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| No. 52, 50 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | End | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1923-03-12)March 12, 1923 Dallas, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | March 6, 2001(2001-03-06) (aged 77) Bella Vista, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Sunset (Dallas, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | Texas A&M Army | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1947: 5th round, 28th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
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Coaching | |||||||||
Operations | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | 22–28–1 (.441) | ||||||||
Henry Christian Foldberg Sr. (March 12, 1923 – March 7, 2001) was an American college and professionalfootball player who became acollege football coach. Foldberg played college football forTexas A&M University and theUnited States Military Academy, and thereafter, he played professionally forBrooklyn Dodgers and theChicago Hornets of theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC). He later served as the head football coach ofWichita State University and Texas A&M University.
Foldberg was born inDallas, Texas, and graduated from Sunset High School.[1]
Foldberg attendedTexas A&M University inCollege Station, Texas, where he played for theTexas A&M Aggies football team for a single season in 1942.[2] He received an appointment to theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, New York, and playedend for coachEarl Blaik'sArmy Cadets football team from 1944 to 1946. Army produced back-to-back undefeated 9–0 records in 1944 and 1945,[3] and the Cadets were recognized as theAssociated Pressnational champions following both seasons. As a senior in 1946, Army was again undefeated at 9–0–1,[3] and Foldberg was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American at end.[4] As a cadet athlete, he also earned varsity letters inlacrosse andbaseball.[5]
Foldberg resigned from the U.S. Military Academy in 1948, a year short of graduation, citing family financial hardship.[6]
TheWashington Redskins of theNational Football League (NFL) drafted Foldberg in the fifth round (twenty-eighth pick overall) in the1947 NFL draft,[7] but he decided to remain in school at West Point for another year. He played professional football in 1948 and 1949, first withBranch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers of the AAFC in 1948, and then with the AAFC's Chicago Hornets in 1949.[8] In his two seasons as a pro, he played in 25 games, and started 15, while catching 31 passes for 331 yards.[1]
Three teams from the AAFC merged into the NFL in 1950, and the AAFC ceased to exist thereafter.
Foldberg's first coaching job was as an assistant with thePurdue Boilermakers ofPurdue University inWest Lafayette, Indiana. The following year, he returned to College Station, Texas to become a Texas A&M Aggies assistant.[2] One of Foldberg's former assistant coaches from Army's 1944 and 1945 national championship teams,Bob Woodruff, became the head coach for theFlorida Gators football team of theUniversity of Florida, and invited Foldberg to join the Gators coaching staff in1952. Foldberg remained one of Woodruff's principal assistants through the1959 season.[9] Among other duties, Foldberg served as the Gators line coach.[10]
From 1960 to 1961, Foldberg served as the head football coach at the University of Wichita (nowWichita State University) inWichita, Kansas, where his Wichita Shockers teams compiled a 16–5 record in two seasons,[11] and won two consecutiveMissouri Valley Conference championships.[12] After the 1961 regular season, he accepted an offer to become the head football coach andathletic director at Texas A&M University, telling his Wichita Shockers players that it was the only job for which he would leave Wichita. He had previously turned down an offer from theUniversity of Nebraska to coach theNebraska Cornhuskers football team.[13][14][15] Foldberg's 1961 Shockers were defeated 17–9 by theVillanova Wildcats in theSun Bowl.
Foldberg coached the Texas A&M Aggies football team for three seasons from 1962 to 1964.[2] He inherited an Aggies program that had not had a winning season since former Aggies coachBear Bryant left for theUniversity of Alabama after the 1957 season.[2][16] He was unable to duplicate his successful turnaround of the Wichita Shockers program, compiled an overall record of 6–23–1 as the Aggies head coach,[11] and was replaced byGene Stallings after the 1965 season.[2] He resigned as the Aggies' athletic director in July 1965.
Folberg was married to the former Margaret Smith, and they had a son and a daughter.[5] After he left the coaching profession, he entered the real estate business in Arkansas.[10] Foldberg's son, Hank Foldberg, Jr., later playedtight end for the Florida Gators football team from1971 to1973.[9][10]
Foldberg died at his home inBella Vista, Arkansas; he was 77 years old.[17]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita Shockers(Missouri Valley Conference)(1960–1961) | |||||||||
| 1960 | Wichita | 8–2 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1961 | Wichita | 8–3 | 3–0 | 1st | LSun | ||||
| Wichita: | 16–5 | 6–0[18] | |||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies(Southwest Conference)(1962–1964) | |||||||||
| 1962 | Texas A&M | 3–7 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1963 | Texas A&M | 2–7–1 | 1–5–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1964 | Texas A&M | 1–9 | 1–6 | 7th | |||||
| Texas A&M: | 6–23–1 | 5–15–1[2] | |||||||
| Total: | 22–28–1[11] | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
