Charles McClendon
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Lewisville, Arkansas, U.S. | October 17, 1923
Died | December 6, 2001 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | (aged 78)
Playing career | |
1949–1950 | Kentucky |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1952 | Vanderbilt (assistant) |
1953–1961 | LSU (assistant) |
1962–1979 | LSU |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 137–59–7 |
Bowls | 7–6 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 (1969, 1970) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1986 (profile) |
Charles Youmans McClendon (October 17, 1923 – December 6, 2001), also known as "Cholly Mac", was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1962 to 1979, compiling a record of 137–59–7. McClendon was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1986.
Early years
McClendon was born on October 17, 1923, in Lewisville, Arkansas. He played college football under Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky.
Coaching career
McClendon's first coaching job was as an assistant at
During his first 12 years (1962–1973), McClendon coached the Tigers to nine appearances in the final
In 1964, LSU defeated arch-rival Ole Miss 10-9 through an unexpected two-point conversion attempt. At first McClendon did not realize his team had made the conversion until he heard the roar of the Tigers' fans.[2]
In 1969, LSU was 9–1 and ranked fifth at the end of the regular season, but when the Cotton Bowl Classic denied the Tigers a match-up with top-ranked and undefeated Texas, LSU refused invitations by the Bluebonnet Bowl and Liberty Bowl, instead opting to stay home. Tiger fans suspected the culprit for the Cotton Bowl Classic snub was the decision by Notre Dame to lift its self-imposed bowl ban and participate in post-season play for the first time since 1925. When the Irish opted to return to the bowl scene, the Cotton Bowl Classic snapped up Notre Dame. The seething antipathy between LSU and Notre Dame boiled over into a two-year series between the schools in 1970 and 1971, in which the home team won each game, Notre Dame in 1970 and LSU in 1971.
Despite all of LSU's success during this period, the Tigers had only a 4–7–1 record against
McClendon's tenure crested in 1973. The Tigers raced out to a 9–0 record, but lost to Alabama 21-7–a loss that cost that Tigers an SEC title. A week later, they were shut out at Tulane 14-0, their first loss to the Green Wave since 1948. They then lost to Penn State in the Orange Bowl. During McClendon's last six seasons at LSU (1974–1979), LSU had no appearances in the final AP Poll and compiled a record of 38–29–2 (.551 winning percentage). This included McClendon's only two non-winning records at LSU–a 5-5-1 record in 1974 followed by a 5–6 record in 1975. The latter was LSU's first losing season since 1957.
The Tigers rebounded to a 7-3-1 record in 1976. Despite this, former LSU great Billy Cannon began campaigning for McClendon to be fired. Cannon was angered that a number of Louisiana high school stars, most notably Terry Bradshaw, passed on LSU during McClendon's tenure. In response, the LSU Board of Supervisors gave McClendon the option of resigning immediately and being paid for the remaining four years of his contract, or leave at the end of the 1978 season. McClendon opted to stay. Before the 1978 season, Dietzel returned to LSU as athletic director and persuaded the Board of Supervisors to let McClendon stay in 1979. McClendon was due to become president of the American Football Coaches Association, and Dietzel didn't want to embarrass McClendon by firing him that year.[3]
The Tigers lost to Tulane in 1979, but that was followed by a 34–10 victory over
In addition to owning the longest tenure in LSU football coaching history (18 seasons), McClendon holds the program records for most wins (137, including two forfeits to LSU), most losses (59), and most bowl losses (6, tied with Les Miles).
Later years
After his retirement from LSU, McClendon became the executive director of the Tangerine Bowl, now renamed the
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LSU Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (1962–1979) | |||||||||
1962 | LSU | 9–1–1 | 5–1 | 3rd | W Cotton | 8 | 7 | ||
1963 | LSU | 7–4 | 4–2 | 5th | L Bluebonnet | ||||
1964 | LSU | 8–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 4th | W Sugar | 7 | 7 | ||
1965 | LSU | 8–3 | 3–3 | T–6th | W Cotton | 14 | 8 | ||
1966 | LSU | 5–4–1 | 2–3 | 6th | |||||
1967 | LSU | 7–3–1 | 3–2–1 | 6th | W Sugar | ||||
1968 | LSU | 8–3 | 4–2 | T–3rd | W Peach | 19 | |||
1969 | LSU | 9–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | 7 | 10 | |||
1970 | LSU | 9–3 | 5–0 | 1st | L Orange | 6 | 7 | ||
1971 | LSU | 9–3 | 3–2 | 6th | W Sun | 10 | 11 | ||
1972 | LSU | 9–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 4th | L Astro-Bluebonnet | 10 | 11 | ||
1973 | LSU | 9–3 | 5–1 | 2nd | L Orange | 14 | 13 | ||
1974 | LSU | 5–5–1 | 2–4 | 9th | |||||
1975 | LSU | 5–6 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
1976 | LSU | 7–3–1 | 2–4 | T–7th | |||||
1977 | LSU | 8–4 | 4–2 | T–3rd | L Sun | ||||
1978 | LSU | 8–4 | 3–3 | T–4th | L Liberty | ||||
1979 | LSU | 7–5 | 4–2 | T–3rd | W Tangerine |
||||
LSU: | 137–59–7 | 62–41–3 | |||||||
Total: | 137–59–7 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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See also
References
- ^ "LSU Year-by-Year Records" (PDF). lsusports.net. p. 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 19, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ Chet Hilburn, The Mystique of Tiger Stadium: 25 Greatest Games: The Ascension of LSU Football (Bloomington, Indiana: WestBow Press, 2012), p. 42
- ^ Kindred, Paul (November 11, 1979). "LSU Takes a Page From a Shabby Book on Ambition". The Washington Post.