Xenophon Cole "Xen" Scott (July 6, 1882 – April 21, 1924) 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, coach of football,

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 tea ...

, and a sportswriter. He served as the head football coach at Western Reserve University in 1910, at the Case School of Applied Science from 1911 to 1913—both Western Reserve and Case are now part of

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

—and at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

from 1919 to 1922, 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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 49–26–4. Born in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

in 1882, Scott moved to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

with his family when he was four. He played college football as an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

and

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 ...

Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

, from which he graduated in 1905, and then professionally with the

Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships ...

. Prior to being hired as head football coach, Scott was a horse-racing writer in

. He also contributed material to the ''Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide'' in 1907 and 1908. In 1907 he became an assistant coach at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

in Cleveland, often attributed as a key reason for the success of the

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

teams. After the unexpected death of Western Reserve head coach

William B. Seaman William Bryson "Budget" Seaman (c. 1875 – April 18, 1910) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Waynesburg College by—now known as Waynesburg University–in 1897, Washington & Jeffers ...

, Scott began his head coaching career at Western Reserve for the 1910 football season. In 1910, Scott was hired to be head coach at the Nebraska State Normal School in

Peru, Nebraska Peru is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 648 at the 2020 census. Peru State College is located in Peru. History The first attempt to settle the community took place in 1853, by some residents of Peru, Illino ...

, where he also coached baseball and basketball. He compiled a 29–9–3 (.744) record at Alabama. His first Tide team went 8–1 to set a school record for victories in a season; his second team did better, going 10–1 and finishing atop the standings of the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

. Scott recruited

Joe Sewell Joseph Wheeler "Joe" Sewell (October 9, 1898 – March 6, 1990) was a Major League Baseball infielder for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. Sewell holds the record for the lowest ...

to Alabama and then sent him to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

when Sewell's football days were over; Joe Sewell went to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Scott's Tide scored 110 points against Marion Institution in 1922, an Alabama football record which still stands today. In 1922, Scott's Tide beat Penn, 9–7, a shocking upset at the time and one which heralded the arrival of Alabama as a national football power. However, Scott did not get to enjoy his success; a case of cancer of the mouth and tongue forced his resignation after the 1922 season and he died in 1924 in

at age 41.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Xen C. 1882 births 1924 deaths American football ends American football quarterbacks American men's basketball coaches Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Case Western Spartans football coaches Case Western Spartans football players Massillon Tigers players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Peru State Bobcats baseball coaches Peru State Bobcats football coaches Peru State Bobcats men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Cleveland Sportspeople from Pasadena, California Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Cleveland Basketball coaches from Ohio Deaths from cancer in Ohio Players of American football from Pasadena, California