Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a

Czech American Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...

athlete who played

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 ...

and was a 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 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 ...

. He was the head football coach at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

(1906, 1913–1917), the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

(1908–1912), Pennsylvania State University (1918–1929), and

Delaware Valley College Delaware Valley University (DelVal) is a private university in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1896, it enrolls approximately 1,900 students on its suburban, 570-acre campus. DelVal offers more than 28 undergraduate majors, seven master's p ...

(1949). Bezdek also coached the Mare Island Marines in the 1918 Rose Bowl and the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 19 ...

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 1937 and part of the 1938 season. In addition, Bezdek coached basketball at Oregon (1906–1907, 1913–1917) and Penn State (1919), coached baseball at Arkansas (1909–1913), Oregon (1914–1917) and Penn State (1920–1930), and served as the manager of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's Pittsburgh Pirates (1917–1919). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954. Coach Bezdek is the only Coach to bring three different teams to the Rose Bowl Game; University of Oregon, Mare Island Marines and Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Bezdek will be honored with Induction in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in December 31,2022.

Early years

Bezdek was born near

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Bohemia (now part of the present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). His fore fathers had been school-teachers, strong men and athletes. His family emigrated to America in 1891 when he was 6 years old. They lived in Cleveland's Slavic Community. His father James (Valcav), worked at as a butcher in Cleveland. His father, hence Hugo, can be found in the Cleveland City directory at 51 (5787) Portage Ave in 1895. and 156(5500) Fleet Ave. from 1896-98 St. The Fleet Ave. address still stands today. Around 1900 the family, James, Frances and Hugo moved to 4846 South Paulina St., Chicago Ill. where his father continued working as a butcher and 16 year old Hugo is "at school." It appears this structure is also standing. From here, young Hugo launched his Athletic Career. He enjoyed playing sports typical of the day. While he favored football, he also boxed, wrestled and played baseball.

Coaching career

1925 Penn State Nittany Lions football coaching staff

After playing as a fullback at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, Bezdek began his football coaching career at the

in 1906, but left after a year to become head coach at the

. Arkansas' athletic teams were known as the Cardinals until after the 1909 season. Near the end of that year, Coach Bezdek called his team "a wild band of Razorback hogs" at an impromptu press conference following his team's victory over LSU. The name was a hit with the Arkansas students, and they voted to change the school's mascot from Cardinals to Razorbacks the following school term. Razorbacks has been Arkansas' mascot since that time. The 1909 team finished 7-0 and were considered the "Champions of the South". After five years at Arkansas, he returned to Oregon for six seasons. While coaching in Oregon, Bezdek also served as a scout for

's Pittsburgh Pirates, who hired him as their manager in the middle of the 1917 season. He managed the Pirates through 1919, compiling a 166–187 record. While managing the Pirates, Bezdek continued his football coaching career, moving from Oregon to Penn State in 1919. He was head coach there until 1929, amassing a 65–30–11 record that included two undefeated seasons and an appearance in the 1923 Rose Bowl. Bezdek was noted for changing the Nittany Lions' style of play. Bezdek also served as Penn State's

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 ...

from 1918 to 1936, was interim

coach in 1919, garnering an 11–2 record, and director of the School of Physical Education and Athletics from 1930 to 1937. In 1937, Bezdek was hired by the

as their first head coach after the team joined the

(NFL). His career with the Rams was brief, ending three games into the 1938 season with an abysmal 1–13 record. Nevertheless, Bezdek holds the distinction of being the only person to have served as both manager of a Major League Baseball team and head coach in the NFL. As a college football coach, Bezdek tallied a career record of 127–58–16. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Head coaching record

College football

Professional football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bezdek, Hugo 1884 births 1952 deaths American people of Bohemian descent American football fullbacks American men's basketball coaches Chicago Maroons football coaches Chicago Maroons football players Cleveland Rams coaches Arkansas Razorbacks baseball coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Delaware Valley Aggies football coaches Mare Island Marines football coaches Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions athletic directors Penn State Nittany Lions baseball coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches Pittsburgh Pirates managers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech players of American football Sportspeople from Prague Cleveland Rams head coaches