Paul Pierce (American football)

Paul Pierce
Sport(s)	Football
Biographical details
Born	December 29, 1914(1914-12-29) Hill, New Mexico
Died	March 31, 2004(2004-03-31) (aged 89) Austin, Texas
Playing career
1932–1933 1934–1935	Schreiner Institute Sul Ross State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1946–1951 1952–1967	Sul Ross State Sam Houston State
Head coaching record
Overall	134–72–9
Bowls	3–2–1
Tournaments	1–0–1 (NAIA playoffs)
Statistics College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships 1 NAIA National (1964) 5 LSC (1950, 1955–1956, 1961, 1964)
Awards 1965 Knute Rockne Little All-American Coach of the Year

Paul Edward "Red" Pierce (December 29, 1914 – March 31, 2004) was an American football player and coach. He served as head coach at Sul Ross State University from 1946 to 1951 and at Sam Houston State University from 1952 to 1967, amassing a career college football record of 94–52–7 134–72–9. His Sam Houston State Bearkats shared the NAIA Football National Championship in 1964 after tying the Concordia Cobbers in the title game.

Early years

A native of Hill, New Mexico, Pierce grew up in Fort Stockton, Texas, graduating from high school there in 1932. He went on to attend Schreiner Institute (now Schreiner University) in Kerrville, Texas, where he earned his associate of arts degree while playing football, basketball and track. Pierce continued his collegiate career at Sul Ross State Teachers College (now Sul Ross State University) in Alpine, Texas. He participated in varsity football and basketball, and graduated two years later with his bachelor of science degree in chemistry. He earned his Ed.D. degree from the University of Houston in 1961.

During World War II, Pierce served as a gunnery officer in the US Navy, and became the head football coach at the Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Port Deposit, Maryland near the conclusion of the war.

Coaching career

In 1946 Pierce was hired at his alma mater Sul Ross State to rebuild a football program that was discontinued during the war. He guided the Lobos to 18 consecutive wins, four conference championships and two bowl games, including the 1949 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

In 1952, Pierce became the head football coach, head track coach and athletic director at Sam Houston State. His teams at SHSU tied for four conference championships and played in five bowl games. His 1964 Bearcat team tied Concordia College for a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics co-championship. In 1965, he was named the Knute Rockne Little All-American Coach of the Year.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Sul Ross State Lobos () (1946–1949)
1946	Sul Ross State	5–5
1947	Sul Ross State	7–3
1948	Sul Ross State	10–0–1			T Tangerine
1949	Sul Ross State	7–3
Sul Ross State Lobos (Lone Star Conference) (1950–1951)
1950	Sul Ross State	8–2–1	3–0–1	1st
1951	Sul Ross State	3–7	1–4	6th
Sul Ross State:		40–20–2
Sam Houston State Bearkats (Lone Star Conference) (1952–1967)
1952	Sam Houston State	6–4	2–3	T–3rd	W Shrimp
1953	Sam Houston State	9–1	4–1	2nd	W Refrigerator
1954	Sam Houston State	6–4
1955	Sam Houston State	6–1–2	5–1	T–1st
1956	Sam Houston State	10–0	6–0	1st	W Refrigerator
1957	Sam Houston State	3–5–1	3–3–1	4th
1958	Sam Houston State	7–3			L Christmas Festival
1959	Sam Houston State	5–5	5–2	T–2nd
1960	Sam Houston State	3–6	2–5	6th
1961	Sam Houston State	8–1	7–0	1st
1962	Sam Houston State	5–3–1	4–2–1	3rd
1963	Sam Houston State	4–3–1
1964	Sam Houston State	9–1–1	5–1	1st	T NAIA Championship
1965	Sam Houston State	4–6	1–5	6th
1966	Sam Houston State	6–3–1	4–2–1	2nd
1967	Sam Houston State	3–6	1–6	7th
Sam Houston State:		94–52–7
Total:		134–72–9
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title

External links

• Alpine Avalanche: Paul Pierce Obituary