Gus Zitrides
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Biographical details | |
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Born | Manchester, New Hampshire | April 4, 1915
Died | January 27, 1987 Langhorne, Pennsylvania | (aged 71)
Playing career | |
1936–1938 | Dartmouth |
Position(s) | Guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1939–1941 | Cornell (assistant) |
1947–1949 | Brown (line) |
1950 | Brown |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 1–8 |
Gregory George "Gus" Zitrides (April 4, 1915 – January 27, 1987) was an American college football player and coach. He coached at Brown University in 1950 and compiled a 1–8 record.[1] Zitrides also spent time as an assistant coach at Brown and Cornell University. He played as a guard at Dartmouth under Earl Blaik from 1936 to 1938.
Early life
Born to a family of Greek descent,[2] Zitrides attended Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he played football from 1932 to 1935.[3] Zitrides then attended Dartmouth College, where he played for the football team as a guard from 1936 to 1938 under head coach Earl Blaik.[4]
Coaching career and military service
He then served for three years as an assistant coach at Cornell University.[5] In 1942, Zitrides resigned his position to enter the United States Navy and earn a reserve commission through the V-5 program, which ran physical fitness programs around the country to train Navy pilots.[6]
After the War, Zitrides returned to his alma mater as a line coach in 1947 under head coach Rip Engle.[7] Before the 1950 season, Engle left to take over at Penn State, and he offered to bring along his assistants, Zitrides and Bill Doolittle.[8] Zitrides declined the offer because Brown University offered him the head coaching position.[8] Doolittle elected to remain at Brown as Zitrides's assistant.[8] Zitrides was relieved after recording only one win to eight losses in his first season.[9][10]
Later life
After his coaching career, Zitrides entered government service in 1951, in which he worked until his retirement in 1973.[3] He died in Langhorne, Pennsylvania on January 27, 1987 at the age of 71.[11] Manchester Central High School inducted him into its hall of fame in 1996.[3]
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brown Bears (Independent) (1950) | |||||||||
1950 | Brown | 1–8 | |||||||
Brown: | 1–8 | ||||||||
Total: | 1–8 |
References
- ^ All-Time Coaching Records, Brown University, retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ In the Wake of the News, The Chicago Tribune, November 28, 1938.
- ^ a b c CHS Hall of Fame Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine, Manchester Central High School, retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ DARTMOUTH IS FAVORITE; Hanoverians Expected to Defeat Brown Eleven Today, The New York Times, October 16, 1937.
- ^ Gus Zitrides Quits Coaching for Navy, The Hartford Courant, March 21, 1941.
- ^ Navy Claims Sports Stars and Coaches, The St. Petersburg Times, April 14, 1942.
- ^ Zitrides Appointed To Succeed Engle As Brown University Football Coach, The Hartford Courant, April 25, 2010.
- ^ a b c Gene Collier, Joe Paterno, and Mike Bynum, The Paterno Legacy, p. 1951, Epic Sports, 1997, ISBN 0-9660788-0-2.
- ^ Zitrides Is Probably Relieved, But Brown AC Mum, The Harvard Crimson, December 12, 1950.
- ^ Brown Names Alva Kelley As Head Football Coach; Yale Line Mentor Succeeds Gus Zitrides, Whose Team Won Only One Game Out of Nine Last Fall; Assumes New Duties Monday New Brown Coach, The Hartford Courant, January 21, 1951.
- ^ DEATHS HERE, The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 31, 1987.
External links
- 1915 births
- 1987 deaths
- American football guards
- Brown Bears football coaches
- Cornell Big Red football coaches
- Dartmouth Big Green football players
- American naval personnel of World War II
- United States Navy officers
- Sportspeople from Manchester, New Hampshire
- Players of American football from New Hampshire
- American people of Greek descent