Gus Henderson
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| Elmer Clinton "Gus" Henderson | |
| Born | March 10, 1889 Oberlin, Ohio, USA |
|---|---|
| Died | December 16, 1965 (aged 76) Desert Hot Springs, California, USA |
| Occupation | Football Coach |
Elmer Clinton "Gus" Henderson (March 10, 1889 - December 16, 1965), nicknamed "Gloomy Gus," was an American football coach best known for his collegiate career at the University of Southern California (1919-1924) and the University of Tulsa (1925-1935). Henderson's career winning percentage of .865 at USC is the best of any Trojans football coach, and his 70 wins at Tulsa remain the school record.
Henderson was born in Oberlin, Ohio, graduated from Oberlin College, and went on to coach at Broadway High School in Seattle, Washington. He arrived at USC in 1919, and set the football team on its first steps toward national prominence. He led USC to a 6-0 season in 1920 – USC's first perfect season of at least three games – and to their first appearance in the Rose Bowl in 1923. In that game, USC's first ever against a team from east of the Rocky Mountains, the Trojans defeated heavily favored Penn State 14-3; it was the first Rose Bowl game to be held in its namesake stadium. Penn State arrived at the game 45 minutes late, and ten minutes after the scheduled kickoff, due a traffic jam; Henderson accused Penn State coach Hugo Bezdek of doing so intentionally as a psychological tactic, and the coaches nearly began throwing punches; they exchanged public insults after the game [1]. Gordon Campbell, a halfback on that Rose Bowl team, said of Henderson, "He put the Trojans on the map. He was a great coach when we needed one most, because we were just growing up."[1]
Under Henderson's tenure, USC joined the Pacific Coast Conference in 1922, and in 1923 moved from Bovard Field on campus to play in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with their first game against Pomona College. He received his nickname from Los Angeles Times sports editor Paul Lowry because of his tendency to poor-mouth the Trojans' prospects before a game; Gloomy Gus was a character in a popular comic strip of the era, Happy Hooligan. In regard to his offensive tactics which proved successful, Los Angeles Times sports editor Paul Zimmerman noted, "Until someone proves otherwise, it must be assumed that Henderson invented the spread formation, variations of which have become an important form of attack in modern day football."[2] During his time at USC, Henderson also coached the baseball and basketball teams in 1920-1921.
Henderson left USC following the 1924 season despite a 45-7 record, in part due to his inability to defeat major rival California in five tries; the 1924 loss was followed one week later by an upset loss to St. Mary's, and his contract was bought out at the end of the year.[3] There were also strained relations with Cal and Stanford, who threatened to sever conference ties with USC due to their belief that USC was using cash to recruit players; USC quarterback Chet Dolley was dismissive of the idea, noting, "That was really a joke, because the university didn't have a dime." He stated that Henderson "made his players responsible for bringing in athletes. I came from Long Beach, so I was assigned to that area. So, naturally, I was in charge of getting Morley Drury."[1]
Among the other players who arrived at USC during Henderson's tenure were the school's first two All-Americans, Brice Taylor and Mort Kaer, as well as future Pro Football Hall of Famer Red Badgro. Taylor recalled of his former coach, "Not only was he a great coach, but he was a wonderful man. He was real people. You know, I'll never forget the day I was standing on a corner, shivering, because it was cold, and Gus drives by in his car. He sees me, stops and backs up, and says, 'What's the matter Brice, are you cold?' And I said, 'I sure am coach.' So he reaches into the back seat and takes out his brand new, blue Chesterfield coat and says, 'Here, take this, it's yours.' You know, years after I left SC, when I was teaching in the South, I was still wearing that coat."[1] The last regular-season game of 1924 was a 16-0 home victory over Syracuse, USC's first-ever scheduled game against an eastern team, and the year closed with a 20-7 win over Missouri in the Christmas Festival Bowl, held at the Coliseum. Howard Jones of Iowa succeeded Henderson as USC's head coach in 1925, and any controversies quickly abated, although California still canceled its 1925 game against USC – the only year since 1920 in which the teams have not met.
Henderson became the head coach at Tulsa for the next eleven seasons, and oversaw the construction of the Golden Hurricane's new stadium in 1930. Tulsa captured conference titles in 1925 (Oklahoma Collegiate Conference), 1929, 1930, 1932 (Big Four Conference) and 1935 (Missouri Valley Conference). Henderson's final record at Tulsa was 70-25-5.
Henderson returned to Los Angeles and became head coach of the professional Los Angeles Bulldogs, which operated as an independent team in 1936 before joining the American Football League in 1937 and capturing the conference title with a perfect 8-0 record. The Bulldogs returned to independent play in 1938 when the league folded. In 1939, Henderson was hired as coach of the National Football League's Detroit Lions by team owner Dick Richards, who also owned Los Angeles radio station KMPC. Henderson posted a 6-5 record; but the team was sold before the 1940 season, and despite a three-year contract he was released due to new owner Fred Mandel wanting to make a fresh start.
Again Henderson returned to Los Angeles, this time to take over the football program at Occidental College. As head coach from 1940 to 1942 he posted a record of 11-10-2, but the program was suspended due to World War II and he ended his coaching career.
Henderson died at age 76 in Desert Hot Springs, California of complications from pneumonia. He was survived by his wife Kathryn and their daughter. His cremated remains were returned to Oberlin, Ohio. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC Trojans (Independent/Pacific Coast Conference) (1919 – 1924) | |||||||||
| 1919 | USC | 4-1 | |||||||
| 1920 | USC | 6-0 | |||||||
| 1921 | USC | 10-1 | |||||||
| 1922 | USC | 10-1 | 3-1 | 4th | W 14-3 Rose Bowl | ||||
| 1923 | USC | 6-2 | 2-2 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1924 | USC | 9-2 | 2-1 | 5th | W 20-7 Los Angeles Christmas Festival | ||||
| USC: | 45-7 | ||||||||
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference/Big 4 Conference) (1925 – 1935) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Tulsa | 6-2 | 4-0 | 1st | |||||
| 1926 | Tulsa | 7-2 | |||||||
| 1927 | Tulsa | 8-1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Tulsa | 7-2-1 | |||||||
| 1929 | Tulsa | 6-3-1 | 4-0-1 | 1st | |||||
| 1930 | Tulsa | 7-2 | 3-0 | 1st | |||||
| 1931 | Tulsa | 8-3 | |||||||
| 1932 | Tulsa | 7-1-1 | 3-0 | 1st | |||||
| 1933 | Tulsa | 6-1 | |||||||
| 1934 | Tulsa | 5-2-1 | |||||||
| 1935 | Tulsa | 3-6-1 | 3-0 | T-1st | |||||
| Tulsa: | 70-25-5 | ||||||||
| Total: | 115-32-5 (.773) | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. °Rankings from final AP Poll of the season. |
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c (1988) "Legendary Coaches", A Century of Troy 1888-1988: A Salute to USC Football. Chapel Hill, NC: Four Corners Press, Inc., p.65.
- ^ Zimmerman, Paul. "'Gloomy Gus' Henderson, Ex-USC Grid Coach, Dies", Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1965, p. IV-1.
- ^ (2006) 2006 USC Football Media Guide, p. 123.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Dean Cromwell |
University of Southern California Head Football Coach 1919-1924 |
Succeeded by Howard Jones |
| Preceded by Howard Acher |
University of Tulsa Head Football Coach 1925-1935 |
Succeeded by Vic Hurt |
| Preceded by Earl "Dutch" Clark |
Detroit Lions Head Coach 1939 |
Succeeded by George Clark |
| Preceded by Bill Anderson |
Occidental Tigers Head Football Coach 1940-1942 |
Succeeded by Roy Dennis (1945) |
| Preceded by Motts Blair |
University of Southern California Head Basketball Coach 1920-1921 |
Succeeded by Bill Hunter |
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