Howard Bliss

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1916–2005)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Howard Bliss

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|7|26}}

| birth_place = Farmville, Virginia, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|6|7|1916|7|26}}

| death_place = Crossville, Tennessee, U.S.

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = 1938

| player_team1 = Purdue

| player_positions = Quarterback

| coach_years1 = 1939–1940

| coach_team1 = Montpelier HS (OH)

| coach_years2 = 1946

| coach_team2 = Miami (OH) (assistant)

| coach_years3 = 1947

| coach_team3 = Valley City State

| coach_years4 = 1948–1949

| coach_team4 = North Dakota State

| admin_years1 = 1947–1948

| admin_team1 = Valley City State

| overall_record = 9–17 (college)
6–10 (high school)

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships = 1 NDCAC (1947)

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

Clyde Howard Bliss (July 26, 1916 – June 7, 2005) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Valley City State Teachers College—now known as Valley City State University—in 1947 and North Dakota Agricultural College—now known as North Dakota State University—compiling a career college football coaching record of 9–17.

Playing career

Bliss was a quarterback at Purdue University, earning a varsity letter in 1938.{{cite web|url=https://purduesports.com/news/2009/8/6/ALL_TIME_LETTERWINNERS.aspx|title=All-Time Letterwinners|publisher=Purdue University|access-date=June 18, 2019}}

Military service

Bliss served in the United States army from July 5, 1942 to May 18, 1946."Index Record for Clyde Bliss (1916) Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem Death File", Fold3 by Ancestry.com website. Retrieved November 25, 2020. Enlistment Date is listed as "5 Jul 1942" and Release Date is listed as "18 May 1946". He was a captain in field artillery.

Coaching career

Bliss began his coaching career at the Montpelier High School in Montpelier, Ohio.{{cite web|url=https://www.montpelier.k12.oh.us/userfiles/500/my%20files/football%20record%20book.pdf?id=7258|title=Football|publisher=Montpelier High School|access-date=July 17, 2019}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} After briefly attending the University of Michigan and serving in World War II, he became an assistant coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He was hired as the head football coach and athletic director at Valley City State University in Valley City, North Dakota in 1947.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNgnAAAAMAAJ|title=JOHPER: Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Volume 18|publisher=American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation|year=1947|access-date=June 18, 2019}}

Bliss was then hired as the head football coach at North Dakota State University–then known as North Dakota Agricultural College–where he served from 1948 to 1949.{{cite news|url=https://library.ndsu.edu/ir/bitstream/handle/10365/19724/nds-1948-04-30-0.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=Bliss Named Successor To Hollingsworth|publisher=North Dakota State University|date=April 20, 1948|access-date=June 18, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://gobison.com/sports/2016/1/19/FB_0119163617.aspx?path=football|title=NDSU Football Coaching History|publisher=North Dakota State Athletics|access-date=June 18, 2019}}

Later life and death

After retiring from coaching, Bliss worked for General Tire Company. He died in 2005.{{cite news|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ohio/obituary.aspx?n=clyde-howard-bliss&pid=14192077|newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal|date=July 4, 2005|access-date=July 17, 2019|title=Clyde Howard Bliss}}