Abe Martin
Abe Martin went 74–64–7 as a head coach, 1953–1966, at TCU. Share
- Record
- 74–64–7 career
- Seasons
- 14
- Schools
- 1
- Final AP top 10
- 3 seasons
- Best season
- 1955 9–2, No. 6
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | TCU | 3–7 | T–6th | |||
| 1954 | TCU | 4–6 | 6th | |||
| 1955 | TCU | 9–2 | 1st | Cotton Bowl L | 6 | |
| 1956 | TCU | 8–3 | 2nd | Cotton Bowl W | 14 | |
| 1957 | TCU | 5–4–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1958 | TCU | 8–2–1 | 1st | Cotton Bowl T | 10 | |
| 1959 | TCU | 8–3 | T–1st | Bluebonnet Bowl L | 7 | |
| 1960 | TCU | 4–4–2 | 5th | |||
| 1961 | TCU | 3–5–2 | 5th | |||
| 1962 | TCU | 6–4 | 3rd | |||
| 1963 | TCU | 4–5–1 | 5th | |||
| 1964 | TCU | 4–6 | 6th | |||
| 1965 | TCU | 6–5 | T–2nd | Sun Bowl L | ||
| 1966 | TCU | 2–8 | T–6th |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 29 | 6–22–1 | 22% |
| Against top-10 teams | 21 | 4–16–1 | 21% |
| Against rivals | 67 | 40–24–3 | 62% |
| Conference games | 91 | 46–42–3 | 52% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 5 | 1–3–1 | 30% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 63 | 31–25–7 | 55% |
| At home | 61 | 35–22–4 | 61% |
| On the road | 79 | 38–39–2 | 49% |
| At neutral sites | 5 | 1–3–1 | 30% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 77 | 47–24–6 | 65% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 68 | 27–40–1 | 40% |
His own 145 games on file, 1953–1966, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jess Neely 1953–1966 | 6–8 | Rice | 14 | |
| Jack Mitchell 1955–1964 | 7–3 | Arkansas, Kansas | 10 | |
| Darrell Royal 1957–1966 | 4–6 | Texas | 10 | |
| Frank Broyles 1958–1966 | 1–8 | Arkansas | 9 | |
| John Bridgers 1959–1966 | 6–2 | Baylor | 8 | |
| J.T. King 1961–1966 | 3–3 | Texas Tech | 6 | |
| DeWitt Weaver 1955–1960 | 4–1 | Texas Tech | 5 | |
| Hayden Fry 1962–1966 | 4–1 | SMU | 5 | |
| Bill Meek 1957–1961 | 3–1–1 | SMU | 5 | |
| Chalmer Woodward 1953–1956 | 3–1 | SMU | 4 |
Abe Martin’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Baylorseries | 14 | 10–4 |
| SMUseries | 14 | 10–3–1 |
| Texas A&Mseries | 14 | 7–5–2 |
| Riceseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| Texasseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| Arkansasseries | 14 | 3–11 |
| Kansasseries | 12 | 9–2–1 |
| Texas Techseries | 11 | 7–4 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932–35 | El Paso HS (TX) high school | Head coach | |
| 1936–42 | Lufkin HS (TX) high school | Head coach | |
| 1944 | Paschal HS (TX) high school | Head coach | |
| 1945–52 | TCU | Assistant coach | |
| 1953–66 | TCU | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Dutch MeyerTCU
Assistants who became head coaches
- Fred TaylorTCU
- Jim ShofnerTCU, Cleveland Browns
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Meyer | TCU | 1945–52 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Taylor | TCU, 1953–66: assistant coach | TCU | |
| Jim Shofner | TCU, 1966: assistant coach | TCU, Cleveland Browns |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.