Warren Brooks Woodson (February 24, 1903 – February 22, 1998) 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 ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, 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 ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Arkansas State Teachers College, now the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...

, (1935–1940),

Hardin–Simmons University Hardin–Simmons University (HSU) is a private Baptist university in Abilene, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). History Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist ...

(1941–1951), the

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 ...

(1952–1956),

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

(1958–1967), and Trinity University in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

(1972–1973), compiling a career college football record of 203–94–14 in 31 seasons. He was also the head basketball coach at Arkansas State Teachers from 1935 to 1941 and at Hardin–Simmons in 1945–46, tallying a career

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 ...

mark of 116–50. Woodson won an additional 52 football games at junior college level and 18

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

games. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

Education and coaching career

Woodson received a degree from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

in 1924, majoring in Bible and history, and a degree from Springfield College in 1926, majoring in physical education. He coached four sports at

Texarkana College Texarkana College is a public community college in Texarkana, Texas. History Texarkana College was formed in 1927, as a branch of the Texarkana Independent School District, which voted to proceed with plans for establishment of a community co ...

from 1927 to 1934 and, in three of the same years also coached three sports at a nearby high school. He then moved on to Arkansas State Teachers College (now

) in Conway from 1935 to 1940. In his second year, his team had a perfect 8–0 season. Won 2000 Elijah Pitts Award (named after the Conway, Arkansas, native and Green Bay Packer legend) for Conway athletic lifetime achievement. Woodson accepted the head coaching job at

in 1941. 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 opposing ...

, Woodson served for three years as a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The Hardin-Simmons football program was canceled from 1943 to 1945. After Woodson returned, his 1946 team went unbeaten with an 11–0 record. His 1948 team was in three bowls: the

Grape Bowl The Grape Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game played in 1947 and 1948. It was held at the Grape Bowl stadium, in Lodi, California. Both games featured the College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific), who defeated Utah Sta ...

on December 4, a 35–35 tie with College of the Pacific; the

Shrine Bowl The Shrine Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game. The first game was played on December 18, 1948, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas, between Hardin–Simmons University and Ouachita Baptist College.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowl ...

December 18, a 40–12 victory over Ouachita Baptist; and Camellia Bowl December 30, a 49–12 victory over Wichita. Woodson coached at the

from 1952 to 1956 and at

from 1958 to 1967. His 1960 team went 11–0. He was head coach at Trinity University in

from 1972 to 1973 and later was consultant at New Mexico Highlands. Woodson coached players who won the national rushing title nine times: * Rudolph Mobley, Hardin–Simmons (1942, 1946) * Wilton Davis, Hardin–Simmons (1947) * Art Luppino, Arizona (1954, 1955) * Pervis Atkins, New Mexico State (1959) *

Bob Gaiters Robert James Gaiters (born February 26, 1938) is an American former National Football League player. Gaiters attended Santa Ana Junior College, and transferred to New Mexico State University in 1959. He was a star player on its Aggies football t ...

, New Mexico (State 1960) * Jim Pilot, New Mexico State (1961, 1962)

Death

Woodson died of colon cancer on February 22, 1998, at his home in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Head coaching record

College football

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Warren B. 1903 births 1998 deaths Arizona Wildcats football coaches Central Arkansas Bears baseball coaches Central Arkansas Bears basketball coaches Central Arkansas Bears football coaches Hardin–Simmons Cowboys and Cowgirls athletic directors Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football coaches Hardin–Simmons Cowboys basketball coaches High school football coaches in Texas Junior college football coaches in the United States New Mexico State Aggies athletic directors New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Trinity Tigers athletic directors Trinity Tigers football coaches Baylor University alumni Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Basketball coaches from Texas Deaths from cancer in Texas Deaths from colorectal cancer Military personnel from Texas