:Caesar Felton Gayles
{{Short description|American football and basketball coach (1900–1986)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Caesar Felton Gayles
| image = Zip Gayles.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1900|5|22}}
| birth_place = Mississippi, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1986|11|5|1900|5|22}}
| death_place = Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| player_sport1 = Football
| player_years2 = 1920–1924
| player_team2 = Morehouse
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1927
| coach_team2 = Tennessee A&I
| coach_years3 = 1928–1929
| coach_team3 = Arkansas AM&N
| coach_years4 = 1930–1957
| coach_team4 = Langston
| coach_sport5 = Basketball
| coach_years6 = 1930–1965
| coach_team6 = Langston
| overall_record = 145–100–24 (football)
571–281 (basketball)
| bowl_record = 2–1
| tournament_record =
| championships = Football
2 black college national (1939, 1941)
7 SWAC (1933, 1936, 1938–1940, 1944, 1949)
| awards =
| coaching_records =
| CBBASKHOF_year = 2015
}}
Caesar Felton "Zip" Gayles (May 22, 1900 – November 5, 1986) was an American college football and college basketball coach.{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119379/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219015722/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119379/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 19, 2013|newspaper=Sports Illustrated|accessdate=December 18, 2013|date=April 22, 1985|title=On The Road Again And Again And...}} He served as the head football coach at Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College—later known as Tennessee State University—in 1927, Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College—later University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff–from 1928 to 1929, and at Langston University from 1930 to 1957.
He was also the head basketball coach at Langston from 1930 to 1965, tallying a mark of 571–281. Gayles was inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974, the NAIA Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.jimthorpeassoc.org/ok-sports-hof/hall-of-fame-members/gayles-ceasar-zip/|publisher=The Jim Thorpe Association|title=Caesar "Zip" Gayles|accessdate=December 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219030316/http://www.jimthorpeassoc.org/ok-sports-hof/hall-of-fame-members/gayles-ceasar-zip/|archive-date=December 19, 2013|url-status=dead}}
Coaching career
=Tennessee A&I=
After graduating, Gayles took a faculty and coaching position at Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College in Nashville, Tennessee, now called Tennessee State University. As the fourth head coach of the football, he led the squad to a record of 1–2–3 in 1927.{{cite web|url=https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf9/2535809.pdf?&ATCLID=209247845&SPSID=92673&SPID=11267&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=19600 |publisher=Tennessee State Tigers athletic department |accessdate=December 18, 2013 |title=2013 Football Media Guide |page=110 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529024833/http://nmnathletics.com/ |archivedate=May 29, 2015 }}
Some records list his name as "Felton Gale" at this time but other records confirm that "Felton Gale" and "Caesar Felton Gayles" are indeed the same person.
=Arkansas–Pine Bluff=
Gayles was the head football coach at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College—now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff—for two seasons, from 1928 to 1929, compiling a record of 8–9–3.
=Langston=
Gayles coached for 35 years at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma. As the basketball coach from 1930 to 1965, his teams compiled a record of 571–281. He also was the football coach for 28 seasons, from 1930 to 1957, finishing with a record of 146–78–18. His teams were National Negro champions twice in both basketball and football.{{cite web|url=http://newsok.com/zip-gayles-never-got-his-chance-against-ibas-team/article/3283300|publisher=NewsOK.com|title=Zip Gayles never got his chance against Iba's team|first=Bob|last=Hersom|date=August 14, 2008|accessdate=December 18, 2013}}
Death
Gayles died on November 5, 1986, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.{{cite news |author= |title=Ex-Langston Coach Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31851104/the_daily_oklahoman/ |newspaper=The Daily Oklahoman |location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |date=November 7, 1986 |page=96 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}
Head coaching record
=Football=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Tennessee A&I Tigers
| conf = Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
| startyear = 1927
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1927
| name = Tennessee A&I
| overall = 1–2–3
| conference = 1–1–2
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Tennessee A&I
| overall = 1–2–3
| confrecord = 1–1–2
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Arkansas AM&N Lions
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1928
| endyear = 1929
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1928
| name = Arkansas AM&N
| overall = 2–7
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1929
| name = Arkansas AM&N
| overall = 6–2–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Arkansas AM&N
| overall = 8–9–3
| confrecord =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Langston Lions
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1930
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1930
| name = Langston
| overall = 5–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Langston Lions
| conf = Southwestern Athletic Conference
| startyear = 1931
| endyear = 1957
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1931
| name = Langston
| overall = 3–3–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1932
| name = Langston
| overall = 6–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1933
| name = Langston
| overall = 9–1
| conference =
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname = Prairie View
| bowloutcome = L
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1934
| name = Langston
| overall = 7–2
| conference = 3–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1935
| name = Langston
| overall = 2–3–2
| conference = 1–3–2
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1936
| name = Langston
| overall = 7–1–1
| conference = 4–1–1
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1937
| name = Langston
| overall = 3–4–1
| conference = 3–3
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1938
| name = Langston
| overall = 4–1–3
| conference = 3–0–3
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = national
| year = 1939
| name = Langston
| overall = 7–0–1
| conference = 5–0–1
| confstanding = 1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1940
| name = Langston
| overall = 6–3
| conference = 5–1
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = national
| year = 1941
| name = Langston
| overall = 9–1–1
| conference = 4–1–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname = Vulcan
| bowloutcome = W
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1942
| name = Langston
| overall = 6–2–1
| conference = 1–2–1
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname = Prairie View
| bowloutcome = W
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1943
| name = Langston
| overall = 2–4
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1944
| name = Langston
| overall = 6–2–1
| conference = 5–1
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1945
| name = Langston
| overall = 5–3
| conference = 3–3
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1946
| name = Langston
| overall = 2–6–1
| conference = 2–4
| confstanding = 6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1947
| name = Langston
| overall = 2–7–1
| conference = 2–4–1
| confstanding = 6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1948
| name = Langston
| overall = 7–3
| conference = 5–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1949
| name = Langston
| overall = 8–1–1
| conference = 6–0–1
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1950
| name = Langston
| overall = 9–1
| conference = 6–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1951
| name = Langston
| overall = 4–5
| conference = 4–3
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1952
| name = Langston
| overall = 2–6–1
| conference = 1–4–1
| confstanding = 6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1953
| name = Langston
| overall = 3–6
| conference = 2–4
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1954
| name = Langston
| overall = 4–4–1
| conference = 4–2
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1955
| name = Langston
| overall = 6–1–2
| conference = 4–1–2
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1956
| name = Langston
| overall = 2–7
| conference = 2–4
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1957
| name = Langston
| overall = 0–9
| conference = 0–6
| confstanding = 7th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Langston
| overall = 136–89–19
| confrecord =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 145–100–24
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
| legend = no
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Tennessee State Tigers football coach navbox}}
{{Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football coach navbox}}
{{Langston Lions football coach navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayles, Caesar Felton}}
Category:Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football coaches
Category:Langston Lions football coaches
Category:Langston Lions basketball coaches
Category:Morehouse Maroon Tigers football players
Category:Tennessee State Tigers football coaches
Category:National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Category:African-American coaches of American football
Category:African-American basketball coaches