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Clipper Smith

Clipper Smith went 69–⁠49–⁠8 as a head coach in the games on file: 1931 at NC State, 1932 at NC State, 1933 at NC State, 1936 at Villanova, 1936 at Duquesne, 1937 at Villanova, 1937 at Duquesne, 1938 at Villanova, 1938 at Duquesne, 1939 at Villanova, 1940 at Villanova, 1941 at Villanova, 1942 at Villanova, 1949 at Lafayette and 1950 at Lafayette. His full head-coaching career isn’t in our records. Wikipedia’s season articles record two seasons differently (1949, 2–⁠6 and 1950, 1–⁠8); by them his record is 72–⁠55–⁠8.

Record
69–⁠49–⁠8 games on file
Seasons
12
Schools
4
Final AP top 10
0 seasons
Best season
1937 8–⁠0–⁠1

Season by season

Wins and losses each seasonfinal AP rank above★ national titleline: the team’s Elo at season’s end, best 1655 in 1939
SeasonSchoolRecordBowlAP final
1931NC State3–⁠6
1932NC State6–⁠1–⁠2
1933NC State1–⁠5–⁠3
1934–⁠35: not a college head coach
1936Villanova7–⁠2–⁠1
1936Duquesne8–⁠2Orange Bowl W
1937Villanova8–⁠0–⁠1
1937Duquesne6–⁠4
1938Villanova8–⁠0–⁠1
1938Duquesne4–⁠6
1939Villanova6–⁠2
1940Villanova4–⁠5
1941Villanova4–⁠4
1942Villanova4–⁠4
1943–⁠48: not a college head coach
1949Lafayette0–⁠4 (Wikipedia: 2–⁠6)
1950Lafayette0–⁠4 (Wikipedia: 1–⁠8)

Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game.

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 gameGamesRecord
Against ranked teams62–⁠4
Against top-10 teams31–⁠2
Against rivals197–⁠10–⁠2
Conference games155–⁠9–⁠1
Bowls and playoffs11–⁠0
Decided by 8 points or fewer5619–⁠29–⁠8
At home6341–⁠16–⁠6
On the road5726–⁠30–⁠1
At neutral sites62–⁠3–⁠1
As our Elo’s favorite8354–⁠23–⁠6
As our Elo’s underdog4315–⁠26–⁠2

His own 126 games on file, 1931–⁠1950, 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

CoachRecordTheir schoolsGames
Gus Dorais 1936–⁠19427–⁠3Detroit Mercy10
Jack Meagher 1936–⁠19421–⁠4–⁠2Auburn7
Tom Lieb 1937–⁠19424–⁠0Loyola Marymount, Florida4
Wallace Wade 1931–⁠19332–⁠1Duke3
Pop Warner 1936–⁠19382–⁠1Temple3
Jess Neely 1931–⁠19331–⁠2Clemson3
Jock Sutherland 1936–⁠19381–⁠2Pittsburgh3
Rex Enright 1938–⁠19391–⁠1–⁠1South Carolina3
Ray Morrison 1940–⁠19421–⁠2Temple3
Billy Laval 1931–⁠19330–⁠2–⁠1South Carolina3

Clipper Smith’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.

Most-faced opponents

OpponentGamesRecord
Detroit Mercyseries107–⁠3
Manhattanseries76–⁠1
Templeseries74–⁠3
South Carolinaseries72–⁠3–⁠2
Auburnseries71–⁠4–⁠2
Floridaseries64–⁠1–⁠1
Mississippi Stateseries43–⁠1
Waynesburgseries33–⁠0

Also a player: Clipper Smith’s playing career.

Coaching tree

Clipper Smith

Assistants who became head coaches

  • Aldo DonelliDuquesne, Boston University, Columbia, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Rams
Coached under him, later head coaches (1)
CoachWith himHead coach at
Aldo DonelliDuquesne, 1936–⁠38: assistant coachDuquesne, Boston University, Columbia, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Rams

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.