Ossie Solem
Ossie Solem went 162–117–20 as a head coach, 1920–1957, at Luther, Drake, Iowa, Syracuse and Springfield. Share
13 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1920 at Luther; 1946–57 at Springfield. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 162–117–20 career
- Seasons
- 37
- Schools
- 5
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1922 7–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Luther * | 5–1–1 | ||||
| 1921 | Drake | 5–2 | 4th | |||
| 1922 | Drake | 7–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1923 | Drake | 5–2 | 2nd | |||
| 1924 | Drake | 5–2–1 | T–2nd | |||
| 1925 | Drake | 5–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1926 | Drake | 2–6 | 8th | |||
| 1927 | Drake | 3–6 | 9th | |||
| 1928 | Drake | 7–1 | 1st | |||
| 1929 | Drake | 5–3–1 | 1st | |||
| 1930 | Drake | 5–4 | T–1st | |||
| 1931 | Drake | 5–6 | 1st | |||
| 1932 | Iowa | 1–7 | 10th | |||
| 1933 | Iowa | 5–3 | T–5th | |||
| 1934 | Iowa | 2–5–1 | T–8th | |||
| 1935 | Iowa | 4–2–2 | 8th | |||
| 1936 | Iowa | 3–4–1 | 8th | |||
| 1937 | Syracuse | 5–2–1 | ||||
| 1938 | Syracuse | 5–3 | ||||
| 1939 | Syracuse | 3–3–2 | ||||
| 1940 | Syracuse | 3–4–1 | ||||
| 1941 | Syracuse | 5–2–1 | ||||
| 1942 | Syracuse | 6–3 | ||||
| 1943: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1944 | Syracuse | 2–4–1 | ||||
| 1945 | Syracuse | 1–6 | ||||
| 1946 | Springfield * | 4–4 | ||||
| 1947 | Springfield * | 4–4 | ||||
| 1948 | Springfield * | 6–1–1 | ||||
| 1949 | Springfield * | 6–2 | ||||
| 1950 | Springfield * | 6–2 | ||||
| 1951 | Springfield * | 3–6 | ||||
| 1952 | Springfield * | 3–2–3 | ||||
| 1953 | Springfield * | 4–3–2 | ||||
| 1954 | Springfield * | 3–5 | ||||
| 1955 | Springfield * | 5–2 | ||||
| 1956 | Springfield * | 8–0–1 | ||||
| 1957 | Springfield * | 6–2 | ||||
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
Dick CrayneNo. 4 pick, 1936
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 8 | 2–5–1 | 31% |
| Against top-10 teams | 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 34 | 10–20–4 | 35% |
| Conference games | 70 | 36–28–6 | 56% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 70 | 29–29–12 | 50% |
| At home | 99 | 62–29–8 | 67% |
| On the road | 93 | 35–54–4 | 40% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 2–0 | 100% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 110 | 76–27–7 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 84 | 23–56–5 | 30% |
His own 194 games on file, 1921–1945, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Kerr 1935–1945 | 4–4–1 | Colgate | 9 | |
| Bob Higgins 1925–1945 | 2–5–2 | Washington St. Louis, Penn State | 9 | |
| Potsy Clark 1921–1925 | 3–1–1 | Kansas | 5 | |
| C. Noel Workman 1926–1930 | 3–2 | Iowa State | 5 | |
| Lou Little 1937–1945 | 2–2–1 | Columbia | 5 | |
| Noble Kizer 1932–1936 | 1–4 | Purdue | 5 | |
| Knute Rockne 1926–1930 | 0–5 | Notre Dame | 5 | |
| Bernie Bierman 1932–1936 | 0–5 | Minnesota | 5 | |
| Sam Willaman 1922–1925 | 2–2 | Iowa State | 4 | |
| Bennie Owen 1923–1926 | 2–2 | Oklahoma | 4 |
Ossie Solem’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Stateseries | 13 | 7–6 |
| Grinnellseries | 11 | 9–1–1 |
| Colgateseries | 9 | 4–4–1 |
| Cornellseries | 8 | 3–5 |
| Penn Stateseries | 8 | 1–5–2 |
| Kansasseries | 7 | 4–2–1 |
| Washington St. Louisseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Clarksonseries | 6 | 6–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913–20 | Minneapolis Marines NFL | Head coach | |
| 1920 | Luther (IA) | Head coach | |
| 1921–31 | Drake | Head coach | |
| 1932–36 | Iowa | Head coach | |
| 1937–45 | Syracuse | Head coach | |
| 1946–57 | Springfield | 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
- Bud WilkinsonOklahoma, St. Louis Cardinals
- Duffy DaughertyMichigan State
- Richard S. LyonRensselaer, Ithaca
Coached under him, later head coaches (3)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bud Wilkinson | Syracuse, 1937–41: assistant coach | Oklahoma, St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Duffy Daugherty | Syracuse, 1940: line coach | Michigan State | |
| Richard S. Lyon | Springfield, 1947: graduate assistant | Rensselaer, Ithaca |
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.