Ben Schwartzwalder
Ben Schwartzwalder went 178–96–3 as a head coach, 1946–1973, at Muhlenberg and Syracuse. His 1959 Syracuse team claims the national title. Share
Three seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1946–48 at Muhlenberg. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 178–96–3 career
- Seasons
- 28
- Schools
- 2
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1959
- Hall of Fame
- 1982 inducted
- Best season
- 1959 11–0, No. 1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Muhlenberg * | 9–1 | Tobacco W | |||
| 1947 | Muhlenberg * | 9–1 | ||||
| 1948 | Muhlenberg * | 7–3 | ||||
| 1949 | Syracuse | 4–5 | ||||
| 1950 | Syracuse | 5–5 | ||||
| 1951 | Syracuse | 5–4 | ||||
| 1952 | Syracuse | 7–3 | Orange Bowl L | 14 | ||
| 1953 | Syracuse | 5–3–1 | ||||
| 1954 | Syracuse | 4–4 | ||||
| 1955 | Syracuse | 5–3 | ||||
| 1956 | Syracuse | 7–2 | Cotton Bowl L | 8 | ||
| 1957 | Syracuse | 5–3–1 | ||||
| 1958 | Syracuse | 8–2 | Orange Bowl L | 9 | ||
| 1959 | Syracuse | 11–0 | Cotton Bowl W | 1 | ||
| 1960 | Syracuse | 7–2 | 19 | |||
| 1961 | Syracuse | 8–3 | Liberty Bowl W | 14 | ||
| 1962 | Syracuse | 5–5 | ||||
| 1963 | Syracuse | 8–2 | 12 | |||
| 1964 | Syracuse | 7–4 | Sugar Bowl L | 12 | ||
| 1965 | Syracuse | 7–3 | 19 | |||
| 1966 | Syracuse | 8–3 | Gator Bowl L | 16 | ||
| 1967 | Syracuse | 8–2 | 12 | |||
| 1968 | Syracuse | 6–4 | ||||
| 1969 | Syracuse | 5–5 | ||||
| 1970 | Syracuse | 6–4 | ||||
| 1971 | Syracuse | 5–5–1 | ||||
| 1972 | Syracuse | 5–6 | ||||
| 1973 | Syracuse | 2–9 |
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. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Joe EhrmannNo. 10 pick, 1973- Art BakerNo. 14 pick, 1961
- Art ThomsNo. 22 pick, 1969
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 | 35 | 13–22 | 37% |
| Against top-10 teams | 21 | 6–15 | 29% |
| Against rivals | 90 | 55–35 | 61% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 7 | 2–5 | 29% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 86 | 45–38–3 | 54% |
| At home | 122 | 90–29–3 | 75% |
| On the road | 110 | 57–53 | 52% |
| At neutral sites | 15 | 6–9 | 40% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 175 | 128–44–3 | 74% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 72 | 25–47 | 35% |
His own 247 games on file, 1949–1973, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Engle 1950–1965 | 9–7 | Penn State | 16 | |
| Edward Anderson 1950–1964 | 12–2 | Holy Cross | 14 | |
| John Michelosen 1955–1965 | 6–5 | Pittsburgh | 11 | |
| Aldo Donelli 1949–1956 | 5–2–1 | Boston University | 8 | |
| George James 1949–1958 | 4–4 | Cornell | 8 | |
| Joe Paterno 1966–1973 | 2–6 | Penn State | 8 | |
| Tommy Prothro 1961–1968 | 4–3 | Oregon State, UCLA | 7 | |
| Jim Miller 1962–1967 | 5–1 | Boston College | 6 | |
| Ed Danowski 1949–1954 | 4–2 | Fordham | 6 | |
| Gene Corum 1960–1965 | 4–2 | West Virginia | 6 |
Ben Schwartzwalder’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Penn Stateseries | 25 | 11–14 |
| Holy Crossseries | 21 | 19–2 |
| Pittsburghseries | 19 | 11–8 |
| West Virginiaseries | 19 | 11–8 |
| Colgateseries | 13 | 12–1 |
| Marylandseries | 13 | 10–3 |
| Boston Universityseries | 12 | 9–2–1 |
| Boston Collegeseries | 12 | 8–4 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1959 Syracuse: Eddie Robinson
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Sistersville HS (WV) high school | Head coach | |
| 1936–40 | Parkersburg HS (WV) high school | Head coach | |
| 1941 | Canton McKinley HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1946–48 | Muhlenberg | Head coach | |
| 1949–73 | Syracuse | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Joe KrivakMaryland
- Tom CoughlinBoston College, RIT, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Krivak | Syracuse, 1969–73: wide receivers coach | Maryland | |
| Tom Coughlin | Syracuse, 1969: graduate assistant | Boston College, RIT, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants |
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.