Jimmy Conzelman

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jimmy Conzelman
No. 1
Position:Halfback,
Blocking back
Personal information
Born:(1898-03-06)March 6, 1898
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died:July 31, 1970(1970-07-31) (aged 72)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Career information
High school:St. Louis (MO) McKinley
College:Washington University
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing touchdowns:16
Games played:104
Head coaching record
Career:87–63–18 (.571)
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR
Coaching stats at PFR

James Gleason Dunn Conzelman (March 6, 1898 – July 31, 1970) was an

National Football League 1920s All-Decade Team
.

A native of

Providence Steam Roller (1927–1929). He was also a team owner in Detroit and, as player-coach, led the 1928 Providence Steam Roller team
to an NFL championship.

From 1932 to 1939, Conzelman was the head football coach for the

Chicago Cardinals from 1940 to 1942 and again from 1946 to 1948. He led the Cardinals to an NFL championship in 1947 and Western Division championships in 1947 and 1948. He was also an executive with the St. Louis Browns in Major League Baseball
from 1943 to 1945.

Early years

Conzelman was born James Gleason Ryan Dunn in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1898.[1][2] He was the son of James Dunn and Marguerite Ryan, though his father died when he was still a baby. In 1902, his mother married a dentist, Oscar Conzelman, who adopted him.[2][3][4]

Conzelman attended Loyola Academy and later

Central High School in St. Louis. He began playing football as a halfback at Central High in 1914. After a realignment of high school districts in 1915, Conzelman attended McKinley High School.[5] At McKinley, Conzelman was the quarterback of the football team, competed on the basketball and track teams, was president of the boys' athletic association, and served as sergeant-at-arms of the Class of 1916.[6] He led the 1915 McKinley football team to a league championship.[5]

College and military service

Conzelman enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis in 1916. He played freshman football that year but enlisted in the United States Navy when the United States entered World War I in 1917. He was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station north of Chicago. During two years of service, he played for the Naval Station's football, baseball, and basketball teams. He also took up boxing while in the Navy and won a championship in the middleweight division.[5] He was the quarterback of the 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team that defeated previously undefeated Navy and then defeated the Mare Island Marines by a 17–0 score in the 1919 Rose Bowl. Conzelman's teammates on the 1918 Great Lakes team included George Halas and Paddy Driscoll, all three of whom were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[7]

After the war, Conzelman turned down offers to become a professional boxer and returned to Washington University in February 1919. He played for the 1919 Washington Pikers football team that compiled a 5–2 record and outscored opponents 127 to 30. Conzelman was selected as the All-Missouri Valley Conference quarterback for 1919.[5][8] He also was the catcher for the 1920 Washington University baseball team and organized an orchestra, played banjo, and wrote songs while attending Washington University.[5]

During the spring semester of 1920, Conzelman lost his eligibility to play football due to academic deficiencies.[9] His father had also died in May 1919,[10] and he withdrew from school to help support his mother and younger siblings.[5] In June 1920, Conzelman announced that he would not return to Washington University in the fall. He spent the summer leading an orchestra in Arkansas.[9]

Professional football player

Decatur Staleys

In mid-October 1920, Conzelman joined the

American Professional Football Association (later renamed the NFL). He planned to relocate permanently to Decatur and also play for the Staleys baseball and basketball teams.[11] Conzelman was reunited at Decatur with player-coach George Halas, with whom Conzelman had played on the 1918 Great Lakes team. In Conzelman's first game with the Staleys, he scored the game's only touchdown on a 43-yard run.[12] Playing at the halfback position, Conzelman handled punting, placekicking and passing for the Staleys in the important games and was selected as a second-team player on the 1920 All-Pro team.[13] The 1920 Staleys
compiled a 10–1–2 record and finished in second place in the league.

Rock Island Independents

In October 1921, Conzelman joined the Rock Island Independents as the team's captain and coach.[14] At age 23, he was one of the youngest coaches in NFL history.[3] He led Rock Island to a 4–1 record during the 1921 season.[15]

Milwaukee Badgers

Jimmy Conzelman and Bo McMillin, 1922

After starting the season with Rock Island, Conzelman signed with the Milwaukee Badgers in the middle of their 1922 season.[16] He was the Badgers' coach and a player for the final three games of the 1922 season during which the team went 0–3.[17]

During the 1923 season, Conzelman, as player and coach, led the Badgers to a 7–2–3 record and a third-place finish out of 20 teams in the NFL. Conzelman was also the team's second-highest scorer with four touchdowns and two extra points.[18] During the 1924 season, Conzelman remained with the Badgers as a player only. The team's record fell to 5–8 and 12th place in the NFL.[19]

Detroit Panthers

In 1925, Conzelman organized and became the owner of a new NFL franchise in

Navin Field, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 129 to 39.[23]

During the 1926 season, the Panthers dropped to 4–6–2 and compiled a record of 0–3–2 in the month of November.[24] The team's attendance in Detroit was approximately 3,000 persons per game, not enough for Conzelman to make a profit. Accordingly, in August 1927, Conzelman sold the Detroit franchise back to the NFL for $1,200.[3][25] Conzelman later recalled: "We simply were ahead of our time in Detroit. The town wasn't quite ready for pro football."[26]

Providence Steam Roller

In August 1927, following his decision to sell the Detroit franchise back to the league, Conzelman signed as a player, manager and coach for the

Providence Steam Roller. Conzelman brought players Gus Sonnenberg and Eddie Lynch with him from Detroit.[27] Conzelman and Wildcat Wilson were the leading scorers on the 1927 Providence team, each with four touchdowns. The Steam Roller finished the 1927 season an 8–5–1 record and a fifth-place finish in the NFL.[28]

Conzelman led the 1928 Providence team to an 8–1–2 record and the club's first NFL championship.[29][30] The team's passing combination of Wildcat Wilson to Conzelman was the most effective in the league and accounted for most of the club's yardage until Conzelman twisted knee ligaments on a reception against the Yankees. Despite being unable to play in the second half of the season due to the injury, Conzelman was unanimously voted by his teammates as the team's most valuable player.[30][31]

In his final season as an NFL player-coach, Conzelman led the 1929 Providence team to a 4–6–2 record.[32]

Coaching career

Rock Island Islanders baseball

In 1922, Conzelman was a player/manager for the

Class D level Mississippi Valley League.[33] Conzelman hit .244 in 104 games for the Islanders, who finished in 3rd place with a 66–63 record.[34][35]

St. Louis Gunners

In the fall of 1931, Conzelman served as the head coach of the St. Louis Gunners, an independent professional football team sponsored by a local field artillery unit of the National Guard.[36][37] The Gunners posted a 5–2–1 record in 1931. After a game against the NFL's Chicago Cardinals, Chicago captain Ernie Nevers called the Gunners the "best independent club we have ever faced."[36]

Washington University

In January 1932, Conzelman returned to Washington University in St. Louis as the school's head football coach. He became the school's first alumnus to lead the football team.[38] Over the next eight years, Conzelman led Washington University Bears football team to Missouri Valley Conference championships in 1934, 1935, and 1939, and compiled an overall record of 40–35–2.[39]

In January 1940, Conzelman tendered his resignation as head coach of the Washington University football team, but the resignation was not accepted by the athletic board. The university chancellor directed Conzelman to attend an alumni rally in his support. Conzelman appeared and announced that he would not withdraw his resignation, though he would continue to support the program from the outside.[39] Newspaper accounts indicate that he may have been fired under pressure from a powerful "anti-Conzelman" group of alumni in downtown St. Louis.[40]

Chicago Cardinals (first stint)

Conzelman as the new coach of the Chicago Cardinals, 1941.

In April 1940, Conzelman was hired as the head coach of the NFL's Chicago Cardinals. He replaced Ernie Nevers in the position.[41] In his first stint as head coach of the Cardinals, Conzelmean served three years with the Cardinals from 1940 to 1942, leading the club to a combined three-year record of 8–22.[15]

St. Louis Browns

Conzelman's tenure as head coach of the Cardinals was interrupted by a two-years stint as an administrator in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Browns. In June 1943, he resigned his job as head coach of the Cardinals and was hired as director of public relations and assistant to Donald Lee Barnes, president and owner of the Browns.[42][43] He remained with the Browns for two years and was said to be the "secret weapon" of the 1944 St. Louis Browns team that won the American League pennant. Conzelman resigned his post with the club in August 1945.[44]

Chicago Cardinals (second stint)

In late November 1945, Conzelman was hired for a second time to serve as head coach of the Chicago Cardinals starting with the 1946 NFL season.[45] During the 1947 season, the Cardinals with their "Million Dollar Backfield" compiled a 9–3 record and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1947 NFL Championship Game.[46]

Conzelman's 1948 Cardinals team compiled an 11–1 record during the regular season, led the NFL in offense with an average of 32.9 points per game, and lost to the Eagles in the 1948 NFL Championship Game.[47] In their second stint under Conzelman, the Cardinals compiled a 26–9 record from 1946 to 1948.[15]

On January 7, 1949, three weeks after the loss in the 1948 Championship Game, Conzelman resigned as the Cardinals' head coach. He had been working for D'Arcy Advertising Co. for the prior two years during the off-season and stated that he was resigning his coaching position to devote his full efforts to the advertising firm. The Cardinals' management said at the time that Conzelman's resignation was unexpected and "came like a bolt from the blue."[48][49]

Later years and honors

After resigning as coach of the Cardinals in 1949, Conzelman continued working as an advertising executive. He also made occasional appearances in stage and opera productions.[50]

Conzelman was the model for the fallen French soldier in the 1926 monument by

Frederick MacMonnies of the Battle of the Marne at Meaux, France.[51][52]

During his retirement and posthumously, Conzelman received numerous honors for his contributions to the sport of football. These honors include the following:

Personal life

Conzelman was married three times. He was married to Peggy Udell (or Unertl), a Ziegfeld Follies performer, in October 1923.[60][61] In July 1924, Udell sued for divorce seeking support for an unborn child.[62] The trial of the divorce action was postponed in July 1925 following the birth of the child.[63] Conzelman and Udell were ultimately divorced in 1930.[60] Conzelman's second marriage to Lilian Adele Conzelman ended in divorce in October 1935.[64] He married his third wife, Anna Forrestal, in December 1936.[65][66] Conzelman and his third wife had a son, James D. Conzelman, Jr. They remained married at the time of Conzelman's death.[67]

Conzelman died in July 1970 at age 72 at Missouri Baptist Hospital.[3][67] He was buried at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in St. Louis.[3]

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Washington University Bears (Missouri Valley Conference) (1932–1939)
1932 Washington University 4–4 1–2 4th
1933 Washington University 4–5 1–2 4th
1934 Washington University 7–3 1–0 1st
1935 Washington University 6–4 3–0 T–1st
1936 Washington University 3–7 1–1 4th
1937 Washington University 4–6 2–2 T–4th
1938 Washington University 6–3–1 2–1–1 T–2nd
1939 Washington University 6–3–1 4–1 1st
Washington University: 40–35–2 15–9–1
Total: 40–35–2
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

NFL

Team Year Regular season Post season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
RII* 1921 4 1 0 .800 5th in NFL – – – –
RII 1922 4 2 1 .667 left after 7 games – – – –
RII Total 8 3 1 .727 – – – –
MIL+ 1922 0 3 0 .000 11th in NFL – – – –
MIL 1923 7 2 3 .778 3rd in NFL – – – –
MIL Total 7 5 3 .583 – – – –
DET 1925 8 2 2 .800 3rd in NFL – – – –
DET 1926 4 6 2 .400 12th in NFL – – – –
DET Total 12 8 4 .600 – – – –
PSR 1927 8 5 1 .615 5th in NFL – – – –
PSR 1928 8 1 2 .889 1st in NFL – – – NFL Champions
PSR 1929 4 6 2 .400 8th in NFL – – – –
PSR 1930 6 4 1 .600 5th in NFL – – – –
PSR Total 26 16 6 .619 – – – –
CHI 1940 2 7 2 .222 5th in NFL Western – – – –
CHI 1941 3 7 1 .300 4th in NFL Western – – – –
CHI 1942 3 8 0 .273 4th in NFL Western – – – –
CHI 1946 6 5 0 .545 T-3rd in NFL Western – – – –
CHI 1947 9 3 0 .750 1st in NFL Western 1 0 1.000 Defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in 1947 NFL Championship
CHI 1948 11 1 0 .917 1st in NFL Western 0 1 .000 Lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1948 NFL Championship
CHI Total 34 31 3 .523 – 1 1 .500
Total 87 63 17 .580 – 1 1 .500

*Only coached the last 5 games of the season to replace Frank Coughlin

+Only coached the last 3 games of the season to replace Budge Garrett

References

  1. ^ "Jimmy Conzelman". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  2. ^
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  3. ^ a b c d e Bill Schubert (1997). "Jimmy Conzelman" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Pro Football Researchers.
  4. ^ Walter Barlow Stevens (1909). St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1909, Volume 2. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 775.
  5. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Carnation (McKinley High School yearbook). June 1916. p. 81.
  7. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "1919 Washington (MO) Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Conzelman Says He Will Not Be Back". The Des Moines Register. June 28, 1920. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Died". Dental Health. June 1919. p. 31.
  11. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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  14. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ a b c "Jimmy Conzelman Coaching Record". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  16. ^ "Lauer and Lyle, Pair of Rock Island Stars, Play With Green Bay Sunday". Green Bay Press-Gazette. November 24, 1922. p. 11.
  17. ^ "1922 Milwaukee Badgers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  18. ^ "1923 Milwaukee Badgers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  19. ^ "1924 Milwaukee Badgers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  20. ^ "Pro Grid Loop Dates Named: Conzelman Has Local Franchise". Detroit Free Press. August 3, 1925. p. 12.
  21. ^ "Conzelman Is Versatile Stars In Athletics, Music". Detroit Free Press. August 23, 1925. p. 23.
  22. ISBN 0814325122
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  23. ^ "1925 Detroit Panthers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  24. ^ "1926 Detroit Panthers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  25. ^ Richard Bak, A Place for Summer, pp. 252–253.
  26. ^ Richard Bak, A Place for Summer, p. 248.
  27. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  28. ^ "1927 Providence Steam Roller Statistics & Players". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  29. ^ "1928 Providence Steam Roller Statistics & Players". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
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    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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  32. ^ "1929 Providence Steam Roller Statistics & Players". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  33. ^ "1922 Rock Island Islanders Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  34. ^ "Jimmy Conzelman Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  35. ^ "1922 Rock Island Islanders minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  36. ^ a b Carroll, Bob (1983). "The St. Louis Gunners" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 4 (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–2, 10.
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  46. ^ "1947 Chicago Cardinals Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  47. ^ "1948 Chicago Cardinals Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  48. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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  50. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  51. ^ "Jimmy Conzelman, 72, is Dead; Coached Cardinals to Grid Title". The New York Times. August 1970.
  52. ^ "American Memorial, Meaux". March 3, 2014.
  53. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  54. ^ http://www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/19-01-689.pdf [bare URL PDF]
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  59. ^ "Honors scheduled". The Arizona Republic. July 31, 2000.
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  64. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  65. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  66. ^ Marriage License for James Conzelman and Ann Forrestal, both of St. Louis, issued November 27, 1936, ceremony December 5, 1936. Ancestry.com. Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805–2002 [database on-line].
  67. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Conzelman&oldid=1214481967"