| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1890-08-21)August 21, 1890 Stockton, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | October 26, 1949(1949-10-26) (aged 59) Baldwin, Kansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1912 | Baker |
| Baseball | |
| 1914 | Emporia Bidwells |
| 1916 | Wichita Witches /Colorado Springs Millionaires |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1918–1919 | Wesleyan |
| 1920–1937 | Baker |
| 1940–1942 | Baker |
| Basketball | |
| 1911–1913 | Baldwin HS (KS) |
| 1918–1920 | Wesleyan |
| 1920–1946 | Baker |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1916–1918 | Michigan Mines |
| 1918–1920 | Wesleyan |
| ?–1946 | Baker |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 107–69–18 (college football) 239–211 (college basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 7KCAC (1922, 1927–1928, 1934, 1937, 1941–1942) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1975 (profile) | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Emil Smith "Liz"Liston (August 21, 1890 – October 26, 1949) was an American athletic coach and administrator. He coachedbasketball,football andbaseball atWesleyan University andBaker University. He was the founder of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, organized theNAIA college basketball tournament in 1937 and served as the first executive director of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (predecessor to the NAIA) from 1940 to 1949. He was posthumously inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.
A native ofStockton, Missouri, Liston attendedBaker University in Kansas. From 1916 to 1918, he was the athletic director at Michigan College of Mines (which is now known asMichigan Technological University). According to some accounts, he also played football at Michigan College of Mines.[1]
In September 1918, Liston was hired byWesleyan University as coach of the school'sfootball team.[2][3] He left Wesleyan in June 1919 to play professional baseball for theWichita, Kansas team in theWestern League.[4] After spending the summer playing baseball in Wichita, Liston returned to Wesleyan as the head football coach in the fall of 1919.[5][6] In two years as Wesleyan's football coach, Liston compiled a 10–3 record. His .769 winning percentage at Wesleyan remains the highest of any Wesleyan football coach with at least ten games as coach.[7] Liston also coached the basketball and baseball teams at Wesleyan.[8][9] In April 1920, Liston announced his resignation from Wesleyan.[9]
After resigning from Wesleyan, Liston announced he was through with the coaching profession and that it was his intention to move to Kansas to work on the farm of his father-in-law.[10]
He returned to coaching in 1920 withBaker University inBaldwin City, Kansas. He coached both football and basketball at Baker. He was the coach of the basketball team from 1930 to 1945 and led the school to Kansas Conference championships in 1930 and 1937.[11] He also coached Baker's football teams and was for many years the school's winningest football coach with 97 wins; the career wins record was broken in 1992 byCharlie Richard.[12]
The university named their football stadiumListon Stadium in his honor.[13]
Liston was also the founder of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics,[14] organized theNAIA college basketball tournament, and a close friend ofJames Naismith.[11] In 1945, Liston resigned his coaching position at Baker University to become the NAIB's first executive director; he held that position until his death in 1949.[11] He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.[14] Liston's biography at the Basketball Hall of Fame states: "With sheer initiative, drive, and foresight, Emil Liston fought for uniformity and equality in college athletics. A dedicated administrator, Liston envisioned a small college, national tournament and organized the NAIB (now known as the NAIA). The first NAIA tournament was played in Kansas City with an eight-team field in 1937."[11]
Liston died of a heart attack, on October 26, 1949, while reading at his home inBaldwin, Kansas.[15]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesleyan Methodists(Independent)(1918–1919) | |||||||||
| 1918 | Wesleyan | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1919 | Wesleyan | 6–1 | |||||||
| Wesleyan: | 10–3 | ||||||||
| Baker Wildcats(Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference)(1920–1937) | |||||||||
| 1920 | Baker | 5–4 | 4–3 | T–5th | |||||
| 1921 | Baker | 5–3–1 | 4–3–1 | T–6th | |||||
| 1922 | Baker | 8–1 | 7–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1923 | Baker | 4–1–4 | 3–1–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1924 | Baker | 4–5 | 3–5 | T–11th | |||||
| 1925 | Baker | 4–3–1 | 3–3–1 | T–8th | |||||
| 1926 | Baker | 3–3–2 | 2–3–2 | 10th | |||||
| 1927 | Baker | 7–0–1 | 6–0–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1928 | Baker | 6–0–2 | 5–0–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1929 | Baker | 5–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1930 | Baker | 5–4 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1931 | Baker | 2–5–2 | 1–2–1 | T–4th | |||||
| 1932 | Baker | 4–4–1 | 2–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1933 | Baker | 2–7 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1934 | Baker | 4–4–1 | 4–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1935 | Baker | 3–4–2 | 3–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1936 | Baker | 2–6 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1937 | Baker | 5–4 | 4–1 | 1st | |||||
| Baker Wildcats(Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference)(1940–1942) | |||||||||
| 1940 | Baker | 5–3 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1941 | Baker | 7–2 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1942 | Baker | 7–0 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| Baker: | 97–66–18 | 74–39–14 | |||||||
| Total: | 107–69–18 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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