Curley Byrd
San Francisco Seals | |
Position(s) |
|
---|---|
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1911–1934 | Maryland |
Baseball | |
1913–1923 | Maryland |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1915–1935 | Maryland (AD) |
1918–1932 | Maryland (asst. president) |
1932–1936 | Maryland (vice president) |
1936–1954 | Maryland (president) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 119–82–15 (football) 88–73–4 (baseball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Football 2 Maryland state (1913–1914) | |
Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd (February 12, 1889 – October 2, 1970) was an American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician. Byrd began a long association with the
In the interim, he had also served as the university's
Byrd resigned as university president in order to enter politics in 1954. He ran an unsuccessful campaign as the Democratic candidate for Maryland governor against Theodore McKeldin. Byrd later received appointments to state offices with responsibilities in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. In the 1960s, he made unsuccessful bids for seats in each chamber of the United States Congress. Byrd was a proponent of a "separate but equal" status of racial segregation in his roles as both university administrator and political candidate.[2]
In 2015, the Student Government Association agreed to a resolution in support of changing the name of Byrd Stadium because they noted that Byrd was "a racist and a segregationist" who "barred blacks from participating in sports and enrolling into the University until 1951".[3][4] On September 28, 2015, University of Maryland President Wallace Loh appointed a task force to develop viewpoints and options. The University President then made a recommendation to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents — the governing body of Maryland state universities — to change the name to "Maryland Stadium". The ultimate decision on any name change rests with the Board of Regents.[5] On December 11, 2015, the Board of Regents voted 12–5 to remove the "Byrd" from the stadium's name, renaming it Maryland Stadium for the time being.[6]
Early life
Harry Clifton Byrd was born on February 12, 1889, in
A later source described how he appeared in 1905
He was tall, and as the saying goes, built like a whip. He had a startlingly handsome face, with big, flashing eyes, a splotch of florid red on each cheek, and a mane of black curly hair ... He looked like Rupert of Hentzau, and had all of that worthy's cold, sinister resolution about everything that he did.[9]
College career
In 1905, Byrd graduated from Crisfield High School and enrolled at the
After graduation from Maryland, Byrd spent the next three years doing graduate work in law and journalism at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and Western Maryland College (now known as McDaniel College). In a time before eligibility limitations, he played football at George Washington and Georgetown and ran track at Western Maryland.[10] At Georgetown in 1909, he was called the first quarterback in the East to master the forward pass, several years before Gus Dorais of Notre Dame did so in 1913.[14][15] According to The Georgetown Hoyas: A Story of A Rambunctious Football Team, Dorais's "end-over-end 'discus' throw was an exact copy" of Byrd's passing technique, and the Irish "got the headlines because they had a press agent and Georgetown didn't."[16]
Byrd also played for Maryland-based semi-professional baseball teams while pursuing his graduate studies.
Coaching career
In 1911, injuries claimed enough Maryland Agricultural football players that the team could no longer field a practice squad to scrimmage against.
In 1913, the Maryland Agricultural College hired Byrd as an instructor in English and history,[7] and he was named the head coach of the track and baseball teams, the latter of which he coached through 1923.[19] According to author David Ungrady in Tales from the Maryland Terrapins, the university initially offered Byrd $300 to coach football, but he demanded $1,200.[17] The two parties came to agree upon that salary for all of his coaching and teaching duties which spanned nine months of the year.[17] Byrd also worked as a sportswriter for The Washington Star,[7] a job he held until 1932.[17]
As football coach, he developed a unique offensive scheme called the "Byrd system", which combined elements of the
In 1915, his duties were expanded to include those of
Administrative career
Byrd was appointed to the post of assistant university president in 1918.
In 1932, Byrd was promoted to vice president of the university.
The thing to do with a man of such talents is not to cuss him for doing his job so well; it is much wiser, so long as hanging him is unlawful, to give him a bigger and better one.[29]
—
Byrd was a staunch supporter of a "separate but equal" state university system. The Princess Anne campus provided agricultural education and Morgan State College provided liberal arts education for the state's black students, while the University of Maryland remained open only to white students.[30] In 1951, Governor Theodore McKeldin criticized the University of Maryland as an example of wasteful state spending,[30] and was especially critical of expansions to the Princess Anne campus, which was geographically disconnected from the state's black population and not attracting many students to study agriculture.[30] Contractors had begun projects at the college before approval from the public works board, which was described as a usual practice under Byrd.[30] Byrd acceded to McKeldin and secured approval from the board for both the Princess Anne expansions as well as a sizable increase to the university budget.[30]
In 1945, Byrd hired 32-year-old Paul "Bear" Bryant to his first head coaching post. Bryant led the Terrapins to a 6–2–1 record, but the two personalities clashed.[31] The tensions came to a head when Byrd reinstated a player Bryant had suspended for violating team rules.[32] Bryant resigned as head coach an hour later, which caused an uproar among students until he interceded to restore order.[33]
Two years later, Byrd hired
In 1948, the
In 1951, the football team's 10–0 season culminated in a 28–13 victory over first-ranked Tennessee in the 1952 Sugar Bowl. Maryland's participation, however, was in violation of a Southern Conference resolution passed mid-season that banned participation in postseason bowl games. Byrd had Maryland accept the bowl invitation, despite Tatum's objections. The coach thought the threatened sanctions, which prevented Maryland from playing any Southern Conference games the following season, would severely disadvantage his team.[40] In 1952, Maryland and Clemson, which had also violated the bowl game ban, were sanctioned, and the incident hastened the break-up of the Southern Conference and formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference, of which both schools were founding members.[41]
Dictator, president, athletic director, football coach, comptroller, chief lobbyist and glamour boy supreme ... Curley is the most-hated and most-beloved man in Maryland.[42]
— Bob Considine, Curley Byrd Catches the Worm, 1941
Opponents in
Political career
Byrd resigned from the presidency in January 1954 to embark upon an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Maryland. He narrowly beat perennial candidate George P. Mahoney in the Democratic primary by 50.64% to 49.37% and faced Republican incumbent McKeldin in the general election.[7] Byrd campaigned on his stance of separate but equal. McKeldin won comfortable majorities in Baltimore's black, Jewish, and upper-middle class white districts, while Byrd took all of the blue-collar white South and East Baltimore neighborhoods, including McKeldin's boyhood home along Eutaw Street.[44] Elsewhere in the state, however, middle-class white voters did not support Byrd.[44] Byrd lost by 54.46% to 45.54%. He went on to make unsuccessful bids for the Democratic nominations to the U.S. Senate in 1964 and the U.S. Congress in 1966.[7]
Despite his lack of success in campaigning, Byrd did receive several gubernatorial appointments: Chairman of the Maryland Tidewater Fisheries Commission, Maryland Commissioner to the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, and Chairman of the Commission on Chesapeake Bay Affairs.
Business career
Byrd was also active in business and civic organizations.
Death
Byrd died of a heart condition on October 2, 1970, at the
Head coaching record
Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maryland / Maryland State Aggies (Independent) (1911–1916) | |||||||||
1911 | Maryland | 2–0 | |||||||
1912 | Maryland | 6–1–1 | |||||||
1913 | Maryland | 6–3 | |||||||
1914 | Maryland | 5–3 | |||||||
1915 | Maryland | 6–3 | |||||||
1916 | Maryland State | 6–2 | |||||||
Maryland State / Maryland Aggies (South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1917–1921) | |||||||||
1917 | Maryland State | 4–3–1 | 2–1–1 | T–4th | |||||
1918 | Maryland State | 4–1–1 | 2–0–1 | T–2nd | |||||
1919 | Maryland State | 5–4 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
1920 | Maryland | 7–2 | 4–0 | 2nd | |||||
1921 | Maryland | 3–5–1 | 2–1–1 | 6th | |||||
Maryland Aggies / Terrapins (Southern Conference) (1922–1934) | |||||||||
1922 | Maryland | 4–5–1 | 1–2 | T–11th | |||||
1923 | Maryland | 7–2–1 | 2–1 | T–8th | |||||
1924 | Maryland | 3–3–3 | 1–2–1 | 16th | |||||
1925 | Maryland | 2–5–1 | 0–4 | T–20th | |||||
1926 | Maryland | 5–4–1 | 1–3–1 | 17th | |||||
1927 | Maryland | 4–7 | 3–5 | 15th | |||||
1928 | Maryland | 6–3–1 | 2–3–1 | T–14th | |||||
1929 | Maryland | 4–4–2 | 1–3–1 | 17th | |||||
1930 | Maryland | 7–5 | 4–2 | T–6th | |||||
1931 | Maryland | 8–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 5th | |||||
1932 | Maryland | 5–6 | 2–4 | 16th | |||||
1933 | Maryland | 3–7 | 1–4 | 9th | |||||
1934 | Maryland | 7–3 | 3–1 | T–3rd | |||||
Maryland / Maryland State: | 119–82–15 | ||||||||
Total: | 119–82–15 |
Baseball
Season | Team | Overall | Postseason | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maryland / Maryland State Aggies () (1913–1923) | |||||||||
1913 | Maryland | 13–2 | |||||||
1914 | Maryland | 10–4–1 | |||||||
1915 | Maryland | 3–6 | |||||||
1916 | Maryland | 4–11–1 | |||||||
1917 | Maryland State | 0–5 | |||||||
1918 | Maryland State | 4–6 | |||||||
1919 | Maryland State | 1–0 | |||||||
1920 | Maryland State | 18–8 | |||||||
1921 | Maryland | 13–5–2 | |||||||
1922 | Maryland | 14–9 | |||||||
1923 | Maryland | 8–16 | |||||||
Maryland / Maryland State: | 88–73–4 | ||||||||
Total: | 88–73–4 |
References
- ^ "Collection: Harry Clifton Byrd papers | Archival Collections". archives.lib.umd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
- ^ Kuebler, Edward J. (25 May 1935). "Desegregation of the University of Maryland". Maryland Historical Magazine 71: 42–43.
- ^ Svrluga, Susan (April 8, 2015). "U-Md. student government endorses demand that Byrd stadium be renamed, citing racist legacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ Burris, Joe (April 9, 2015). "Student coalition seeks to get 'Byrd' off University of Maryland's stadium". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Working group considering name change for Byrd Stadium". 28 September 2015.
- ^ Wenger, Yvonne (December 11, 2015). "Byrd Stadium to become Maryland Stadium after regents vote". BaltimoreSun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Harry Clifton Byrd papers, University of Maryland Libraries, retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 1-59629-273-3.
- ISBN 0-87972-327-0.
- ^ ISBN 0-8018-7221-9.
- ^ a b Morris Allison Bealle, Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890–1952, p. 50, Columbia Publishing Co., 1952.
- ^ Bealle, p. 49.
- ^ Bealle, pp. 50–53.
- ISBN 0-8018-6424-0.
- ^ Georgetown Football Timeline Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, Hoya Saxa, retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Morris Allison Bealle, The Georgetown Hoyas: A Story of A Rambunctious Football Team, p. 75, Columbia Pub. Co., 1947.
- ^ ISBN 1-58261-688-4.
- ^ 1911 Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ 2009 Maryland Baseball Media Guide, p. 25, University of Maryland, 2009.
- The Evening Independent, August 30, 1935.
- ^ Ungrady, p. 24.
- ^ All-Time Coach Records by Year: Curley Byrd Archived 2010-02-14 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-226-07640-7.
- ISBN 0-9631246-0-9.
- ^ ISBN 0-8018-5465-2.
- ISBN 0-8018-6252-3.
- ^ McMullen, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d McMullen, p. 12.
- ^ Dot Dot Dot, Time, June 14, 1954.
- ^ ISBN 0-7391-1415-8.
- ^ Football's Supercoach, Time, September 29, 1980.
- ISBN 1-58182-159-X.
- ^ Browning, p. 205.
- ^ Gary King, The Forgotten Man of Oklahoma Football: Jim Tatum; "Jim Tatum was a con-man, a dictator, a tyrant and one hell of a football coach." – Buddy Burris, All-American 1946, 1947 and 1948 Archived February 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Sooner Magazine, University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc., Spring 2008.
- ^ ISBN 0-8061-3786-X.
- ^ a b The Coach, Time, August 3, 1959.
- ^ a b c d e f Sport: What Price Football?, Time, January 23, 1950.
- ISBN 0-8018-7114-X.
- ^ Watterson, p. 217.
- ^ Ungrady, pp. 77–78.
- ISBN 0-8108-4839-2.
- ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
- ^ BYRD LEAVES U. OF M. POST DECEMBER 31; Retiring President Will Get Emeritus Rank, Full Pay For '54 Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Baltimore Sun, September 25, 1953.
- ^ ISBN 0-8078-5433-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-8203-2698-4.
- ^ Suburban Trust Building Archived 2010-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, Peerless Rockville, retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ Background and History Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, Defense Orientation Conference Association, retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ DR. HARRY BYRD OF U. OF MARYLAND; President, 1936-54, Dies—Guided School's Growth, The New York Times, October 4, 1970.
- ^ Obituary, The Daily Times
- ^ University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame: All-Time Inductees Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, University of Maryland, retrieved June 12, 2009.
External links
- Media related to Curley Byrd at Wikimedia Commons
- Curley Byrd at Find a Grave
- A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Dr. Harry C. Byrd (December 21, 1951)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- Sterling Byrd collection at the University of Maryland libraries. Sterling Byrd was Curley Byrd's youngest child. Sterling Byrd's collection primarily contains documents of Curley Byrd's life and career.