 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1906-07-13)July 13, 1906 Jacksboro, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | August 11, 1977(1977-08-11) (aged 71) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1927–1929 | TCU |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1936–1941 | TCU (assistant) |
| 1942 | Georgia Pre-Flight (line) |
| 1946–1948 | Ole Miss (assistant) |
| 1949 | SMU (scout) |
| 1950–1956 | Texas Western |
| Basketball | |
| 1937–1941 | TCU |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1950–1959 | Texas Western |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 46–24–3 (football) 22–64 (basketball) |
| Bowls | 2–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1Border (1956) | |
| Awards | |
| Third-teamAll-American (1929) First-team All-SWC (1929) | |
Lester Michael Brumbelow (July 13, 1906 – August 11, 1977) was an Americancollege football andcollege basketball player and coach. He played football and basketball forTexas Christian University from 1927 to 1929 and was the captain and most valuable player of theTCU Horned Frogs undefeated 1929 football team that won the school's firstSouthwest Conference championship. He later served as an assistant football coach and head basketball coach at TCU from 1936 to 1941. He served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II in the athletics program at the Navy Pre-Flight School, and attained the rank oflieutenant commander. After the war, he served as an assistant football coach at theUniversity of Mississippi from 1946 to 1948. From 1950 to 1956 he was the head football coach at Texas Western College, now theUniversity of Texas at El Paso; he also served as the school'sathletic director from 1950 to 1959.
Brumbelow grew up inJacksboro, Texas. He was the son of William Brumbelow and Alice Helton Brumbelow, a ranching and farming family inJack County, Texas.[1]
Brumbelow attendedTCU.[2] He played at theguard position from 1927 to 1929 and was selected as the captain and most valuable player on TCU's undefeated 1929 football team that won the school's firstSouthwest Conference championship.[3] Brumbelow was selected as anAll-American in 1929 and an All-Southwest Conference player in both 1928 and 1929. He also won the 1929 Rogers Trophy Award and played in the 1930East–West Shrine Game.[2] Brumbelow also played basketball at TCU and received two varsity letters in that sport.[4] He was inducted into the TCU Lettermen's Association Hall of Fame in 1970.[2]
Brumbelow began a coaching career as a high school football coach inEl Paso, Texas, from 1930 to 1931,[5] and subsequently atLufkin, Texas.[6]
In June 1936, Brumbelow was hired as the line coach at TCU.[7][8] He continued to serve as TCU's line coach through the 1941 season.[9] Brumbelow also served as the head coach of the basketball team at TCU from 1937 to 1941.[10][11] In four seasons as TCU's head basketball coach, the team compiled a record of 22–64.[12]
Brumbelow entered theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II with the rank of lieutenant. In 1942, he served as the line coach of the football team at the Navy Pre-Flight School inAthens, Georgia.[13] He was promoted to head coach in January 1943,[14][15] and in April 1943 was placed in charge of the entire nine sport program for the 2,400 cadets at the Pre-Flight School.[16] He was discharged from the Navy in November 1945 with the rank of lieutenant commander.[9]
In August 1946, Brumbelow was hired as an assistant football coach at theUniversity of Mississippi.[9] He served as the line coach at Mississippi from 1946 to 1948.[4][17][18] During the 1949 football season, he scouted opposing schools forSouthern Methodist University.[4][19]
In June 1950, Brumbelow was hired as the head football coach and athletic directorUniversity of Texas at El Paso (then known as Texas Western College).[20] He had been operating sporting goods stores atMidland andOdessa, Texas (in partnership withTex Carleton) at the time of his hiring at UTEP.[4] Brumbelow served as head football coach at UTEP from 1950 to 1956.[21][22][23] He had a successful tenure as coach, guiding his teams to a 46–24–3 record. The team won eight or more games three times, in 1953, 1954 and 1956.[21] He led UTEP to appearances in the1954 Sun Bowl,1955 Sun Bowl, and1957 Sun Bowl, two of which UTEP won.[24] He is responsible for UTEP's only outright conference championship when his1956 team went 5–0 inBorder Conference play.[25] Brumbelow retired as UTEP's football coach in July 1957 and as athletic director in 1959.[5][26] He was inducted into El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame in 1964,[5] and the UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.[24]
After retiring as UTEP's athletic director in 1959, Brumbelow worked in the advertising and public relations department of the El Paso Natural Gas Co.[5] He was one of the leaders in the effort to build theSun Bowl in El Paso and helped get a bond issue passed to finance its construction.[5] He later served as the president of Sun Travel.[1][5]
At the age of 71, Brumbelow died at Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso after a long illness.[5] He was survived by his wife Marjorie (Klein) Brumbelow and a daughter, Nancy (Brumbelow) Sisk.[1]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Western Miners(Border Conference)(1950–1956) | |||||||||
| 1950 | Texas Western | 7–3 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1951 | Texas Western | 3–7 | 3–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1952 | Texas Western | 5–5–1 | 2–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1953 | Texas Western | 8–2 | 4–2 | 3rd | WSun | ||||
| 1954 | Texas Western | 8–3 | 4–2 | 3rd | WSun | ||||
| 1955 | Texas Western | 6–2–2 | 3–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1956 | Texas Western | 9–2 | 5–0 | 1st | LSun | ||||
| Texas Western: | 46–24–3 | 25–15–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 46–24–3 | ||||||||
