 Eliot, circa 1942 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1905-06-03)June 3, 1905 Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | February 24, 1980(1980-02-24) (aged 74) Urbana, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1930–1931 | Illinois |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1932–1933 | Illinois College (assistant) |
| 1934–1936 | Illinois College |
| 1937–1941 | Illinois (line) |
| 1942–1959 | Illinois |
| Baseball | |
| 1933–1937 | Illinois College |
| Ice Hockey | |
| 1937–1939 | Illinois |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1979 | Illinois (interim AD) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 98–80–12(.547) (football) 3–11–0(.214) (ice hockey) |
| Bowls | 2–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1national (1951) 3Big Ten (1946, 1951, 1953) | |
| Awards | |
| Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1961) | |
Raymond Eliot "Butch" Nusspickel (June 13, 1905 – February 24, 1980) was anAmerican football andbaseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.
Eliot lettered as a guard for Illinois three times: twice for football (1930, 1931) and once for baseball (1930).
He served as the head football coach atIllinois College from 1934 to 1936 and at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1942 to 1959, compiling a careercollege football record of 98–80–12. Eliot was also the head baseball coach at Illinois College from 1933 to 1937. HisIllinois Fighting Illini football teams won threeBig Ten Conference championships (1946, 1951, and 1953) and twoRose Bowls (1947 and 1952).
Notable players during Eliot's tenure includedBobby Mitchell andRay Nitschke. Eliot stepped down in 1959 and was succeeded byPete Elliott.[1] Eliot, who spent almost his entire career at the University of Illinois—he was a student athlete, an assistant football coach, head football coach, associateathletic director, and finally the interim athletic director for the university—was nicknamed "Mr. Illini." He attended the University of Illinois, played as aguard on the football team in 1930 and 1931, and was a member ofAlpha Sigma Phi fraternity.
Eliot was also the first head coach of the Illini hockey team in 1937.
He died of an apparent heart attack on February 24, 1980, inUrbana, Illinois.[2]
Eliot's 1951 Illinois squad is currently the last Illini team to finish the season with no losses. Eliot is remembered by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association through its Ray Eliot Award.[3] Eliot was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.[4]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois College Blueboys(Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1934–1936) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Illinois College | 6–1 | 5–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1935 | Illinois College | 5–3 | 5–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1936 | Illinois College | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | T–10th | |||||
| Illinois College: | 15–7–1 | 12–4–1 | |||||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini(Big Ten Conference)(1942–1959) | |||||||||
| 1942 | Illinois | 6–4 | 3–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1943 | Illinois | 3–7 | 2–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1944 | Illinois | 5–4–1 | 3–3 | 6th | 15 | ||||
| 1945 | Illinois | 2–6–1 | 1–4–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1946 | Illinois | 8–2 | 6–1 | 1st | WRose | 5 | |||
| 1947 | Illinois | 5–3–1 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1948 | Illinois | 3–6 | 2–5 | 8th | |||||
| 1949 | Illinois | 3–4–2 | 3–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1950 | Illinois | 7–2 | 4–2 | 4th | 11 | 13 | |||
| 1951 | Illinois | 9–0–1 | 5–0–1 | 1st | WRose | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1952 | Illinois | 4–5 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1953 | Illinois | 7–1–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | 7 | 7 | |||
| 1954 | Illinois | 1–8 | 0–6 | 10th | |||||
| 1955 | Illinois | 5–3–1 | 3–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1956 | Illinois | 2–5–2 | 1–4–2 | 8th | |||||
| 1957 | Illinois | 4–5 | 3–4 | 7th | |||||
| 1958 | Illinois | 4–5 | 4–3 | 6th | |||||
| 1959 | Illinois | 5–3–1 | 4–2–1 | T–3rd | 12 | 13 | |||
| Illinois: | 83–73–11 | 54–55–7 | |||||||
| Total: | 98–80–12 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Fighting IlliniIndependent(1937–1939) | |||||||||
| 1937–38 | Illinois | 0–4–0 | |||||||
| 1938–39 | Illinois | 3–7–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 3–11–0 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
