 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1895-08-21)August 21, 1895 Hartford, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | June 19, 1970(1970-06-19) (aged 74) Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1914–1917 | Kansas State Normal |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1928–1942 | Emporia Teachers / Emporia State |
| 1943 | Fort Riley |
| 1946–1954 | Emporia State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1927–1962 | Emporia Teachers / Emporia State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 122–83–16 |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Kansas Sports Hall of Fame NAIA Track & Field Hall of Fame | |
Francis George Welch (August 21, 1895 – June 19, 1970) was an Americanfootball player and coach,track and field coach, and college athletics administrator. He was of the first three coaches to be selected for theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Track and Field Hall of Fame and is a member of theKansas Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
In 1960,Emporia State University named the football stadiumFrancis G. Welch Stadium to honor his legacy.[2]
Welch enrolled in Kansas State Normal School (nowEmporia State University) in 1914. Head football coachHomer Woodson Hargiss put him atquarterback where he remained until graduation four years later. He also displayed skill inbaseball andbasketball, earning 11 varsity letters before his graduation in 1918.[3]
Welch was the 13th head football coach forEmporia State University inEmporia, Kansas and he held that position for 24 seasons, from 1928 until 1954. Emporia State, like many schools, did not play football duringWorld War II. His overall coaching record at Emporia State was 115–82–15.[4]
Welch led his team to a victory in theMissouri-Kansas Bowl with a 34–20 victory overMissouri State University on December 4, 1948 inKansas City, Missouri. It was the only year thebowl game was played.[5] It was Emporia's first post-season football game.[4]
Welch (along withWashburn University coachDick Godlove) also coached an "all-star" team made up of Kansas players to play a similar squad fromMissouri[6] in the "Mo-Kan Bowl" all-star exhibition game.[7]
Welch coached thetrack and field teams at Emporia as well. His teams were conference champs ten times, won four NAIA championships and placed second three times in 13 years of competition. Fran developed threeNCAA individual champions and 13 individual NAIA champs.[3]
In 1960, Welch was selected to coach field event participants of the United States Women's Track and Field Team for the1960 Summer Olympics inRome.
Welch was awarded aBachelor of Science in education in 1918 from Kansas Normal, then completed requirements for a degree in agriculture atKansas State University inManhattan, Kansas. He served as aUnited States Armylieutenant inWorld War I[8] and took a leave of absence from teaching to serve inWorld War II as acaptain and special services officer atFort Riley.[9]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emporia Teachers / Emporia State Hornets(Central Intercollegiate Conference)(1927–1942) | |||||||||
| 1928 | Emporia Teachers | 6–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1929 | Emporia Teachers | 6–2 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1930 | Emporia Teachers | 4–2–3 | 2–1–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1931 | Emporia Teachers | 4–4 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1932 | Emporia Teachers | 2–5–1 | 0–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1933 | Emporia Teachers | 3–5–1 | 2–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1934 | Emporia Teachers | 7–2 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1935 | Emporia Teachers | 4–4 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1936 | Emporia Teachers | 6–4 | 2–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1937 | Emporia State | 5–2–2 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1938 | Emporia State | 3–6 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1939 | Emporia State | 6–3 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1940 | Emporia State | 6–2 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1941 | Emporia State | 4–3–2 | 2–1–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1942 | Emporia State | 3–4–1 | 2–2–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| Fort Riley Centaurs(Independent)(1943) | |||||||||
| 1943 | Fort Riley | 6–2–1 | |||||||
| Fort Riley: | 6–2–1 | ||||||||
| Emporia State Hornets(Central Intercollegiate Conference)(1946–1954) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Emporia State | 4–5 | 1–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1947 | Emporia State | 7–1–1 | 4–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1948 | Emporia State | 8–2 | 5–0 | 1st | WMissouri-Kansas Bowl | ||||
| 1949 | Emporia State | 6–4 | 4–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1950 | Emporia State | 6–2–1 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1951 | Emporia State | 5–3–1 | 5–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 1952 | Emporia State | 7–3 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1953 | Emporia State | 2–5–1 | 2–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1954 | Emporia State | 2–7 | 2–3 | T–4th | |||||
| Emporia Teachers / Emporia State: | 116–81–15 | 70–44–8 | |||||||
| Total: | 122–83–16 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| Men's track and road athletes |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Men's field athletes |
| |
| Women's track athletes | ||
| Women's field athletes | ||
| Coaches |
| |