Bob Odell (American football)

Bob Odell

Biographical details
Born	(1922-03-05)March 5, 1922 Corning, Iowa, U.S.
Died	December 15, 2012(2012-12-15) (aged 90) King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Playing career
1941–1943	Penn
1946	Card-Pitt
Position(s)	Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1946–1947	Yale (AC)
1948	Temple (AC)
1949–1957	Wisconsin (Line)
1958–1964	Buckell
1965–1970	Penn
1971–1986	Williams
Head coaching record
Overall	75–49–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2× Lambert Cup (1960, 1964)
Awards
As a player Maxwell Award (1943) 2× Consensus All-American (1943, 1944)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1992 (profile)

Robert Harper Odell (March 5, 1922 – December 15, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a halfback for the Penn Quakers, where he won the Maxwell Award in 1943. He was selected in the second round (15th overall) of the 1944 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but served in the United States Navy from 1944 through 1946. The Steelers offered Odell $8,000 to play in the 1946 season, however, his doctor recommended that he give up football due to a knee injury suffered while playing basketball. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

Head coaching career

He was the head football coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1970, and at Williams College from 1971 to 1986. With a record of 75–49–4 in 16 years as the head coach at Williams, Odell ranks third in career wins behind Dick Farley and Charlie Caldwell.

Death

He died of kidney disease in a nursing home in 2012.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Bucknell Bison (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1958–1964)
1958	Bucknell	1–8	1–5	6th (University)
1959	Bucknell	4–5	3–3	4th (University)
1960	Bucknell	7–2	5–1	2nd (University)
1961	Bucknell	6–3	5–2	2nd (University)
1962	Bucknell	6–3	5–1	2nd (University)
1963	Bucknell	6–3	3–1	2nd (University)
1964	Bucknell	7–2	4–1	T–2nd (University)
Bucknell:		37–26	26–14
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1965–1970)
1965	Penn	4–4–1	2–4–1	6th
1966	Penn	2–7	1–6	7th
1967	Penn	3–6	2–5	6th
1968	Penn	7–2	5–2	3rd
1969	Penn	4–5	2–5	T–5th
1970	Penn	4–5	2–5	6th
Penn:		24–29–1	14–27–1
Williams Ephs (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (1971–1986)
1971	Williams	7–1
1972	Williams	7–1
1973	Williams	6–2
1974	Williams	7–1
1975	Williams	7–0–1
1976	Williams	4–4
1977	Williams	5–3
1978	Williams	5–3
1979	Williams	4–4
1980	Williams	5–2–1
1981	Williams	3–5
1982	Williams	4–4
1983	Williams	2–5–1
1984	Williams	3–5
1985	Williams	2–5–1
1986	Williams	4–4
Williams:		75–49–4
Total:		136–104–5

External links

• Bob Odell at the College Football Hall of Fame