Bo McMillin

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Bo McMillin

Date of birth	January 12, 1895
Date of death	March 31, 1952
Sport	Football
Overall Record	140-77-13
Championships   won	Big Ten Conference (1945)
Coaching Stats	College Football DataWarehouse
School as a player
1917; 1919-1921	Centre College
Position	Quarterback
Schools as a coach
1922-1924 1925-1927 1928-1933 1934-1947	Centenary Geneva College Kansas State University Indiana University
College Football Hall of Fame, 1951

Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 - March 31, 1952) was a Hall-of-Fame college football player, and later successful head coach, who served at both the collegiate and professional levels but who achieved his greatest success at the college level. His legendary "poor mouthing", pronounced in his distinctive Texas drawl, was in sharp contrast to his teams' successes.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Coaching career 3 Awards and accolades 4 References

[edit] Playing career

McMillin played high school football at North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas, before beginning a Hall-of-Fame collegiate career at Centre College in Kentucky, under coaches Charley Moran and Robert "Chief" Meyers. McMillin began playing football at Centre in 1917, making a major impact as a freshman when his 17-yard drop kick beat the University of Kentucky. The following year, McMillin missed the season, serving instead in the U.S. Navy during the final year of World War I, then returned to Centre for the first of three consecutive All-American seasons.

In 1919, McMillin was selected to the Walter Camp All-America first team at quarterback, after helping the Praying Colonels to a 9-0 record including upsets over the Indiana University and West Virginia University. In 1920, McMillin garnered second team honors as Centre posted another successful season, albeit including a disappointing 31-14 loss to defending national champion Harvard University.

1921 was a most remarkable season for McMillin and Centre College. McMillin was a consensus All-American, and his extraordinary effort against Harvard on October 29 cemented his legend. After the loss the year before, McMillin had promised that Centre would beat Harvard in 1921, despite the fact that the Crimson had not lost since 1916. Then, in front of 43,000 fans, McMillin dashed 32 yards for the lone score of a 6-0 Centre victory, breaking Harvard's 25-game winning streak. MIT students who attended the game to cheer against Harvard tore down the goalposts and hoisted McMillin on their shoulders. For decades afterward, this was called "football's upset of the century."

[edit] Coaching career

Building upon his success as a player, McMillin entered the coaching arena, where he spent the next quarter century compiling a mark of 146-77-13. Using a combination of eloquence and determination, the teetotaling McMillin enjoyed nothing but success at the college level, beginning at Centenary College of Louisiana in 1922. Over a three-year period, McMillin lost only three of 28 games, success that allowed him to move on to Geneva College, where he was 27-5-1 from 1925 to 1927.

In 1928, McMillin was hired by Kansas State University to replace Hall of Fame coach Charlie Bachman. McMillin coached at Kansas State for six successful years, including an 8-2 season in 1931 that vaulted Kansas State to the cusp of the Rose Bowl. Elden Auker, McMillin's all-conference quarterback at Kansas State, wrote in his book Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms: "McMillin was a great psychologist. He really knew how to give us talks that fired us up... The normal routine for McMillin was to bring us out onto the field to loosen up and then take us back into the locker room for a pep talk. By the time he was through talking, we believed we could take on the world."

McMillin's success at Kansas State propelled him into his most noteworthy achievements at Indiana University. For 14 years, beginning in 1934, McMillin helped elevate the nondescript program to new heights, topped by an undefeated season in 1945. That year marked the first time ever that the Hoosiers had captured the Big Nine Conference. He even enjoyed success at the annual College All-Star game, winning the 1938 and 1946 clashes against the defending NFL champions.

Despite having become the school's athletic director and seemingly earning lifetime security with seven years remaining on his most recent contract, the 63-year-old McMillin sought new challenges following the 1947 campaign. He accepted a five-year contract to coach the National Football League's Detroit Lions on February 19, 1948.

However, the coaching success he had always enjoyed disappeared with the Lions, as the team dropped its first five games in 1948 and finished with a 2-10 mark. In addition to the many on-field changes he had implemented, McMillin also briefly changed the team's colors from the now-familiar Hawaiian blue to maroon, similar to the color of his teams at Indiana.

The team also struggled in 1949 at 4-8, but picked up the rights to future star Doak Walker. The team then brought in quarterback Bobby Layne and Heisman Trophy winner Leon Hart the following year. Continued conflict with players, though, led to McMillin's departure after the end of the 1950 NFL season, which saw the Lions finish with a 6-6 record.

McMillin then took on the challenge of returning the Philadelphia Eagles to their previous glory when he was hired on February 8, 1951. However, after just two games (both wins), McMillin underwent surgery for what was believed to be ulcer troubles. The verdict was far worse: stomach cancer, which ended his coaching career.

On the final day of March 1952, McMillin suffered a fatal heart attack and was buried days later with many fellow coaches and former player in attendance.

[edit] Awards and accolades

In November 1951, in the final months of his life, McMillin was selected for induction in the College Football Hall of Fame for his noteworthy successes as a player. Two months later, McMillin was also awarded the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for his contributions to the sport by the American Football Coaches Association.

[edit] References

Preceded by: Charlie Bachman	Kansas State University Head Football Coach 1928- 1933	Succeeded by: Pappy Waldorf
Preceded by: E.C. (Billy) Hayes	Indiana University Head Coaches 1934–1947	Succeeded by: Clyde Smith
Preceded by: Gus Dorais	Detroit Lions Head Coaches 1948–1950	Succeeded by: Buddy Parker
Preceded by: Earle "Greasy" Neale	Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaches 1951	Succeeded by: Wayne Millner

Kansas State Wildcats Head Football Coaches
Ehrsam • Williamson • Hanson • Moulton • Moore • C.E. Dietz • G.O. Dietz • Booth • Ahearn • Lowman • Bender • Clevenger • Bachman • McMillin • Waldorf • Fry • Adams • Haylett • Fiser • Adams • Francis • Graham • Meek • Mertes • Weaver • Gibson • Rainsberger • Dickey • Parrish • Snyder • Prince

Indiana Hoosiers Head Football Coaches
Woodford • Wollen • Herod • Ferbert • Huddleston • Osgood • Wren • Gonterman • Horne • Sheldon • Childs • Stiehm • Herron • Ingram • Page • Hayes • McMillin • Smith • Crimmins • Hicks • Dickens • Pont • Corso • Wyche • Mallory • Cameron • DiNardo • Hoeppner

Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions Head Coaches
Griffin • G. Clark • D. Clark • Henderson • G. Clark • Edwards • Karcis • Dorais • McMillin • Parker • Wilson • Gilmer • Schmidt • McCafferty • Forzano • Hudspeth • M. Clark • Rogers • Fontes • Ross • Moeller • Mornhinweg • Mariucci • Jauron • Marinelli

Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaches
Wray • Bell • Neale • McMillin • Millner • Trimble • Devore • Shaw • Skorich • Kuharich • Williams • Khayat • McCormack • Vermeil • Campbell • Ryan • Kotite • Rhodes • Reid