Sam T. Selby

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Sam T. Selby

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| death_date =

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| alma_mater =

| player_sport1 = Football

| player_years2 = 1928-1930

| player_team2 = Ohio State

| player_positions = Guard

| coach_sport1 = Football

| coach_years2 = 1931

| coach_team2 = Port Clinton HS (OH)

| coach_years3 = 1932–1938

| coach_team3 = Wyoming HS (OH)

| coach_years4 = 1939–1941

| coach_team4 = Otterbein

| coach_years5 = 1945–1948

| coach_team5 = Ohio State (assistant)

| coach_sport6 = Basketball

| coach_years7 = 1939–1942

| coach_team7 = Otterbein

| overall_record = 8–16 (college football)
22–32 (college basketball)

| bowl_record =

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| championships =

| awards = All-Big Ten-2nd Team (1929)
All-American-3rd Team (1930)

| coaching_records =

}}

Sam T. Selby was an American football and basketball coach.

Early life

Selby attended Middletown High School, where he played football under Elmo Lingrell.{{Citation | title = Otterbein Coaches | journal = Official Football Program: Otterbein Vs. Marietta | pages = 14 | publisher = Varsity O Association | date = November 4, 1939 | url = https://issuu.com/otterbeinuniversity/docs/1939_otterbein_vs_marietta_football_program }} He then attended and graduated from Ohio State University.{{Citation | title = Coach Selby Resigns | journal = Otterbein Towers | volume = XVIII | issue =3 | publisher = Otterbein College | location = Westerville, Ohio | date = March 1946 | url =https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&context=towers }} He played guard for the Buckeyes football team under both coach John Wilce and coach Sam Willaman. He lettered in the 1928, 1929, and 1930 seasons.{{Citation | title =2019 Ohio State Football Media Guide | publisher =Ohio State University | year =2019 | url = https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019-FB-Media-Guide.pdf | access-date =May 19, 2020}} In the 1929 game against arch-rival Michigan, he recovered a critical fumble that helped the Buckeyes to a 7–0 victory.{{Citation | last = Plain Dealer staff | title =OSU-Michigan 1929: Wes Fesler's TD catch from Alan Holman gives Buckeyes 7-0 win| publisher = Cleveland.com (Cleveland Plain Dealer) | date = Jan 26, 2012| url =https://www.cleveland.com/osu-michigan/2012/01/osu-michigan_1929_wes_feslers.html | access-date = May 19, 2020 }} During the 1930 season, Selby blocked a punt that resulted in safety preventing a shut out by Northwestern University.{{Citation | last1 = Park | first1 = Jack | title = The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia | publisher = Sports Publishing L.L.C. | pages = 124 | date = 2003 | isbn = 1-58261-695-7}} At the end of his final season of football, Selby was recognized for his gridiron career in several ways. He was named 3rd team All-America by the Central Press Association.{{cite news|author=William Ritt|title=College Football Captains Select Own All-American Eleven|work=Charleston Gazette|date=December 14, 1930}} He was also honored by being selected play in the 1930 East-West Shrine Bowl All-Star game in San Francisco.

Coaching career

After college, he was the head football coach for one season at Port Clinton High School, followed by seven seasons at Wyoming High School.{{Citation | date = January 20, 1949 | title = Shelby Quits Coaching Job for Insurance Position | newspaper = Ohio State Lantern | location =Columbus, Ohio | volume = LXVIII | issue = 85 | page = 1 and 8 }} In 1939, Selby accepted a position at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, where he served as head coach and director of athletics. He served as the head football coach from 1939 to 1941. Coach Selby took over an Otterbein team that had only won one game the season before. After a winless season in his first year and a 3–5 season his second, his team was able to finish the 1941 season with a winning record.{{cite web|url=https://static.otterbeincardinals.com/custompages/Football/History/AllTimeResults.pdf|title=All-Time Results|publisher=Otterbein Cardinals|access-date=October 9, 2019}} He also served as Otterbein's head men's basketball coach from 1939 to 1942.{{cite web|url=https://static.otterbeincardinals.com/custompages/Mbasketball/PDF's/mbb11-12_media%20guide_master-r.pdf|title=Men's Basketball Media Guide|publisher=Otterbein Cardinals|access-date=October 9, 2019}}

In 1942 he was granted a leave of absence from Otterbein to enter the US Navy, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He was first stationed in Lakehurst, New Jersey, where he served as a physical training officer with the Atlantic Fleet Air Force. Eventually, he moved on to Naval Air Station in Glenview, Illinois, where Welfare and Recreation Officer.

After being discharged from the Navy, he officially resigned as director of athletics at Otterbein to accept a job as an assistant football coach at the Ohio State University. He served as an assistant coach for the Buckeyes from 1945 to 1948. In the first two years, he served as assistant line coach and the next two years as the freshman coach.