Robert Harper Odell (March 5, 1922 – December 15, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a halfback for the Penn Quakers, where he won the Maxwell Award in 1943. He was selected in the second round (15th overall) of the 1944 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but served in the United States Navy from 1944 through 1946. The Steelers offered Odell $8,000 to play in the 1946 season, however, his doctor recommended that he give up football due to a knee injury suffered while playing basketball. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Corning, Iowa, U.S. | March 5, 1922
Died | December 15, 2012 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 90)
Playing career | |
1941–1943 | Penn |
1946 | Card-Pitt |
Position(s) | Halfback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1946–1947 | Yale (assistant) |
1948 | Temple (assistant) |
1949–1957 | Wisconsin (line) |
1958–1964 | Buckell |
1965–1970 | Penn |
1971–1986 | Williams |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 75–49–4 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
2 Lambert Cup (1960, 1964) | |
Awards | |
Maxwell Award (1943) 2× Consensus All-American (1943, 1944) First-team All-Eastern (1943) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1992 (profile) |
Head coaching career
editHe was the head football coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1970, and at Williams College from 1971 to 1986. With a record of 75–49–4 in 16 years as the head coach at Williams, Odell ranks third in career wins behind Dick Farley and Charlie Caldwell.
Death
editHe died of kidney disease in a nursing home in 2012.[1]
Head coaching record
editYear | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bucknell Bison (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1958–1964) | |||||||||
1958 | Bucknell | 1–8 | 1–5 | 6th (University) | |||||
1959 | Bucknell | 4–5 | 3–3 | 4th (University) | |||||
1960 | Bucknell | 7–2 | 5–1 | 2nd (University) | |||||
1961 | Bucknell | 6–3 | 5–2 | 2nd (University) | |||||
1962 | Bucknell | 6–3 | 5–1 | 2nd (University) | |||||
1963 | Bucknell | 6–3 | 3–1 | 2nd (University) | |||||
1964 | Bucknell | 7–2 | 4–1 | T–2nd (University) | |||||
Bucknell: | 37–26 | 26–14 | |||||||
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1965–1970) | |||||||||
1965 | Penn | 4–4–1 | 2–4–1 | 6th | |||||
1966 | Penn | 2–7 | 1–6 | 7th | |||||
1967 | Penn | 3–6 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
1968 | Penn | 7–2 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
1969 | Penn | 4–5 | 2–5 | T–5th | |||||
1970 | Penn | 4–5 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
Penn: | 24–29–1 | 14–27–1 | |||||||
Williams Ephs (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (1971–1986) | |||||||||
1971 | Williams | 7–1 | |||||||
1972 | Williams | 7–1 | |||||||
1973 | Williams | 6–2 | |||||||
1974 | Williams | 7–1 | |||||||
1975 | Williams | 7–0–1 | |||||||
1976 | Williams | 4–4 | |||||||
1977 | Williams | 5–3 | |||||||
1978 | Williams | 5–3 | |||||||
1979 | Williams | 4–4 | |||||||
1980 | Williams | 5–2–1 | |||||||
1981 | Williams | 3–5 | |||||||
1982 | Williams | 4–4 | |||||||
1983 | Williams | 2–5–1 | |||||||
1984 | Williams | 3–5 | |||||||
1985 | Williams | 2–5–1 | |||||||
1986 | Williams | 4–4 | |||||||
Williams: | 75–49–4 | ||||||||
Total: | 136–104–5 |
References
edit- ^ Frank Fitzpatrick (October 22, 2012). "Bob Odell, 90; college football hall of famer starred at Penn". Philly.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
External links
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