Glenn Emery "Press" Presnell (July 28, 1905 – September 13, 2004) 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 ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He set the NFL single-season scoring record in 1933 and led the league in total offense. He was the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions inaugural 1934 team and helped lead the team to its first NFL championship in 1935. He also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a record which was not broken for 19 years. Presnell served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1942 and at Eastern Kentucky State College—now known as

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...

–from 1954 to 1963, compiling a career college football coaching record of 45–56–3. He was also the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

at Eastern Kentucky from 1963 to 1971.

Early years

Born in Gilead, Nebraska, Presnell attended DeWitt High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He played college football as a halfback for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, ...

team from 1925 to 1927. In 1925, Presnell led Nebraska to a 14–0 victory over an Illini team that included the "Galloping Ghost",

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

. As one writer put it, "all the galloping was done by Presnell this day." Presnell was selected as a first-team player on the

1927 College Football All-America Team The 1927 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1927. The seven selectors recognized by the ...

Professional football

After leaving Nebraska, Presnell played football for the Ironton Tanks in

Ironton, Ohio Ironton is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. Located in southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River northwest of Huntington, West Virginia, the city includes the Downtown Ironton Historic District. The populati ...

. He was a player-coach for the team and also taught science at Ironton High School. Presnell was a halfback in Ironton's single wing offense and also played on defense at what would later be considered the safety position. Although not officially part 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 ...

, the Tanks played against teams in the league. In 1930, Presnell led Ironton to victories over both the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. Against the Giants, the Tanks trailed 12-6 with three seconds left. Presnell threw a touchdown pass to Gene Alford and then kicked the extra point to give Ironton a 13–12 victory over a Giants team that finished in second place in the NFL. He also scored two touchdowns against the Bears, including an 88-yard run. After the 1930 season, the Tanks folded. In 1931, Presnell joined the

Portsmouth Spartans The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct indepe ...

in the NFL. He had his best season in 1933, when he led the NFL in total offense with 1,296 yards. He also broke the single-season NFL scoring record with 64 points. ( Ken Strong tied with Presnell with the same point total in 1933.) During the

1933 NFL season The 1933 NFL season was the 14th regular season of the National Football League. Because of the success of the Playoff Game the year before, the league divided its teams into two divisions for the first time, with the winners of each divis ...

, Presnell completed 50 of 125 passes for 774 passing yards and added 522 rushing yards on 118 carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. He also kicked five field goals and 13 extra points. He led the NFL with six rushing touchdowns and 13 successful extra point conversions. He also finished second in the league (behind

Harry Newman Harry Lawrence Newman (September 5, 1909 – May 2, 2000) was an All-Pro American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan Wolverines (1930–32), for whom in 1932 he was a unanimous first-team All-American, and the reci ...

) in passing touchdowns, passes completed, pass attempts, and passing yards. Following the 1933 season, Presnell was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the NFL, the United Press, and Collyers Eye Magazine. In 1934, the owner of the Portsmouth Spartans sold the team. The team was moved from

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, and became the Detroit Lions. When Presnell visited Detroit to sign his first contract with the Lions in 1934, team owner George A. Richards allowed Presnell to pick the team's colors. Presnell later recalled:

"Mr. Richards, the owner, the day I was up there and signed my contract, he said: 'There's a table out there in the next office covered with uniforms. Why don't you pick out the colors you like?' I went out. My wife was with me. We saw this Honolulu blue and silver and we fell in love with it."

Presnell remained with the Lions from 1934 to 1936. He combined with

Dutch Clark Earl Harry "Dutch" Clark (October 11, 1906 – August 5, 1978), sometimes also known as the "Flying Dutchman" and the "Old Master", was an American football player and coach, basketball player and coach, and university athletic director. He gaine ...

, Ace Gutowsky, and Ernie Caddel to lead the Lions to a second-place finish in 1934. And in 1935, the same group led the Lions to their first NFL championship, culminating with a 26-7 victory over the New York Giants in the

1935 NFL Championship Game The 1935 NFL Championship game was the third National Football League (NFL) title game, held December 15 at University of Detroit Stadium (Titan Stadium) in Detroit, Michigan. The 1935 champion of the Western Division was the Detroit Lions (7– ...

. Presnell also set an NFL record with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a mark that was not broken until 1953.

Coaching and later years

Presnell retired as a player after the 1936 season at age 31. He worked as an assistant football coach at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1937 and then as the backfield coach at Nebraska from 1938 to 1941. In February 1942, he became the head football coach and athletic director at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers compiled a record of 3-7 in Presnell's one season as head coach. In December 1942, Presnell enlisted 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 ...

. In May 1943, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and assigned to the Navy's physical education training program. In 1944 Presnell served as backs coach at the North Carolina Pre-Flight School. He spent three years in the Navy. In 1954, Presnell returned to coaching as the head football coach for

. He held that position from 1954 to 1963. He was then

at Eastern Kentucky until his retirement in 1971. Presnell died in September 2004 in

at the age of 99. He had been the last surviving member of the Detroit Lions' inaugural 1934 team.

Head coaching record

Awards

* Member of Nebraska Hall of Fame (1973). * Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good Class of 2007

References

External links

Nebraska profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Presnell, Glenn 1905 births 2004 deaths American football halfbacks Detroit Lions players Eastern Kentucky Colonels athletic directors Eastern Kentucky Colonels football coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic directors North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters football coaches Portsmouth Spartans players Ironton Tanks players United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Thayer County, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska