Robert Zuppke
Robert Zuppke went 131–81–12 as a head coach, 1913–1941, at Illinois. His teams claim four national titles: Illinois in 1914, 1919, 1923 and 1927. Share
- Record
- 131–81–12 career
- Seasons
- 29
- Schools
- 1
- National titles
- 4 claimed
- Hall of Fame
- 1951 inducted
- Best season
- 1923 8–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | Illinois | 4–2–1 | 5th | |||
| 1914 | Illinois | 7–0 | 1st | |||
| 1915 | Illinois | 5–0–2 | T–1st | |||
| 1916 | Illinois | 3–3–1 | T–4th | |||
| 1917 | Illinois | 5–2–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1918 | Illinois | 5–2 | T–1st | |||
| 1919 | Illinois | 6–1 | 1st | |||
| 1920 | Illinois | 5–2 | 4th | |||
| 1921 | Illinois | 3–4 | T–8th | |||
| 1922 | Illinois | 2–5 | 6th | |||
| 1923 | Illinois | 8–0 | T–1st | |||
| 1924 | Illinois | 6–1–1 | T–2nd | |||
| 1925 | Illinois | 5–3 | T–4th | |||
| 1926 | Illinois | 6–2 | T–6th | |||
| 1927 | Illinois | 7–0–1 | 1st | |||
| 1928 | Illinois | 7–1 | 1st | |||
| 1929 | Illinois | 6–1–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1930 | Illinois | 3–5 | 8th | |||
| 1931 | Illinois | 2–6 | 10th | |||
| 1932 | Illinois | 5–4 | 7th | |||
| 1933 | Illinois | 5–3 | T–5th | |||
| 1934 | Illinois | 7–1 | 3rd | |||
| 1935 | Illinois | 3–5 | T–9th | |||
| 1936 | Illinois | 4–3–1 | 6th | |||
| 1937 | Illinois | 3–3–2 | 8th | |||
| 1938 | Illinois | 3–5 | 7th | |||
| 1939 | Illinois | 3–4–1 | 6th | |||
| 1940 | Illinois | 1–7 | 9th | |||
| 1941 | Illinois | 2–6 | 9th |
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.
Players he coached
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Jack DeplerConsensus All‑American, 1918- Chuck CarneyConsensus All‑American, 1920
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 | 13 | 2–11 | 15% |
| Against top-10 teams | 9 | 1–8 | 11% |
| Against rivals | 99 | 46–49–4 | 48% |
| Conference games | 150 | 76–66–8 | 53% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 95 | 43–40–12 | 52% |
| At home | 134 | 85–43–6 | 66% |
| On the road | 90 | 46–38–6 | 54% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 143 | 102–33–8 | 74% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 81 | 29–48–4 | 38% |
His own 224 games on file, 1913–1941, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amos Alonzo Stagg 1913–1932 | 13–5–2 | Chicago | 20 | |
| John Wilce 1914–1928 | 9–5–1 | Ohio State | 15 | |
| Howard Jones 1918–1940 | 5–5 | Iowa, USC | 10 | |
| Harry Kipke 1929–1937 | 4–5 | Michigan | 9 | |
| Dick Hanley 1927–1934 | 4–4 | Northwestern | 8 | |
| Clark Shaughnessy 1933–1939 | 6–1 | Chicago | 7 | |
| Henry Williams 1913–1920 | 4–2–1 | Minnesota | 7 | |
| Francis Schmidt 1934–1940 | 1–6 | Ohio State | 7 | |
| Pappy Waldorf 1935–1941 | 1–6 | Northwestern | 7 | |
| Fielding Yost 1919–1926 | 2–4 | Michigan | 6 |
Robert Zuppke’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio Stateseries | 28 | 11–16–1 |
| Chicagoseries | 27 | 19–6–2 |
| Michiganseries | 22 | 9–13 |
| Northwesternseries | 20 | 10–10 |
| Wisconsinseries | 16 | 8–7–1 |
| Iowaseries | 15 | 7–6–2 |
| Minnesotaseries | 9 | 4–4–1 |
| Butlerseries | 8 | 7–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906–09 | Hackley Manual Training (MI) | Head coach | |
| 1910–12 | Oak Park and River Forest HS (IL) high school | Head coach | |
| 1913–41 | Illinois | 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
- Justa LindgrenIllinois, Cornell (IA)
- Potsy ClarkKansas, Nebraska, Michigan State, Butler, Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions, Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Lions
- Burton IngwersenIowa
- Claude RothgebRice, Colorado State, Colorado College
- Harry GamageKentucky, South Dakota
- Carl VoylesWilliam & Mary, Auburn, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Brooklyn Dodgers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Ray EliotIllinois, Illinois College
Coached under him, later head coaches (7)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justa Lindgren | Illinois, 1913–41: line coach | Illinois, Cornell (IA) | |
| Potsy Clark | Illinois, 1919: assistant coach | Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan State, Butler, Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions, Brooklyn Dodgers, Detroit Lions | |
| Burton Ingwersen | Illinois, 1921–23: assistant coach | Iowa | |
| Claude Rothgeb | Illinois, 1922: ends coach | Rice, Colorado State, Colorado College | |
| Harry Gamage | Illinois, 1924–26: freshman coach | Kentucky, South Dakota | |
| Carl Voyles | Illinois, 1925–30: assistant coach | William & Mary, Auburn, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Brooklyn Dodgers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |
| Ray Eliot | Illinois, 1937–41: line coach | Illinois, Illinois College |
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.