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George McLaren (American football)

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George McLaren
Biographical details
Born(1896-08-29)August 29, 1896
DiedNovember 13, 1967(1967-11-13) (aged 71)
Towson, Maryland
Playing career
Football
1915–1918Pittsburgh
Position(s)Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1919Kansas State Normal
1920–1921Arkansas
1922–1926Cincinnati
1927–1929Wyoming
Basketball
1928–1930Wyoming
Head coaching record
Overall32–55–8 (football)
28–10 (basketball)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
All-American, 1917
All-American, 1918
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1965 (profile)

George W. "Tank" McLaren (August 29, 1896 – November 13, 1967) was an American football and basketball player and coach. Playing at the University of Pittsburgh under legendary football coach Pop Warner, McLaren was an All-American in 1917 and 1918. During his playing career, he was never stopped for a loss on a running play. McLaren served as head football coach at Emporia State University, then known as Kansas State Normal College, (1919), the University of Arkansas (1920–1921), the University of Cincinnati (1922–1926), and the University of Wyoming (1927–1929), compiling a career record of 32–55–8. He also coached basketball at Wyoming for two seasons (1928–1930), tallying a mark of 28–10. McLaren was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1965.

Early life

McLaren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he attended and graduated from Peabody High School. He played football at Peabody and competed in several other sports including track, basketball, and swimming.[1]

University of Pittsburgh

McLaren attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he was considered one of the greatest all-around athletes that Pitt ever produced.[1] In addition to being a football All-American, he was also a two-year member of the basketball and track teams.[2] McLaren played four varsity seasons as fullback at Pittsburgh from 1915 to 1918. While playing for the Panthers he only lost one game while winning thirty decisions. He was a member of three national championship-winning teams under head coach Glenn "Pop" Warner. In 1916, the Panthers beat several national powers while not giving up a single point. During the next two seasons McLaren won All-America honors. In 1917 season, McLaren helped the Panthers to a 10–0 record. That season, he established single season school records when he scored 13 touchdowns and rushed for 782 yards including a then record 91-yard touchdown against Syracuse University.

Pitt's undefeated 1917 team was known as "The Fighting Dentists" because on occasion every position was filled by dental students.[3] The dental students on the 1917 team included McLaren,[4] Katy Easterday,[5] Skip Gougler,[6] "Jake" Stahl,[7] and Jock Sutherland.[8]

In 1918, his senior season, he served as Captain of the Panther football team and was also president of his senior class.[9] He still ranks among the University of Pittsburgh all-time leaders in both scoring (183 points) and rushing (1,920 yards). One of McLaren's most noted achievements was that he was never stopped for a loss on a running play.[2]

College coach

McLaren was a college football coach from 1919 to 1929. In 1919, McLaren was named as head football coach at Emporia State University, then known as Kansas State Normal College, in Emporia, Kansas. He got the position based on a recommendation by Pop Warner.[1] He became 11th head football coach for Emporia State and held that position for just the 1919 season. His overall coaching record at ESU was 1–5–2. This ranks him 20th at ESU in terms of total wins and 19th at ESU in terms of winning percentage.[10] He next served as the head football coach at Arkansas, where he compiled an 8–5–3 record.[11] As Arkansas head football coach McLaren personally was a very popular coach but was let go because number of wins did not meet expectations.[12] From 1922 to 1926, he coached at Cincinnati, where he compiled a 16–26–3 record. From 1927 to 1929, he coached at Wyoming, where he compiled a 7–19 record.[11] His overall record as a head coach is 32–55–8.

After coaching

After his coaching career, McLaren worked in the industrial relations division of a company in Baltimore. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in 1965.[9]

Head coaching record

Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Kansas State Normal Hornets (Independent) (1919)
1919 Kansas State Normal 1–5–2
Kansas State Normal: 1–5–2
Arkansas Razorbacks (Southwest Conference) (1920–1921)
1920 Arkansas 3–2–2 2–0–1 2nd
1921 Arkansas 5–3–1 2–1 3rd
Arkansas: 8–5–3 4–1–1
Cincinnati Bearcats (Ohio Athletic Conference) (1922–1925)
1922 Cincinnati 1–7–1 1–3–1 13th
1923 Cincinnati 6–3 5–2 T–4th
1924 Cincinnati 2–6–1 1–4 T–17th
1925 Cincinnati 4–5 2–3 14th
Cincinnati Bearcats (Ohio Athletic Conference / Buckeye Athletic Association) (1926)
1926 Cincinnati 3–5–1 2–5–1 / 0–3–1 16th / 6th
Cincinnati: 16–26–3 11–17–2
Wyoming Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Conference) (1927–1929)
1927 Wyoming 4–5 1–4 10th
1928 Wyoming 2–7 0–5 11th
1929 Wyoming 1–7 0–7 12th
Wyoming: 7–19 1–16
Total: 32–55–8

References

  1. ^ a b c "GET McLAREN AS COACH.; Panthers' Great Full Back Engaged by Kansas State.", New York Times Section: Sports, p. 16, May 2, 1919
  2. ^ a b "Pitt Football's All-Time First Team All-Americans". University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  3. ^ "50th Anniversary: Last Unbeaten Pitt Team, 1917 'Fighting Dentists', Will Be Honored Saturday". Daily Courier. 1967-11-02.
  4. ^ "PITT CRACK ATHLETES SECURE COACHING JOBS". Altoona Mirror. 1919-04-30. (McLaren "graduates from the university dental school in June.")
  5. ^ "All-American Gridder: Former Wildcat Mentor Retires". LEADER.TIMES, KITTANNING, PA. 1959-07-06. (Easterday graduated from Pitt in 1919 with a degree in dentistry.)
  6. ^ "'SKIP' GOUGLER NEW COACH IS TRAINING BACKFIELD PLAYER". The Lafayette Weekly. 1921-10-05. (Gougler completed his education in dentistry at Pitt in 1920.)
  7. ^ "Dr. Stahl was dentist in Hampton". North Hills News Record. 1966-10-12.
  8. ^ "Jimmy Phelan to Fulfill Promise Of Coaching Job". Nevada State Journal. 1936-12-22.
  9. ^ a b "Hall of Famers: George "Tank" McLaren". National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  10. ^ "2007 Emporia State University Hornets Football Media Guide" (PDF). www.emporia.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  11. ^ a b "George W. McLaren". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
  12. ^ Henry, Orville (1996). The Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas Football. University of Arkansas Press. p. 36. ISBN 1-55728-429-6.
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