William Harold Hess (August 18, 1895 – November 9, 1982) was an American

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

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 ...

coach. He served as the head coach at Loyola Marymount University from 1923 to 1927.

Early life

A native of

Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania Belle Vernon is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Monongahela River abutting two other counties, Westmoreland to the north and Washington across the river. As of the 2020 census Belle Vernon had a population of ...

near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Hess attended Belle Vernon High School. Hess went on to college at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where he played on the football team in 1916 and from 1919 to 1920."Penn State All Time Football Lettermen"
(PDF), 2010 Penn State Football Media Guide, p. 194, Pennsylvania State University, 2010. He played as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and was considered a "star punter" by '' The Pittsburgh Press''.Hess to Lead Penn State
''The New York Times'', December 13, 1919. In 1919, during preparation for the rivalry game against

, team captain Bob Higgins had noticed that the Panthers tended to rush ten players when the opposing team elected to punt. He devised a trick play using Hess, the team's punter. Early in the game, Penn State lined up to punt, and when Pittsburgh rushed ten men, Hess lobbed a 25-yard pass to Higgins, who was running free, and he took the ball 92 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. The play shifted momentum decisively in Penn State's favor, and the Nittany Lions went on to win, 20–0. For his senior campaign during the 1920 season, Hess was moved from fullback to

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, and his teammates elected him as captain.Lions Didn't Deserve First Rose Bowl
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', December 30, 1994. At Penn State, Hess was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and studied

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

.''LaVie 1921''
p. 133, Pennsylvania State University, 1921.

Coaching career

In 1922, Hess served as the freshman team coach for

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, whose varsity faced Penn State in that year's Rose Bowl. Because of his knowledge of the opponent, he helped prepare USC for the bowl game, which they won, 14–3. In 1923, Hess was considered a candidate for the

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

head coaching position. That year, he took over as head coach at

Loyola Marymount Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. There, he introduced the system used at Penn State. In January 1928, he resigned from Loyola,BILL HESS QUITS POST AT LOYOLA; "Red" Flaherty Mentioned to Succeed Popular Grid Coach Next Season
''The Los Angeles Times'', January 25, 1928. where he compiled a 23–12–4 record.Harold "Bill" Hess Coaching Records By Year
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 6, 2011.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Harold 1895 births 1982 deaths American football fullbacks American football guards American football punters Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Loyola Lions football coaches Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players USC Trojans football coaches People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area