Robert Carl Zuppke (July 2, 1879 – December 22, 1957) 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 ...

coach. He served as the head coach at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Un ...

from 1913 until 1941, 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

record of 131–81–12. Inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

in 1951, Zuppke coached his teams to national titles in 1914, 1919, 1923, and 1927. Zuppke's teams also won seven

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championships. While at the University of Illinois, Zuppke was a member of the Alpha-Gamma chapter of

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

. Among the players Zuppke coached at Illinois was

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 ...

, the era's most celebrated college football player. The field at the University of Illinois's Memorial Stadium is named Zuppke Field in his honor. Zuppke is credited for many football inventions and traditions, including the

huddle In sport, a huddle is the action of a team gathering together, usually in a tight circle, to strategize, motivate or celebrate. It is a popular strategy for keeping opponents insulated from sensitive information, and acts as a form of insulation ...

and the

flea flicker A flea flicker is an unorthodox play, often called a " trick play", in American football which is designed to fool the defensive team into thinking that a play is a run instead of a pass. It can be considered an extreme variant of the play actio ...

. In 1914, he reintroduced the

I formation The I formation is one of the most common offensive formations in American football. The I formation draws its name from the vertical (as viewed from the opposing endzone) alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when ...

. Prior to coaching at the University of Illinois, Zuppke coached at

Muskegon High School Muskegon High School is a public high school located in Muskegon, Michigan, and was the first high school in Muskegon County, Michigan. History The Class of 1875, consisting of two girls, was the first from Muskegon High School. Records show ...

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

, and

Oak Park and River Forest High School , motto_translation = Those things that are best , address = 201 N. Scoville Avenue , location = , region = , town = Oak Park , county = , state ...

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

, where he tutored future

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

George Trafton George Edward Trafton (December 6, 1896 – September 5, 1971) was an American professional football player and coach, boxer, boxing manager, and gymnasium proprietor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was also selec ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word " pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or � ...

Harry Goelitz Harry George Goelitz (January 9, 1894 – May 14, 1971) was an American athlete. He competed in the men's decathlon at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Goelitz was trained at Oak Park and River Forest High School by Bob Zuppke, and at Mercersbur ...

. Zuppke led the team to state championships in 1911 and 1912. He had several coaching influences. He used some plays developed by

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

. Zuppke also was a writer and a fine art painter. From 1930 to 1948, Zuppke wrote the syndicated newspaper strip ''Ned Brant'', drawn by

Walt Depew Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt Be ...

. During the 1930s, Zuppke also wrote syndicated sports-related columns. As a painter, Zuppke was known for his rugged Western landscapes.

Zuppkeisms

Zuppke was given to philosophical remarks, known as "Zuppkeisms." The seven best-known are as follows: # Never let hope elude you; that is life's biggest failure # The greatest athlete is one who can carry a nimble brain to the place of action # Moral courage is the result of respect from fellow men # A good back should keep his feet at all times and never lose his head # Men do their best if they know they are being observed # Alumni are loyal if a coach wins all his games # Advice to freshmen: don't drink the liniment

Artist

Zuppke was also a painter who worked mainly on creating evocative, naturalistic landscapes depicting the American Southwest. Zuppke saw no conflict between his interest in painting and football strategy as he believed, "Art and football are very much alike". His work was displayed in several shows, including a one-man show at the

Palmer House The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevator ...

in Chicago in 1937. Zuppke was a member of the No-Jury Society of Artists in Chicago and an acquaintance of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

. Images of Zuppke alongside some of his paintings can be found in the University of Illinois Archives.

Head coaching record

College

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuppke, Robert 1879 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American comics writers American landscape painters American male painters American men's basketball players Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Milwaukee Panthers football players Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players High school football coaches in Illinois High school football coaches in Michigan College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Berlin Sportspeople from Milwaukee Sportspeople from Muskegon, Michigan Basketball players from Milwaukee Players of American football from Milwaukee