Hugo Bezdek

{{Short description|Czech-American athlete and coach (1884–1952)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}{{Infobox college coach

| name = Hugo Bezdek

| image = (Hugo Bezdek, manager, Pittsburgh NL (baseball)) LOC 23182964811.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1884|4|1|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1952|9|19|1884|4|1}}

| death_place = Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.

| alma_mater =

| player_sport1 = Football

| player_years2 = 1904–1905

| player_team2 = Chicago

| player_positions = Fullback

| coach_sport1 = Football

| coach_years2 = 1906

| coach_team2 = Oregon

| coach_years3 = 1907

| coach_team3 = Chicago (assistant)

| coach_years4 = 1908–1912

| coach_team4 = Arkansas

| coach_years5 = 1913–1916

| coach_team5 = Oregon

| coach_years6 = 1918–1929

| coach_team6 = Penn State

| coach_years7 = 1937–1938

| coach_team7 = Cleveland Rams

| coach_years8 = 1949

| coach_team8 = Delaware Valley

| coach_sport9 = Basketball

| coach_years10 = 1906–1907

| coach_team10 = Oregon

| coach_years11 = 1913–1917

| coach_team11 = Oregon

| coach_years12 = 1919

| coach_team12 = Penn State (interim HC)

| coach_sport13 = Baseball

| coach_years14 = 1908–1913

| coach_team14 = Arkansas

| coach_years15 = 1914–1917

| coach_team15 = Oregon

| coach_years16 = 1917–1919

| coach_team16 = Pittsburgh Pirates

| coach_years17 = 1920–1930

| coach_team17 = Penn State

| admin_years1 = 1918–1936

| admin_team1 = Penn State

| overall_record = 126–58–16 (college football)
1–13 (NFL)
28–37 (college basketball)
166–187 (MLB)
222–123–1 (college baseball)

| bowl_record = 2–1

| tournament_record =

| championships =

National (1905)

| awards =

Third-team All-American (1905)
First-team All-Western (1905)

| coaching_records =

| CFBHOF_year = 1954

| CFBHOF_id = 1426

}}

Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913–1917), the University of Arkansas (1908–1912), Pennsylvania State University (1918–1929), and Delaware Valley College (1949). Bezdek also coached the Mare Island Marines in the 1918 Rose Bowl and the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL) in 1937 and part of the 1938 season. In addition, Bezdek coached basketball at Oregon (1906–1907, 1913–1917) and Penn State (1919), coached baseball at Arkansas (1909–1913), Oregon (1914–1917) and Penn State (1920–1930), and served as the manager of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates (1917–1919). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.

Bezdek is the only coach to bring three different teams to the Rose Bowl Game. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 31, 2022.

Early years

Hugo Bezděk was born near Prague, Bohemia (now part of the present-day Czech Republic). His forefathers had been school-teachers, strong men and athletes. His family emigrated to America in 1891 when he was 6 years old. They lived in Cleveland's Slavic community. His father James (Vaclav), worked at as a butcher in Cleveland. From here, young Hugo launched his athletic career. He enjoyed playing sports typical of the day. While he favored football, he also boxed, wrestled and played baseball.{{cite news|title=Trying Out Hugo Bezdek and a "New Idea" in Baseball|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85058396/1917-10-06/ed-1/seq-22/|access-date=1 March 2017|work=The Ogden Standard|date=October 6, 1917|location=Ogden City, Utah|page=22}}

Coaching career

File:1925 Penn State Nittany Lions football coaching staff.jpg]]

After playing as a fullback at the University of Chicago, Bezdek began his football coaching career at the University of Oregon in 1906, but left after a year to become head coach at the University of Arkansas. Arkansas' athletic teams were known as the Cardinals until after the 1909 season. Near the end of that year, Coach Bezdek called his team "a wild band of Razorback hogs" at an impromptu press conference following his team's victory over LSU. The name was a hit with the Arkansas students, and they voted to change the school's mascot from Cardinals to Razorbacks the following school term. Razorbacks has been Arkansas' mascot since that time. The 1909 team finished 7–0 and were considered the "Champions of the South". After five years at Arkansas, he returned to Oregon for six seasons.

While coaching in Oregon, Bezdek also served as a scout for Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, who hired him as their manager in the middle of the 1917 season. He managed the Pirates through 1919, compiling a 166–187 record.

While managing the Pirates, Bezdek continued his football coaching career, moving from Oregon to Pennsylvania State University in 1919. He was head coach there until 1929, amassing a 65–30–11 record that included two undefeated seasons and an appearance in the 1923 Rose Bowl. Bezdek was noted for changing the Nittany Lions' style of play.COACH BEZDEK CHANGES TEAM'S STYLE OF PLAY FOR THIRD TIME TROJANS TO TACKLE A REORGANIZED ELEVEN; Nittany Lions to Take Field With Almost a Completely New Bunch of Regulars. Los Angeles Times, December 27, 1922. Hugo "Spinx" Bezdek, commander-in-chief of the Penn State football squad, which is to meet the University of Southern California in the annual East-West Tournament of Roses New Year's Day game, changes the style of his eleven's play almost as much as a woman changes her mind.

Bezdek also served as Penn State's athletic director from 1918 to 1936, was interim basketball coach in 1919, garnering an 11–2 record, and director of the School of Physical Education and Athletics from 1930 to 1937.

In 1937, Bezdek was hired by the Cleveland Rams as their first head coach after the team joined the National Football League (NFL). His career with the Rams was brief, ending three games into the 1938 season with an abysmal 1–13 record. Nevertheless, Bezdek holds the distinction of being the only person to have served as both manager of a Major League Baseball team and head coach in the NFL. {{cite web |url=http://cis.ieee.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=780:5-minutes-with-dr-james-c-bezdek&catid=17:e-newsletter-news-a-announcements |title=5 Minutes with Dr. James C. Bezdek |website=IEEE |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209003119/http://cis.ieee.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=780:5-minutes-with-dr-james-c-bezdek&catid=17:e-newsletter-news-a-announcements |archive-date=2018-02-09}}

As a college football coach, Bezdek tallied a career record of 127–58–16. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Head coaching record

=College football=

{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oregon Webfoots

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1906

| endyear = single

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1906

| name = Oregon

| overall = 5–0–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Arkansas Cardinals/Razorbacks

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1908

| endyear = 1912

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1908

| name = Arkansas

| overall = 5–4

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1909

| name = Arkansas

| overall = 7–0

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1910

| name = Arkansas

| overall = 7–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1911

| name = Arkansas

| overall = 6–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1912

| name = Arkansas

| overall = 4–6

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Arkansas

| overall = 29–13–1

| confrecord =

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oregon Webfoots

| conf = Northwest Conference

| startyear = 1913

| endyear = 1915

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1913

| name = Oregon

| overall = 3–3–1

| conference = 1–1–1

| confstanding = T–3rd

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1914

| name = Oregon

| overall = 4–2–1

| conference = 3–1–1

| confstanding = 3rd

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1915

| name = Oregon

| overall = 7–2

| conference = 3–1

| confstanding = 3rd

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Oregon Webfoots

| conf = Northwest Conference / Pacific Coast Conference

| startyear = 1916

| endyear = 1917

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1916

| name = Oregon

| overall = 7–0–1

| conference = 2–0–1/ 2–0–1

| confstanding = 2nd / 2nd

| bowlname = Rose

| bowloutcome = W

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1917

| name = Oregon

| overall = 3–3

| conference = 1–2 / 1–2

| confstanding = 4th / 4th

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Oregon

| overall = 29–10–4

| confrecord = 11–6–3

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Mare Island Marines

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1917

| endyear = single

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1917

| name = Mare Island

| overall = 1–0

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname = Rose

| bowloutcome = W

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Mare Island

| overall = 1–0

| confrecord =

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Penn State Nittany Lions

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1918

| endyear = 1929

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1918

| name = Penn State

| overall = 1–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1919

| name = Penn State

| overall = 7–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1920

| name = Penn State

| overall = 7–0–2

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1921

| name = Penn State

| overall = 8–0–2

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1922

| name = Penn State

| overall = 6–4–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname = Rose

| bowloutcome = L

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1923

| name = Penn State

| overall = 6–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1924

| name = Penn State

| overall = 6–3–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1925

| name = Penn State

| overall = 4–4–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1926

| name = Penn State

| overall = 5–4

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1927

| name = Penn State

| overall = 6–2–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1928

| name = Penn State

| overall = 3–5–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1929

| name = Penn State

| overall = 6–3

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Penn State

| overall = 65–30–11

| confrecord =

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Delaware Valley Aggies

| conf = Independent

| startyear = 1949

| endyear = single

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| year = 1949

| name = Delaware Valley

| overall = 2–5

| conference =

| confstanding =

| bowlname =

| bowloutcome =

| bcsbowl =

| ranking = no

| ranking2 = no

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Delaware Valley

| overall = 2–5

| confrecord =

}}

{{CFB Yearly Record End

| overall = 126–58–16

| bowls = no

| poll = no

| polltype =

| legend = no

}}

=Professional football=

rowspan="2"\|Team	rowspan="2"\|Year	colspan="5"\|Regular Season	colspan="4"\|Post Season
class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
CLE\|\|1937 \|1\|\|10\|\|0\|\|.091\|\|5th in NFL Western\|\| – \|\| – \|\| – \|\| –
CLE\|\|1938 \|0\|\|3\|\|0\|\|.000\|\|4th in NFL Western\|\| – \|\| – \|\| – \|\| –
colspan="2"\|CLE Total\|\|1\|\|13\|\|0\|\|.071\|\| \|\| – \|\| – \|\| – \|\| –
colspan="2"\|NFL Total{{cite web\|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/BezdHu0.htm\|title=Hugo Bezdek Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com\|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}}\|\|1\|\|13\|\|0\|\|.071\|\| \|\| – \|\| – \|\| – \|\| –
colspan="2"\|Total\|\|1\|\|13\|\|0\|\|.071\|\| \|\| – \|\| – \|\| – \|\| –