Sam Lyle
{{Short description|American football player and coach (1924–2007)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox gridiron football person
| name = Sam Lyle
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|6|18}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|5|25|1924|6|18}}
| death_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
| team =
| number = 33
| status =
| position1 = End
| height_ft =
| height_in =
| weight_lb =
| college = LSU
| NFLDraftedYear = 1950
| NFLDraftedRound = 10
| NFLDraftedPick = 120
| NFLDraftedTeam = New York Bulldogs
| coaching_years1 = 1951–1953
| coaching_team1 = Georgia Tech (ends)
| coaching_years2 = 1954–1957
| coaching_team2 = Oklahoma (assistant)
| coaching_years3 = 1958
| coaching_team3 = Edmonton Eskimos
| coaching_years4 = 1959
| coaching_team4 = Florida (assistant)
| coaching_years5 = 1960
| coaching_team5 = South Carolina (assistant HC)
| career_highlights =
}}
Melvin E. "Sam" Lyle (June 18, 1924 – May 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and the founder of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.
Playing career
Lyle played end at Louisiana State University from 1947 to 1949. He was the captain of the LSU Tigers team that played in the 1950 Sugar Bowl.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=taElAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nfwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1960,926986&dq |work=Gettysburg Times |date=August 16, 1951 |accessdate=2010-10-11 |title=Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search }} He was drafted by the New York Bulldogs in the tenth round of the 1950 NFL draft.{{Cite web | url=http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=3663957 |title = LSU Tigers in Professional Football Drafts}}
Coaching career
Lyle began his coaching career in 1951 as the ends coach at Georgia Tech under Bobby Dodd.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=taElAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nfwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1960,926986&dq |work=Gettysburg Times |date=August 16, 1951 |accessdate=2010-10-11 |title=Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search }} He was an assistant on the Yellow Jacket teams that won the 1952 Orange Bowl and the 1953 and 1954 Sugar Bowls. In 1954, he moved to Oklahoma, where he was an assistant under future College Football Hall of Famer Bud Wilkinson.{{cite news |title=Lyle Joins Wilkerson |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z3QxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yA8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=963,102262&dq |work=AP |date=March 30, 1954 |accessdate=2010-10-11 }} In his second and third seasons at Oklahoma, the Sooners won the College football national championship.
In 1958, Lyle succeeded another former Oklahoma assistant, Pop Ivy, as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. He resigned after only one season and returned to college football as an assistant at Florida.{{cite news |title=New Mission For Gator 3rd Team |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZFcrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8JwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3920,103960&dq |work=AP |date=September 1, 1959 |accessdate=2010-10-11 }}
Head coaching record
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" | ||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Team | rowspan="2"|Year | colspan="5"|Regular season | colspan="4"|Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result |
| style="background:#fdd;"
||9||6||1||{{winpct|9|6|1}}|| 2nd in WIFU || 1 || 2 ||{{winpct|1|2}} || Lost in WIFU Final 1–2 | ||||||||
| colspan="2"|Total||9||6||1||{{winpct|9|6|1}}|| ||3||2||{{winpct|3|2}}|| |
Bobby Dodd Award
In 1976, Lyle created the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.{{cite news |title=SANDY SPRINGS: Sam Lyle, creator of award for college football coaches |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=May 30, 2007 }} The award, named after former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, is an awarded annually to the college football head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. Lyle also served as the chairman of the executive committee of the American Sportsmanship Council, the group who sponsored the Bobby Dodd Award.{{cite news |title=Edwards 'Bobby Dodd Coach of Year' |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JoUwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pfoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5291,261962&dq |work=AP |date=December 16, 1979 |accessdate=2010-10-11 }}
Death
Lyle died of kidney failure on May 25, 2007, in Atlanta.{{cite news |title=SANDY SPRINGS: Sam Lyle, creator of award for college football coaches |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=May 30, 2007 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Edmonton Eskimos coach navbox}}
{{1955 Oklahoma Sooners football navbox}}
{{1956 Oklahoma Sooners football navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyle, Sam}}
Category:American football ends
Category:Edmonton Elks coaches
Category:Florida Gators football coaches
Category:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches
Category:LSU Tigers football players
Category:Oklahoma Sooners football coaches
Category:South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches