Ben Schwartzwalder

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Ben Schwartzwalder
Schwartzwalder with quarterback Dick Easterly at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1959
Biographical details
Born(1909-06-02)June 2, 1909
Point Pleasant, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedApril 28, 1993(1993-04-28) (aged 83)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
1930–1932West Virginia
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1935Sistersville HS (WV)
1936–1940Parkersburg HS (WV)
1941Canton McKinley HS (OH)
1946–1948Muhlenberg
1949–1973Syracuse
Head coaching record
Overall178–96–3 (college)
Bowls2–5
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1959)
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
(1977)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1982 (profile)

Floyd Burdette Schwartzwalder (June 2, 1909 – April 28, 1993) was a

African American to win the Heisman Trophy
.

Schwartzwalder was also a hero of the D-Day invasion and several other important engagements of World War II.

He played center at West Virginia University, despite weighing only 146 pounds, and was an all-campus wrestler in 1930 in the 155-pound weight class. He was captain of the football team in 1933.

Biography

Early life and career

Schwartzwalder was born in

US Army and fought in World War II
.

As a

battle stars, Presidential Unit Citation and was promoted to the rank of Major for his actions during the invasion. When he was personally decorated by General Matthew Ridgway
, the General said "Ben, I never expected to see you here to receive this award."

Even as a paratrooper, Schwartzwalder remained focused on his football career. He organized an athletic league from among the soldiers being assembled in England in preparation for D-Day in order to keep the troops motivated and fit. He coached the 507th PIR football team, leading them through a ten-game season in which the 507th was never defeated and never even scored upon.

College coaching

After returning home, Schwartzwalder began his college coaching career at Muhlenberg College, where he went 25–5. He coached at Syracuse from 1949 to 1973, compiling a 178–96–3 record, and winning one national championship in 1959 while going undefeated with an 11–0 record. The 1959 team was an unprecedented powerhouse with both the toughest offense (313.6 yards rushing, 451.5 yard total and 39 points per game on average) and the toughest defense (giving only 19.3 yards rushing, 96.2 yards total per game on average) in the country. This remains Syracuse's only football national championship to date.

Schwartzwalder's teams went to seven bowl games and won four Lambert Trophies. In 1959, he also won the national coach of the year award. During his 25 years as head coach Syracuse teams outrushed their opponents by more than 22,000 yards.

Schwartzwalder had a knack for developing excellent running backs through their college careers, including Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little, Jim Nance, and Larry Csonka.

Schwartzwalder had a significant history of recruiting and developing black players during the 1950s and 1960s when many other major programs refused to do so. He coached the first African-American to win a Heisman Trophy and maintained team unity and cohesiveness in a racially charged environment to defeat the all-white Texas Longhorns in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic and win a national championship.

Personal life

In 1973, Schwartzwalder retired from coaching and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Following his death in 1993, Schwartzwalder was survived by his daughters, Susan Walker and Mary Scofield. His wife Ruth "Reggie" Schwartzwalder died on August 25, 2012, aged 100. He is buried in the Onondaga County Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Syracuse, NY.

Legacy

In 1967, Schwartzwalder was elected president of the American Football Coaches Association. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982. On September 23, 2023, prior to the game against Army, his name was placed in the Ring of Honor in the JMA Wireless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University.

The coach is also remembered through the

Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy which, goes to the winner of each game between West Virginia University (where he had played as a college student) and Syracuse University. The trophy was established in 1993 and was sculpted by Syracuse sports hall-of-famer Jim Ridlon
.

The Express

Schwartzwalder is portrayed by actor

biographical film about Syracuse University Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis
.

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Coaches# AP°
Muhlenberg Mules (Independent) (1946–1948)
1946 Muhlenberg 9–1 W Tobacco
1947 Muhlenberg 9–1
1948 Muhlenberg 7–3
Muhlenberg: 25–5
Syracuse Orangemen (Independent) (1949–1973)
1949 Syracuse 4–5
1950 Syracuse 5–5
1951 Syracuse 5–4
1952 Syracuse 7–3 L Orange 14
1953 Syracuse 5–3–1
1954 Syracuse 4–4
1955 Syracuse 5–3
1956 Syracuse 7–2 L Cotton 8 8
1957 Syracuse 5–3–1
1958 Syracuse 8–2 L Orange 10 9
1959 Syracuse 11–0 W Cotton 1 1
1960 Syracuse 7–2 19
1961 Syracuse 8–3 W Liberty 16 14
1962 Syracuse 5–5
1963 Syracuse 8–2 12
1964 Syracuse 7–4 L Sugar 12
1965 Syracuse 7–3 19
1966 Syracuse 8–3 L Gator 16
1967 Syracuse 8–2 12
1968 Syracuse 6–4
1969 Syracuse 5–5
1970 Syracuse 6–4
1971 Syracuse 5–5–1
1972 Syracuse 5–6
1973 Syracuse 2–9
Syracuse: 153–91–3
Total: 178–96–3
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
  • #Rankings from final Coaches Poll.
  • °Rankings from final
    AP Poll
    .

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "'The Express' ... and the movie's connections to Parkersburg", by Jody Murphy. Parkersburg News and Sentinel September 20, 2008 Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

External links

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