Billy Laval
Billy Laval went 169–135–16 on the field as a head coach, 1915–1949, at Furman, South Carolina, Emory and Henry and Newberry; 168–136–16 officially, with 1923 (9–2) after forfeits. Share
14 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1936–37 at Emory and Henry; 1938–49 at Newberry. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 168–136–16 official; 169–135–16 on the field
- Seasons
- 34
- Schools
- 4
- AP poll
- Began in 1936, after this career
- Best season
- 1915 5–3
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Furman 1st season, final game | 1–0 | T–10th | |||
| 1916 | Furman | 4–5 | T–17th | |||
| 1917 | Furman | 3–5 | T–13th | |||
| 1918 | Furman | 3–5–1 | 8th | |||
| 1919 | Furman | 6–2–1 | 9th | |||
| 1920 | Furman | 9–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1921 | Furman | 7–2–1 | 9th | |||
| 1922 | Furman | 8–3 | 1st | |||
| 1923 | Furman | 10–1 (9–2 official) | 1st | |||
| 1924 | Furman | 5–5 | 12th | |||
| 1925 | Furman | 7–3 | T–5th | |||
| 1926 | Furman | 8–1–1 | T–4th | |||
| 1927 | Furman | 10–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1928 | South Carolina | 6–2–2 | T–10th | |||
| 1929 | South Carolina | 6–5 | 15th | |||
| 1930 | South Carolina | 6–4 | T–11th | |||
| 1931 | South Carolina | 5–4–1 | T–8th | |||
| 1932 | South Carolina | 5–4–2 | T–10th | |||
| 1933 | South Carolina | 6–3–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1934 | South Carolina | 5–4 | 7th | |||
| 1935: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1936 | Emory and Henry * | 1–7–1 | ||||
| 1937 | Emory and Henry * | 3–7 | ||||
| 1938 | Newberry * | 5–5 | T–13th | |||
| 1939 | Newberry * | 4–1–4 | T–10th | |||
| 1940 | Newberry * | 7–2–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1941 | Newberry * | 5–6 | T–19th | |||
| 1942 | Newberry * | 4–5 | ||||
| 1943 | Newberry * | 2–5 | ||||
| 1944 | Newberry * | 0–7 | ||||
| 1945 | Newberry * | 6–1 | ||||
| 1946 | Newberry * | 4–7 | ||||
| 1947 | Newberry * | 3–7 | T–1st | |||
| 1948 | Newberry * | 2–7 | ||||
| 1949 | Newberry * | 3–8 | ||||
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.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against rivals | 32 | 21–9–2 | 69% |
| Conference games | 79 | 40–32–7 | 55% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 65 | 34–21–10 | 60% |
| At home | 119 | 86–25–8 | 76% |
| On the road | 71 | 34–35–2 | 49% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 137 | 103–28–6 | 77% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 53 | 17–32–4 | 36% |
His own 190 games on file, 1915–1934, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Prause 1922–1929 | 6–1–1 | The Citadel | 8 | |
| Walter Johnson 1916–1926 | 5–1 | Presbyterian | 6 | |
| Josh Cody 1921–1930 | 2–3 | Mercer, Clemson | 5 | |
| Sol Metzger 1921–1924 | 3–1 | South Carolina | 4 | |
| Gus Tebell 1926–1929 | 3–1 | NC State | 4 | |
| T.B. Amis 1928–1931 | 3–1 | Furman | 4 | |
| Jess Neely 1931–1934 | 3–1 | Clemson | 4 | |
| Edward Donahue 1917–1920 | 1–2–1 | Clemson | 4 | |
| George Woodruff 1924–1927 | 1–3 | Georgia | 4 | |
| Chet Wynne 1930–1933 | 1–2–1 | Auburn | 4 |
Billy Laval’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Clemsonseries | 19 | 9–8–2 |
| The Citadelseries | 16 | 14–1–1 |
| Erskineseries | 12 | 11–0–1 |
| Woffordseries | 10 | 9–1 |
| South Carolinaseries | 10 | 7–3 |
| Presbyterianseries | 9 | 7–2 |
| NC Stateseries | 9 | 6–2–1 |
| Davidsonseries | 9 | 6–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Furman | B squad | |
| 1915 | Furman | Assistant coach | |
| 1915–27 | Furman | Head coach | |
| 1928–34 | South Carolina | Head coach | |
| 1936–37 | Emory and Henry | Head coach | |
| 1938–49 | Newberry | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- W.B. BibleFurman
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W.B. Bible | Furman | 1914–15 | 1914: b squad; 1915: assistant coach |
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.