In just one year of coaching, Sheeks led Wabash basketball team to a 19–2 record. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Sheeks became the recreation director of the

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled ...

. Through this position, he coached the Akron Red Peppers bantamweight football team to national recognition in 1935. In 1935 Sheeks helped found the National Basketball League, considered a predecessor of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. He later became the coach of the

Akron Firestone Non-Skids The Akron Firestone Non-Skids were an American professional basketball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team was one of the thirteen founding members of the National Basketball League (NBL), which formed in 1937. The team was named for the Firesto ...

winning two league championships and was named NBL Coach of Year twice in 1939 and 1940.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

* 1889 births 1968 deaths American football ends American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Dakota Basketball players from North Dakota Akron Firestone Non-Skids coaches Akron Pros coaches Akron Pros players Dakota Wesleyan Tigers men's basketball players People from LaMoure County, North Dakota Players of American football from North Dakota South Dakota Coyotes football players South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball players Wabash Little Giants basketball coaches Wabash Little Giants football coaches {{1910s-collegefootball-coach-stub