 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1905-02-16)February 16, 1905 Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | November 24, 1992(1992-11-24) (aged 87) Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1924–1927 | Chicago |
| Position(s) | Fullback,halfback (football) Guard (basketball) Pitcher,outfielder (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1927–1930 | Indiana State |
| 1930–1932 | Indiana (assistant) |
| 1933–1941 | Indiana State |
| 1945 | Personnel Distribution Command |
| 1946–1948 | Indiana State |
| Basketball | |
| 1927–1931 | Indiana State |
| 1933–1938 | Indiana State |
| Baseball | |
| 1929–1931 | Indiana State |
| 1934–1937 | Indiana State |
| 1942 | Indiana State |
| 1946–1947 | Indiana State |
| 1949–1955 | Indiana State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1948 | Indiana State (interim AD) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 68–58–8 (football) 90–58 (basketball) 108–81–1 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Baseball 4IIC (1930, 1946–1947, 1949) | |
Walter E. Marks (February 16, 1905 – November 24, 1992) was anAmerican football,basketball, andbaseball player, coach, college athletics administrator, sports official, and university instructor. Marks played football, basketball, and baseball at theUniversity of Chicago. Between 1927 and 1955 he served as the head football, basketball, baseball, andgolf coach atIndiana State University, with hiatuses from 1930 to 1931, when he earned a master's degree atIndiana University, and from 1942 to 1945, when he served in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II. Marks was best known for his football and baseball coaching career(s); though his tenure as basketball coach was highlighted by the Sycamores' run to the semifinals of the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Marks also served as the Indiana State'sathletic director. In total, Marks spent 44 years at Indiana State rising from instructor to the Dean of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, now known as the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services. He held two degrees from the University of Chicago, a BA and a PhD, and three from Indiana University, an MA, a doctorate in physical education, and a doctorate of education. At his retirement in 1971, Indiana State's hometrack and field venue was dedicated in his honor. Marks reached the rank ofmajor in theUnited States Army Air Forces and spent 44 months in theMediterranean Theater of Operations.
At theUniversity of Chicago, Marks was an outstanding athlete. A three-sport performer, he earned a total of eight varsity letters in football, basketball, and baseball, was an ROTC Cadet Major, and held membership in several honorary fraternities. He played varsity football for three years under the Maroons' coach,Amos Alonzo Stagg. As a sophomore, he playedfullback for Chicago's lastBig Ten Conference football championship team in 1924. He was a regularhalfback on the 1925 and 1926 Maroon teams and captained the 1926 team. For two years, he was a regular startingguard on the Maroons' basketball team. As apitcher and anoutfielder, he played on Chicago's baseball team for three years and had a .399 batting average as a sophomore. Marks also played professional baseball. While pitching for Terre Haute of theThree-I League, he defeatedCarl Hubbell of Decatur in a 17-inning masterpiece.[1]
Marked finished his career as the leader in wins (he currently stands at #2). His 1933 team finished at 7–1 record. This record still ranks as the second best in the school's history; trailing Coach Jerry Huntsman's 1968 team (9–1). His homecoming record was 8–5.
He finished his career as the leader in wins (he currently stands at #7). Led the Sycamores to a semifinal finish in the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials. His 1929–30 team finished at 16–2; it still ranks among the finest season performances of any ISU team with its .888 winning percentage.
He finished his career as the leader in wins (he currently stands at #4). He led the Sycamores toIndiana Intercollegiate Conference titles in 1930, 1946, 1947 and 1949.
He coached the Indiana State Men's golf team for nine seasons (1957-1965); his final club, the 1965 team won theIndiana Collegiate Conference title.
Marks was aBig Ten Conference official for 20 years with tenures of eight years in basketball and 16 years in football. He officiated the1960 Rose Bowl and retired at the close of the 1964 football season. In 1954, and again in 1960, he was named by the Big Ten and theUnited States Department of Defense as a member of an instructional staff presenting football officiating clinics for United States military personnel in Germany.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana State Sycamores(Independent)(1927–1930) | |||||||||
| 1927 | Indiana State | 4–2–1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Indiana State | 4–3 | |||||||
| 1929 | Indiana State | 5–2–1 | |||||||
| 1930 | Indiana State | 5–3–1 | |||||||
| Indiana State Sycamores(Independent)(1933) | |||||||||
| 1933 | Indiana State | 7–1 | |||||||
| Indiana State Sycamores(Indiana Intercollegiate Conference)(1934–1941) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Indiana State | 3–5 | 3–3 | ||||||
| 1935 | Indiana State | 5–3 | 4–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1936 | Indiana State | 2–3–2 | 2–0–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1937 | Indiana State | 1–7 | 1–4 | T–12th | |||||
| 1938 | Indiana State | 1–7 | 1–4 | 11th | |||||
| 1939 | Indiana State | 2–6 | 0–3 | 14th | |||||
| 1940 | Indiana State | 5–1–2 | 2–1 | T–6th | |||||
| 1941 | Indiana State | 5–2–1 | 2–1–1 | T–7th | |||||
| Personnel Distribution Command Comets(Army Air Forces League)(1945) | |||||||||
| 1945 | Personnel Distribution Command | 6–2[n 1] | 2–2[n 1] | 6th[n 1] | |||||
| Personnel Distribution Command: | 6–2 | 2–2 | |||||||
| Indiana State Sycamores(Indiana Intercollegiate Conference)(1946–1947) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Indiana State | 4–4 | 2–4 | T–10th | |||||
| 1947 | Indiana State | 5–3 | 2–1 | ||||||
| Indiana State Sycamores(Independent)(1946–1948) | |||||||||
| 1948 | Indiana State | 4–4 | |||||||
| Indiana State: | 62–56–8 | 19–22–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 68–58–8 | ||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana State Sycamores(Indiana Intercollegiate Conference)(1927–1938) | |||||||||
| 1927–28 | Indiana State | 12–5 | |||||||
| 1928–29 | Indiana State | 15–4 | |||||||
| 1929–30 | Indiana State | 16–2 | 8–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1930–31 | Indiana State | 7–8 | |||||||
| 1933–34 | Indiana State | 8–9 | |||||||
| 1934–35 | Indiana State | 13–4 | |||||||
| 1935–36 | Indiana State | 12–4 | U.S. Olympic Trials | ||||||
| 1936–37 | Indiana State | 7–6 | |||||||
| 1937–38 | Indiana State | 1–17 | 1–9 | ||||||
| Indiana State: | 90–58 (.608) | ||||||||
| Total: | 90–58 (.608) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | Postseason |
| 1929 | Indiana State | 5 | 4 | 1 | .550 | |||||
| 1930 | Indiana State | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1931 | Indiana State | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | |||||
| 1934 | Indiana State | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | |||||
| 1935 | Indiana State | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | |||||
| 1936 | Indiana State | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | |||||
| 1937 | Indiana State | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | |||||
| 1942 | Indiana State | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | |||||
| 1946 | Indiana State | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1947 | Indiana State | 11 | 2 | 0 | .846 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1949 | Indiana State | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1950 | Indiana State | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | |||||
| 1951 | Indiana State | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | |||||
| 1952 | Indiana State | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | |||||
| 1953 | Indiana State | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | |||||
| 1954 | Indiana State | 6 | 10 | 0 | .600 | |||||
| 1955 | Indiana State | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | |||||
| Overall Totals | 108 | 81 | 2 | .571 | ||||||
..