Clifton M. Speegle (November 4, 1917 – September 5, 1994) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1955 to 1962, compiling a record of 36–42–3. During his tenure, Oklahoma State was 0–8 in the Bedlam Series, their rivalry game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Speegle was fired in 1962. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma from 1938 to 1940.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 5, 1917 Roosevelt, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | September 5, 1994 (aged 76) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1938–1940 | Oklahoma |
| 1945 | Chicago Cardinals |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1941 | Wewoka HS (OK) |
| 1942 | Capitol Hill HS (OK) |
| 1946 | Bacone |
| 1947–1949 | Oklahoma A&M (assistant) |
| 1950 | Northeast HS (OK) |
| 1952–1953 | Colgate (line) |
| 1954 | Edmonton Eskimos (line) |
| 1955–1962 | Oklahoma A&M/State |
| 1963–1964 | Toronto Argonauts (assistant) |
| 1965–1966 | Texas Western (assistant) |
| Basketball | |
| 1951–1952 | Catholic HS (OK) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1941–1942 | Wewoka HS (OK) |
| 1942–1943 | Capitol Hill HS (OK) |
| 1946–1947 | Bacone |
| 1973–1982 | SWC (commissioner) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 36–42–3 (college football) |
| Bowls | 1–0 (college) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Second-team All-Big Six (1939) | |
Speegle began his coaching career in 1941 as the head football coach at Wewoka High School in Wewoka, Oklahoma. The next year he served in the same capacity at Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City. Speegle served at Del Rio, Texas as an instructor in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In 1945, he played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Cardinals. Speegle was hired as the head football coach at Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1946.[1] He was also the athletic director at Bacone before leaving the school in 1947.[2]
From 1947 to 1949, Speegle was an assistant football coach at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College—now known as Oklahoma State University–Stillwater—under head football coach Jim Lookabaugh. In 1950, he was the head football coach at Northeast High School in Oklahoma.[3] He left Northeast after a season to go into the insurance business, but returned to coaching in the winter of 1951–52 as head basketball coach at Catholic High School in Oklahoma City. In 1952, Hal Lahar, newly-appointed as the head football coach at Colgate University, hired Speegle as his line coach.[4]
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma A&M Aggies (Missouri Valley Conference) (1955–1956) | |||||||||
| 1955 | Oklahoma A&M | 2–8 | 1–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1956 | Oklahoma A&M | 3–5–2 | 2–1–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| Oklahoma State Cowboys (Independent) (1957–1959) | |||||||||
| 1957 | Oklahoma State | 6–3–1 | |||||||
| 1958 | Oklahoma State | 8–3 | W Bluegrass | 19 | |||||
| 1959 | Oklahoma State | 6–4 | |||||||
| Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big Eight Conference) (1960–1962) | |||||||||
| 1960 | Oklahoma State | 3–7 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1961 | Oklahoma State | 4–6 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1962 | Oklahoma State | 4–6 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
| Oklahoma A&M/State: | 36–42–3 | 9–19–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 36–42–3 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ Mayfield, Joe (September 3, 1946). "Cliff Speegle Named Bacone College Coach". The Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. p. 43. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Speegle Will Quit Bacone College Job". The Norman Transcript. Norman, Oklahoma. United Press. January 6, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Cliff Speegle To Coach At NE High". The Enid Morning News. Enid, Oklahoma. Associated Press. July 29, 1950. p. 8. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Speegle to Coach Line for Colgate". The Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. April 3, 1952. p. 20. Retrieved September 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Cliff Speegle at Find a Grave
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