Larry Siemering
{{Short description|American football player and coach (1910–2009)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Larry Siemering
| image = Larry Siemering.png
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|11|24}}
| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|7|27|1910|11|24}}
| death_place = Watsonville, California, U.S.
| alma_mater =
| player_sport1 = Football
| player_years2 = 1933–1934
| player_team2 = San Francisco
| player_years3 = 1935–1936
| player_team3 = Boston Redskins
| player_positions = Center
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1937–1939
| coach_team2 = Manteca HS (CA)
| coach_years3 = 1940
| coach_team3 = Lodi HS (CA)
| coach_years4 = 1941
| coach_team4 = Stockton
| coach_years5 = 1942–1946
| coach_team5 = Pacific (CA) (assistant)
| coach_years6 = 1947–1950
| coach_team6 = Pacific (CA)
| coach_years7 = 1951
| coach_team7 = Arizona State
| coach_years8 = 1953
| coach_team8 = Washington Redskins (OL)
| coach_years9 = 1954
| coach_team9 = Calgary Stampeders
| coach_years10 = 1956–1958
| coach_team10 = Santa Cruz HS (CA)
| coach_years11 = 1959–1965
| coach_team11 = Cabrillo
| coach_sport12 = Baseball
| coach_years13 = 1945
| coach_team13 = Pacific (CA)
| overall_record = 41–8–4 (college football)
| bowl_record = 2–0–1
| tournament_record =
| championships = Football
1 CCAA (1947)
| awards =
- Third-team All-American (1933)
- 2× First-team All-PCC (1933, 1934)
| coaching_records =
}}
Lawrence Edwin Siemering (November 24, 1910 – July 27, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of San Francisco and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Boston Redskins in 1935 and 1936. Siemering served as the head football coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1947 to 1951 and at Arizona State University in 1951, compiling a career college football coached record of 41–8–4. He also was the head coach of the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders in 1954. In all, Siemering's football career as a player and coach lasted more than forty years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving professional football player at 98 years of age.{{cite news | work=San Francisco Chronicle | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/30/BADL190JC0.DTL | title=Larry Siemering, football coach, dies at 98 | accessdate=August 2, 2009 | first=Carl | last=Nolte | date=July 30, 2009}}
Early life
Siemering was born in San Francisco and was raised in Lodi, California,{{cite web |last=Milholm |first=Joelle |date=July 28, 2009 |title=Football pioneer Larry Siemering led a life of endless accomplishments |url=https://www.lodinews.com/sports/article_7a17bdd3-c64e-525e-8d72-d5cdbb6afdd5.html |accessdate=September 14, 2024 |work=Lodi News-Sentinel}} where he attended and played high school football at Lodi High School. During his senior season as a center, the Lodi Flames went undefeated. He graduated in 1928. Also during this time, Siemering played semi-pro baseball for the Sacramento Stallions.{{cite web |last=Highfill |first=Bob |date=July 31, 2006 |title=Siemering's football teams were ahead of their time |url=http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/SPORTS/607310323/1004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309132821/http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/SPORTS/607310323/1004 |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |accessdate= |work=RecordNet.com}}
Playing career
=College=
After high school, Siemering accepted a baseball scholarship from the University of San Francisco, where he then also played football. He graduated in 1935.{{cite web |last=Dhillon |first=Jagdip |date=July 28, 2009 |title=Legendary Pacific coach dies at 98 |url=http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090728/A_SPORTS/907280323/-1/NEWSMAP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309132833/http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090728/A_SPORTS/907280323/-1/NEWSMAP |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |accessdate= |work=RecordNet.com}}
=Professional=
After his college career, Siemering played center in the National Football League for the Boston Redskins in 1935 and 1936; the Redskins moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. During his tenure there, he played in the 1936 NFL Championship, a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Coaching career
=High school=
After his playing career, Siemering started his coaching career as a high school football coach at Manteca High School and Stockton High School in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1943, his Stockton team went undefeated. Siemering then came back to high school coaching in 1956 at Santa Cruz High School, where he went 9–0 in 1958.
=College=
Siemering started his college coaching career as an assistant coach at the College of the Pacific—now known as the University of the Pacific—in Stockton, California under head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. Stagg retired after the 1946 season, and Siemering took over as head coach in 1947. During his first season as coach, the 1947 Pacific Tigers football team went 10–1, the lone loss against Santa Clara, 21–20. At the end of the regular season, the Tigers played in the Raisin Bowl and beat Wichita, 28–14.{{cite web | work=College Football Reference | url=http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=1040&season=1947 | title=University of the Pacific - 1947 | accessdate=August 2, 2009 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212619/http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=1040&season=1947 | archivedate=March 3, 2016 }}
Siemering had another winning record in 1948 and went 7–3–1. However, he is best known for his 1949 Pacific team that went an undefeated at 11–0. The team came close to losing only once in 1949, when it defeated San Francisco in the first game of the season, 7–6. The Tigers outscored their opponents 575–66, led the nation in offense, and were ranked as high as tenth in the AP Poll. During the season, the Tigers scored 75 points or more three times, winning 75–20 over Portland, 88–0 over Cal Poly, and 75–0 over the Hawaii.{{cite web | work=College Football Reference | url=http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=1040&season=1949 | title=University of the Pacific - 1949 | accessdate=August 2, 2009 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174357/http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=1040&season=1949 | archivedate=March 3, 2016 }} The team was the 15th college team in history to score 500 or more points in a single season.
During his four-year tenure at Pacific, Siemering went 35–5–3 with a .849 winning percentage, the best of any head coach in program history. He then coached at Arizona State University in 1951, where he went 6–3–1.{{cite web | work=College Football Reference | url=http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=1023&season=1951 | title=Arizona State University - 1951 | accessdate=August 2, 2009 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213106/http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=1023&season=1951 | archivedate=March 3, 2016 }} Despite the winning record, he was fired after using an ineligible player who used a fake name.
After a brief second stint in high school teaching, Siemering then became the inaugural head coach of Cabrillo College, a two-year community college in Aptos, California.{{cite web |last=Seimas |first=Jim |date=July 31, 2009 |title=Legendary football coach Larry Siemering, 98, dies |url=https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2009/07/31/legendary-football-coach-larry-siemering-98-dies/ |accessdate=September 14, 2024 |work=Mercury News}} He coached there from 1959 to 1965. While at Cabrillo, he also coached the Seahawks' golf team until 1976. Siemering was inducted into the first class of the University of the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. His 1947 and 1949 teams were inducted later.
=Professional=
In 1953, Siemering was an offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins, under head coach Curly Lambeau. He then left the NFL in 1954 to become the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League.
Personal life
Siemering was married to Sophie Siemering, who died in 2001. On July 27, 2009, he died at Watsonville Community Hospital after a fall at his Watsonville, California home.
Head coaching record
=College football=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = AP }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Pacific Tigers
| conf = California Collegiate Athletic Association
| startyear = 1947
| endyear = 1948
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1947
| name = Pacific
| overall = 10–1
| conference = 5–0
| confstanding = 1st
| bowloutcome = W
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1948
| name = Pacific
| overall = 7–1–2
| conference = 4–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname = Grape
| bowloutcome = T
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Pacific Tigers
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1949
| endyear = 1950
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1949
| name = Pacific
| overall = 11–0
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = 10
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1950
| name = Pacific
| overall = 7–3–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Pacific
| overall = 35–5–3
| confrecord = 9–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Arizona State Sun Devils
| conf = Border Conference
| startyear = 1951
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1951
| name = Arizona State
| overall = 6–3–1
| conference = 4–1
| confstanding = T–2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking =
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Arizona State
| overall = 6–3–1
| confrecord = 4–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 41–8–4
| bowls = no
| poll =
| polltype = Rankings from final AP Poll
}}
=Junior college=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Stockton Mustangs
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1941
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1941
| name = Stockton
| overall =
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Stockton
| overall =
| confrecord =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Cabrillo Seahawks
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1959
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1959
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 2–6
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Cabrillo Seahawks
| conf = Coast Conference
| startyear = 1960
| endyear = 1965
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1960
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 3–6
| conference = 1–5
| confstanding = 6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1961
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 1–8
| conference = 1–6
| confstanding = T–7th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1962
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 5–4
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = 3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1963
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 5–2–2
| conference = 4–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1964
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 3–6
| conference = 2–3
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1965
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 4–5
| conference = 4–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Cabrillo
| overall = 23–37–2
| confrecord = 15–19
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall =
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
| legend = no
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Footballstats |nfl=larry-siemering |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=S/SiemLa20 |rotoworld= }}
{{San Joaquin Delta Mustangs football coach navbox}}
{{Pacific Tigers baseball coach navbox}}
{{Pacific Tigers football coach navbox}}
{{Arizona State Sun Devils football coach navbox}}
{{Calgary Stampeders coach navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siemering, Larry}}
Category:American football centers
Category:Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches
Category:Boston Redskins players
Category:Cabrillo Seahawks football coaches
Category:Calgary Stampeders coaches
Category:Pacific Tigers baseball coaches
Category:Pacific Tigers football coaches
Category:San Francisco Dons football players
Category:San Joaquin Delta Mustangs football coaches
Category:Washington Redskins coaches
Category:High school football coaches in California
Category:Players of American football from Lodi, California
Category:Sportspeople from Watsonville, California
Category:Players of American football from Santa Cruz County, California
Category:Players of American football from San Francisco