Fielding Yost
Fielding Yost coached Michigan for 25 seasons. His “Point-a-Minute” teams of 1901–1905 went 55–1–1 and won the first Rose Bowl, and as athletic director he built Michigan Stadium, opened in 1927.
Fielding Yost went 198–35–12 as a head coach, 1897–1926, at Ohio Wesleyan, Nebraska, Kansas, San Jose Normal, Stanford and Michigan. His teams claim six national titles: Michigan in 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918 and 1923. Share
Five seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1897 at Ohio Wesleyan; 1898 at Nebraska; 1899 at Kansas; 1900 at San Jose Normal; 1900 at Stanford. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 198–35–12 career
- Seasons
- 29
- Schools
- 6
- National titles
- 6 claimed
- Hall of Fame
- 1951 inducted
- Best season
- 1901 11–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | Ohio Wesleyan * | 7–1–1 | ||||
| 1898 | Nebraska * | 8–3 | ||||
| 1899 | Kansas * | 10–0 | ||||
| 1900 | San Jose Normal * | 1–0 | ||||
| 1900 | Stanford * | 7–2–1 | ||||
| 1901 | Michigan | 11–0 | T–1st | Rose Bowl W | ||
| 1902 | Michigan | 11–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1903 | Michigan | 11–0–1 | 1st | |||
| 1904 | Michigan | 10–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1905 | Michigan | 12–1 | T–2nd | |||
| 1906 | Michigan | 4–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1907 | Michigan | 5–1 | ||||
| 1908 | Michigan | 5–2–1 | ||||
| 1909 | Michigan | 6–1 | ||||
| 1910 | Michigan | 3–0–3 | ||||
| 1911 | Michigan | 5–1–2 | ||||
| 1912 | Michigan | 5–2 | ||||
| 1913 | Michigan | 6–1 | ||||
| 1914 | Michigan | 6–3 | ||||
| 1915 | Michigan | 4–3–1 | ||||
| 1916 | Michigan | 7–2 | ||||
| 1917 | Michigan | 8–2 | T–8th | |||
| 1918 | Michigan | 5–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1919 | Michigan | 3–4 | T–7th | |||
| 1920 | Michigan | 5–2 | 6th | |||
| 1921 | Michigan | 5–1–1 | 5th | |||
| 1922 | Michigan | 6–0–1 | T–1st | |||
| 1923 | Michigan | 8–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1924: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1925 | Michigan | 7–1 | 1st | |||
| 1926 | Michigan | 7–1 | T–1st | |||
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
James B. CraigConsensus All‑American, 1913- Jack BlottConsensus All‑American, 1923
- Miller PontiusConsensus All‑American, 1913
- Harry KipkeConsensus All‑American, 1922
- Neil SnowConsensus All‑American, 1901
- Stanfield WellsConsensus All‑American, 1910
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 | 66 | 52–11–3 | 81% |
| Conference games | 54 | 42–10–2 | 80% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 50 | 27–13–10 | 64% |
| At home | 150 | 133–13–4 | 90% |
| On the road | 53 | 31–16–6 | 64% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 177 | 152–20–5 | 87% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 27 | 13–9–5 | 57% |
His own 204 games on file, 1901–1926, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan McGugin 1905–1923 | 8–0–1 | Vanderbilt | 9 | |
| Amos Alonzo Stagg 1901–1920 | 6–2 | Chicago | 8 | |
| John Wilce 1918–1926 | 5–3 | Ohio State | 8 | |
| Henry Williams 1902–1921 | 5–1–1 | Minnesota | 7 | |
| Robert Zuppke 1919–1926 | 4–2 | Illinois | 6 | |
| Albert Sharpe 1912–1917 | 3–3 | Cornell | 6 | |
| John Macklin 1911–1915 | 3–2 | Michigan State | 5 | |
| A.E. Herrnstein 1906–1909 | 4–0 | Ohio State | 4 | |
| Chester Brewer 1908–1919 | 3–0–1 | Michigan State | 4 | |
| Frank “Buck” O’Neill 1913–1918 | 2–2 | Syracuse | 4 |
Fielding Yost’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caseseries | 23 | 22–0–1 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 20 | 16–3–1 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 19 | 16–2–1 |
| Minnesotaseries | 12 | 10–1–1 |
| Pennsylvaniaseries | 12 | 4–6–2 |
| Syracuseseries | 10 | 5–4–1 |
| Vanderbiltseries | 9 | 8–0–1 |
| Wisconsinseries | 9 | 8–0–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | Ohio Wesleyan | Head coach | |
| 1898 | Nebraska | Head coach | |
| 1899 | Kansas | Head coach | |
| 1900 | Stanford | Head coach | |
| 1900 | San Jose Normal | Head coach | |
| 1901–23 | Michigan | Head coach | |
| 1925–26 | Michigan | 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
- Bennie OwenOklahoma, Washburn, Bethany (KS)
- Dan McGuginVanderbilt
- King ColeNebraska, Marietta, Virginia
- Dave AllerdiceTexas, Butler
- Henry SchulteMissouri, Nebraska, Eastern Michigan, Southeast Missouri State
- Tad WiemanMichigan, Princeton
- George LittleMichigan, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Miami (OH)
- Cappy CapponKansas, Luther
- George VeenkerIowa State
Coached under him, later head coaches (9)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bennie Owen | Michigan, 1901: assistant coach | Oklahoma, Washburn, Bethany (KS) | |
| Dan McGugin | Michigan, 1903: assistant coach | Vanderbilt | |
| King Cole | Michigan, 1904, 1913: assistant coach | Nebraska, Marietta, Virginia | |
| Dave Allerdice | Michigan, 1910: assistant coach | Texas, Butler | |
| Henry Schulte | Michigan, 1912: assistant coach | Missouri, Nebraska, Eastern Michigan, Southeast Missouri State | |
| Tad Wieman | Michigan, 1921–23, 1925–26: assistant coach | Michigan, Princeton | |
| George Little | Michigan, 1922–23: assistant coach | Michigan, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Miami (OH) | |
| Cappy Cappon | Michigan, 1925: ends and backs coach | Kansas, Luther | |
| George Veenker | Michigan, 1926: assistant coach | Iowa State |
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.