Clarence Spears
Clarence Spears went 148–83–14 as a head coach, 1917–1944, at Dartmouth, West Virginia, Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin, Toledo and Maryland. Share
Seven seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1936–42 at Toledo. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 148–83–14 career
- Seasons
- 28
- Schools
- 7
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1922 10–0–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Dartmouth | 5–3 | ||||
| 1918 | Dartmouth | 3–3 | ||||
| 1919 | Dartmouth | 6–1–1 | ||||
| 1920 | Dartmouth | 7–2 | ||||
| 1921 | West Virginia | 5–4–1 | ||||
| 1922 | West Virginia | 10–0–1 | San Diego East-West Christmas Classic W | |||
| 1923 | West Virginia | 7–1–1 | ||||
| 1924 | West Virginia | 8–1 | ||||
| 1925 | Minnesota | 5–2–1 | T–4th | |||
| 1926 | Minnesota | 5–3 | T–6th | |||
| 1927 | Minnesota | 6–0–2 | T–1st | |||
| 1928 | Minnesota | 6–2 | 3rd | |||
| 1929 | Minnesota | 6–2 | T–3rd | |||
| 1930 | Oregon | 7–2 | 4th | |||
| 1931 | Oregon | 6–2–2 | 3rd | |||
| 1932 | Wisconsin | 6–1–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1933 | Wisconsin | 2–5–1 | 10th | |||
| 1934 | Wisconsin | 4–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1935 | Wisconsin | 1–7 | T–9th | |||
| 1936 | Toledo * | 2–6 | 12th | |||
| 1937 | Toledo * | 6–3 | Did not compete | |||
| 1938 | Toledo * | 6–3–1 | T–11th | |||
| 1939 | Toledo * | 7–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1940 | Toledo * | 6–3 | T–10th | |||
| 1941 | Toledo * | 7–4 | 2nd | |||
| 1942 | Toledo * | 4–4–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1943 | Maryland | 4–5 | 2nd | |||
| 1944 | Maryland | 1–7–1 | 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. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Eugene NeelyConsensus All‑American, 1917- Swede YoungstromConsensus All‑American, 1919
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 rivals | 43 | 20–19–4 | 51% |
| Conference games | 57 | 29–23–5 | 55% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 67 | 32–23–12 | 57% |
| At home | 115 | 88–20–7 | 80% |
| On the road | 62 | 21–36–5 | 38% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 1–1 | 50% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 122 | 93–21–8 | 80% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 57 | 17–36–4 | 33% |
His own 179 games on file, 1917–1944, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Murray 1932–1944 | 3–3 | Marquette, Virginia | 6 | |
| Burton Ingwersen 1925–1929 | 3–2 | Iowa | 5 | |
| Ossie Solem 1927–1933 | 3–1 | Drake, Iowa | 4 | |
| Edward Robinson 1917–1920 | 1–3 | Brown | 4 | |
| Bernie Bierman 1932–1935 | 1–3 | Minnesota | 4 | |
| Noble Kizer 1932–1935 | 1–3 | Purdue | 4 | |
| Glenn Thistlethwaite 1927–1929 | 3–0 | Wisconsin | 3 | |
| James Phelan 1928–1931 | 3–0 | Purdue, Washington | 3 | |
| George Sanford 1921–1923 | 2–1 | Rutgers | 3 | |
| Greasy Neale 1921–1933 | 2–1 | Washington & Jefferson, West Virginia | 3 |
Clarence Spears’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Iowaseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Michiganseries | 7 | 2–5 |
| Penn Stateseries | 6 | 2–3–1 |
| Wisconsinseries | 5 | 4–0–1 |
| Purdueseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Notre Dameseries | 5 | 0–4–1 |
| West Virginia Wesleyanseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| Indianaseries | 4 | 3–0–1 |
Also a player: Clarence Spears’s playing career.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917–20 | Dartmouth | Head coach | |
| 1921–24 | West Virginia | Head coach | |
| 1925–29 | Minnesota | Head coach | |
| 1930–31 | Oregon | Head coach | |
| 1932–35 | Wisconsin | Head coach | |
| 1936–42 | Toledo | Head coach | |
| 1943–44 | Maryland | 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
- Jesse HawleyIowa, Dartmouth
- Rat RogersWest Virginia
- Trusty TallmanWest Virginia, Marshall
- Potsy ClarkKansas, Nebraska, Michigan State, Butler, Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions, Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Lions
- Fred SwanTemple
Coached under him, later head coaches (5)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Hawley | Dartmouth, 1919: adviser | Iowa, Dartmouth | |
| Rat Rogers | West Virginia, 1921–24: assistant coach | West Virginia | |
| Trusty Tallman | West Virginia, 1924: assistant coach | West Virginia, Marshall | |
| Potsy Clark | Minnesota, 1926: associate head coach | Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan State, Butler, Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions, Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Lions | |
| Fred Swan | Wisconsin, 1932: freshman coach | Temple |
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.