Charles Caldwell
Charles Caldwell went 70–30–3 as a head coach, 1945–1956, at Princeton. His 1950 Princeton team claims the national title. Share
- Record
- 70–30–3 career
- Seasons
- 12
- Schools
- 1
- National titles
- 1 claimed: 1950
- Hall of Fame
- 1961 inducted
- Best season
- 1950 9–0, No. 6
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Princeton | 2–3–2 | ||
| 1946 | Princeton | 3–5 | ||
| 1947 | Princeton | 5–3 | ||
| 1948 | Princeton | 4–4 | ||
| 1949 | Princeton | 6–3 | 18 | |
| 1950 | Princeton | 9–0 | 6 | |
| 1951 | Princeton | 9–0 | 6 | |
| 1952 | Princeton | 8–1 | 19 | |
| 1953 | Princeton | 5–4 | ||
| 1954 | Princeton | 5–3–1 | ||
| 1955 | Princeton | 7–2 | ||
| 1956 | Princeton | 7–2 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game.
Players he coached
Frank McPheeConsensus All‑American, 1952
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 | 11 | 4–7 | 36% |
| Against top-10 teams | 5 | 2–3 | 40% |
| Against rivals | 44 | 30–14 | 68% |
| Conference games | 7 | 5–2 | 71% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 45 | 27–15–3 | 63% |
| At home | 73 | 49–21–3 | 69% |
| On the road | 30 | 21–9 | 70% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 79 | 57–20–2 | 73% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 24 | 13–10–1 | 56% |
His own 103 games on file, 1945–1956, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeOrmond McLaughry 1945–1954 | 6–3–1 | Dartmouth | 10 | |
| Harvey Harman 1946–1955 | 7–2 | Rutgers | 9 | |
| George James 1947–1956 | 5–4 | Cornell | 9 | |
| Lou Little 1945–1956 | 6–1 | Columbia | 7 | |
| Lloyd Jordan 1950–1956 | 5–2 | Harvard | 7 | |
| George Munger 1945–1952 | 2–5 | Pennsylvania | 7 | |
| Alva Kelley 1951–1956 | 5–1 | Brown | 6 | |
| Jordan Olivar 1952–1956 | 3–2 | Yale | 5 | |
| Herman Hickman 1948–1951 | 4–0 | Yale | 4 | |
| Rip Engle 1946–1949 | 3–1 | Brown | 4 |
Charles Caldwell’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yaleseries | 12 | 8–4 |
| Dartmouthseries | 12 | 7–4–1 |
| Rutgersseries | 11 | 9–2 |
| Brownseries | 11 | 9–2 |
| Harvardseries | 11 | 8–3 |
| Cornellseries | 11 | 6–5 |
| Pennsylvaniaseries | 10 | 5–5 |
| Columbiaseries | 7 | 6–1 |
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Richard ColmanPrinceton
- Wesley FeslerPittsburgh, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wesleyan (CT)
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Colman | Princeton, 1945–56: assistant coach | Princeton | |
| Wesley Fesler | Princeton, 1945: assistant coach | Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wesleyan (CT) |
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.