 Van Cleave pictured inReveille 1914, Fort Hays yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1888-07-30)July 30, 1888 Peoria, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | May 29, 1943(1943-05-29) (aged 54) Pomona, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Baseball | |
| 1910–1912 | Springfield |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1912–1914 | Hays Normal |
| 1917–1919 | Whittier |
| 1920–1925 | Pomona HS (CA) |
| 1927 | La Verne (freshmen) |
| 1928–1929 | La Verne |
| Basketball | |
| 1912–1915 | Hays Normal |
| 1917–1920 | Whittier |
| 1920–1926 | Pomona HS (CA) |
| 1927–1930 | La Verne |
| Baseball | |
| 1917–1920 | Whittier |
| 1921–1926 | Pomona HS (CA) |
| 1928–? | La Verne (freshmen) |
| Track | |
| 1920–1926 | Pomona HS (CA) |
| 1927–? | La Verne |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1912–1915 | Hays Normal |
| 1928–1930 | La Verne |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 11–25–1 (college football) |
Ira Harlan "Sphinx"Van Cleave (July 30, 1888 – May 29, 1943) was anAmerican football,basketball,baseball, andtrack and field coach, athletics administrator, and physical education instructor. He served as the head football coach at Fort Hays Kansas State Normal School—now known asFort Hays State University—inHays, Kansas from 1912 to 1914,Whittier College inWhittier, California from 1917 to 1919, and La Verne College—now known as theUniversity of La Verne—inLa Verne, California from in 1928 to 1929.
Van Cleave was born on July 30, 1888, inPeoria, Iowa. He graduated fromCentral College inPella, Iowa in 1909 and International YMCA College—now known asSpringfield College—inSpringfield, Massachusetts in 1912.[1]
Van Cleave resigned from his position at Hays Normal in the summer of 1915 and moved toCalifornia.[2] He was hired in 1917 as athletic coach atWhittier College inWhittier, California, succeedingRussell T. Wilson.[3] Van Cleave left Whittier in 1920 to become the athletic director atPomona High School inPomona, California.[4] He led the Pomona High baseball team to aCitrus Belt League title in 1926.[5] In June 1926, the Pomona school board opted to retain Van Cleave at athletic coach, but offered him the position of physical education instructor.[6]
Van Cleave was hired by La Verne College—now known as theUniversity of La Verne—inLa Verne, California as varsity basketball and track coach and freshman coach in football and baseball.[7] He succeededClaude Arnett as head football coach in 1928.[8] Van Cleave resigned as head athletic coach at La Verne in early 1930 and was succeeded byLee Eisan.[9][10]
Van Cleave died on May 29, 1943, at Pomona Valley Community Hospital inPomona, California.[1]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hays Normal(Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1912–1914) | |||||||||
| 1912 | Hays Normal | 1–1 | |||||||
| 1913 | Hays Normal | 4–2 | 0–1 | 12th | |||||
| 1914 | Hays Normal | 5–2 | |||||||
| Fort Hays State: | 10–5 | ||||||||
| Whittier Poets(Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1917–1920) | |||||||||
| 1917 | Whittier | 1–4 | |||||||
| 1918 | Whittier | 0–0–1 | |||||||
| 1919 | Whittier | 0–5 | 0–4 | 5th | |||||
| Whittier: | 1–9–1 | ||||||||
| La Verne Leopards(Independent)(1928–1929) | |||||||||
| 1928 | La Verne | 0–6 | |||||||
| 1929 | La Verne | 0–5 | |||||||
| La Verne: | 0–11 | ||||||||
| Total: | 11–25–1 | ||||||||
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