.jpg) Sanders, circa 1950 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1905-05-07)May 7, 1905 Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | August 14, 1958(1958-08-14) (aged 53) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Vanderbilt University |
| Playing career | |
| 1924–1926 | Vanderbilt |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1927–1930 | Clemson (assistant) |
| 1934–1937 | Riverside Military Academy |
| 1938 | Florida (assistant) |
| 1939 | LSU (assistant) |
| 1940–1942 | Vanderbilt |
| 1946–1948 | Vanderbilt |
| 1949–1957 | UCLA |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1945–1949 | Vanderbilt |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 102–41–3 (college) |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1National (1954) 3PCC (1953–1955) | |
| Awards | |
| AFCA Coach of the Year (1954) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1996 (profile) | |
Henry Russell "Red"Sanders (May 7, 1905 – August 14, 1958) was an Americancollege football player and coach. He was head football coach atVanderbilt University (1940–1942, 1946–1948) and theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (1949–1957), compiling a career college football head coaching record of 102–41–3 (.709). Sanders'1954 UCLA team was namednational champions by theCoaches Poll and the Football Writers Association of America. Sanders was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1996.
Known for being witty and hard driving, Sanders used thesingle-wing formation at Vanderbilt and UCLA.[1] He was the originator of thesquib kick and the4–4 defense.[2][3] He is widely credited with coining the saying, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing".[1] When asked about theUCLA–USC rivalry, Sanders said "it's not a matter of life and death, it's more important than that!" He was the first "Wizard of Westwood" before that title was attributed to UCLA basketball coachJohn Wooden.[4]
Born inAsheville, North Carolina, Sanders spent most of his youth inNashville, Tennessee. One of his best boyhood friends and classmates at Duncan School was renowned sports writerFred Russell, with whom he remained close friends his entire life. Sanders also attendedCentral High School in Nashville and graduated fromRiverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia.[5]
Sanders attended college atVanderbilt University in Nashville. He was a four-yearletterman both in football andbaseball. Sanders was captain of the baseball team in his senior year and a substitutequarterback on the football team. His football coach,Dan McGugin, said of him, "Red Sanders has one of the best football minds I have ever known."
Josh Cody first hired Sanders as the backfield coach of theClemson Tigers. Sanders got his first head coaching position atRiverside Military Academy, leading its 1936 team to an undefeated season.[6] The father ofBucky Curtis hired Sanders for the job. Sanders then assisted the1938 Florida Gators, again with Cody, and the1939 LSU Tigers.
Sanders had two stints as head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores, from 1940 to 1942, and then from 1946 to 1948. Between 1942 and 1946, Sanders served in the United States Navy during World War II. He had a successful career at Vanderbilt, compiling a 36–22–2 (.617) record, the best mark by a coach while the school has been a member of theSoutheastern Conference.Highlights included:
Sanders coached theUCLA Bruins from 1949 through 1957. He was indisputably the best football coach in school history, elevating a rarely distinguished program to an elite national power with an overall record of 66–19–1 (.773) at UCLA and earning the school its only national championship in football in1954. As head coach of the Bruins, Sanders led them to four Top 10 national rankings, threePacific Coast Conference (PCC) titles, twoRose Bowls (1953 and1955 seasons), and a 6–3 record over arch-rivalUSC.
Technically, UCLA should have played in three straight Rose Bowls from 1953 to 1955, but the PCC's recent "no-repeat"rule denied UCLA's best team, and one of the finest in college football history (leading the country in both offense and defense) from confronting an undefeatedOhio State in the Rose Bowl to unify the national championship on the field.[8] The 1954 Bruins and1957 Oregon State Beavers were the only PCC teams impacted by the rule, which went into effect afterCalifornia lost its third consecutive Rose Bowl in January1951.
Sanders instituted the distinctive football uniforms worn by the Bruins when he replaced the navy blue jerseys with "powderkeg blue", added the shoulder stripe to give the impression of motion, and changed the number style fromblock toclarendon. Sanders said these changes also made it harder for opponents to scout his Bruins on the grainy black and white game films of the time.
The1954 Bruins compiled a 9–0 record and climbed to the top of theCoaches Poll, sharing the national championship withOhio State, winner of theAP Poll's title. Due to the PCC's early "no repeat" rule, the undefeated Bruins were unable to compete in the Rose Bowl that season despite being the PCC champion. Second-place USC, which the Bruins defeated 34–0, played in the1955 Rose Bowl instead and lost 20–7 toBig Ten Conference champion and eventual co-national champion Ohio State.
Sanders appeared as a contestant on the November 18, 1954 episode of the television quiz programYou Bet Your Life, hosted byGroucho Marx.[9][10] He appeared onThe Jack Benny Program "New Years Day" 1956 episode on Sunday, January 1, 1956, preceding the1956 Rose Bowl to be played the next day.[11]
Shortly before the1958 season, Sanders died suddenly of aheart attack in a Los Angeles hotel room on August 14.[12][13][14] His companion was a convicted prostitute, Ernestine Drake, described as a "blonde woman."[15][16][17][18] The room was registered in the name of his friend, W.T. "Pop" Grimes, who had a record of arrests forpandering and had served prison time atSan Quentin.[19] Sanders had complained of the heat, and asked Grimes to fetch some soft drinks. He then began gasping for breath and clutching his chest.[16] He died on the floor. His last words to Drake were, "Football is a great game. You should come out this fall and see a few games."[20] Los AngelescoronerTheodore Curphey said Sanders' heart weighed 500 grams, whereas the normal size for an inactive male is 300–400 grams, meaning that Sanders suffered from anenlarged heart.[17]
Sanders' assistantGeorge W. Dickerson succeeded him on an interim basis for the first three games of theBruins' 1958 season, before suffering anervous breakdown. He was succeeded by assistantBill Barnes, who led UCLA to a 31–34–3 (.478) record in seven seasons (1958–1964).
Sanders was aCommander in the U.S. Navy during his service in World War II. At the end of the war, he met and married the former Anna "Ann" Daniel, of Lakeland, Florida.[3] Ann was a graduate ofFlorida State University and a holder of a master's degree from theUniversity of North Carolina.[3] Ann died on November 23, 1999.
Sanders actually spoke two different versions of the quote. In 1950, at aCal Poly San Luis Obispo physical education workshop, Sanders told his group: "Men, I'll be honest. Winning isn't everything. (Long pause.) Men, it's the only thing!"[21] In 1955, in aSports Illustrated article preceding the1956 Rose Bowl, he was quoted as saying "Sure, winning isn't every thing, It's the only thing."[1] The quote has since been erroneously attributed toVince Lombardi as the originator.
While at UCLA, another famous quote was attributed to Sanders regarding theUCLA–USC rivalry, "Beating 'SC is not a matter of life or death, it's more important than that."[22][23]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt Commodores(Southeastern Conference)(1940–1942) | |||||||||
| 1940 | Vanderbilt | 3–6–1 | 0–5–1 | 11th | |||||
| 1941 | Vanderbilt | 8–2 | 3–2 | 6th | |||||
| 1942 | Vanderbilt | 6–4 | 2–4 | 8th | |||||
| Vanderbilt Commodores(Southeastern Conference)(1946–1948) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Vanderbilt | 5–4 | 3–4 | 7th | |||||
| 1947 | Vanderbilt | 6–4 | 3–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1948 | Vanderbilt | 8–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 4th | 12 | ||||
| Vanderbilt: | 36–22–2 | 15–20–2 | |||||||
| UCLA Bruins(Pacific Coast Conference)(1949–1957) | |||||||||
| 1949 | UCLA | 6–3 | 5–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1950 | UCLA | 6–3 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1951 | UCLA | 5–3–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | 17 | 17 | |||
| 1952 | UCLA | 8–1 | 5–1 | 2nd | 6 | 6 | |||
| 1953 | UCLA | 8–2 | 6–1 | 1st | LRose | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1954 | UCLA | 9–0 | 6–0 | 1st | 1 | 2 | |||
| 1955 | UCLA | 9–2 | 6–0 | 1st | LRose | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1956 | UCLA | 7–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1957 | UCLA | 8–2 | 5–2 | 3rd | 18 | ||||
| UCLA: | 66–19–1 | 47–11–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 102–41–3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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