Sam Willaman
Sam Willaman went 47–26–9 as a head coach, 1922–1934, at Iowa State, Ohio State and Western Reserve. Share
One season our game records don’t credit to him comes from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1934 at Western Reserve. It’s marked in the table.
- Record
- 47–26–9 career
- Seasons
- 10
- Schools
- 3
- AP poll
- Began in 1936, after this career
- Best season
- 1933 7–1
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Iowa State | 2–6 | 5th | |||
| 1923 | Iowa State | 4–3–1 | 4th | |||
| 1924 | Iowa State | 4–3–1 | 6th | |||
| 1925 | Iowa State | 4–3–1 | T–3rd | |||
| 1926–28: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1929 | Ohio State | 4–3–1 | T–5th | |||
| 1930 | Ohio State | 5–2–1 | T–4th | |||
| 1931 | Ohio State | 6–3 | 4th | |||
| 1932 | Ohio State | 4–1–3 | 4th | |||
| 1933 | Ohio State | 7–1 | 2nd | |||
| 1934 | Western Reserve * | 7–1–1 | 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
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 | 20 | 8–11–1 | 43% |
| Conference games | 49 | 25–18–6 | 57% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 30 | 14–8–8 | 60% |
| At home | 42 | 24–12–6 | 64% |
| On the road | 31 | 16–13–2 | 55% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 39 | 27–8–4 | 74% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 34 | 13–17–4 | 44% |
His own 73 games on file, 1922–1933, 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Zuppke 1929–1933 | 4–1 | Illinois | 5 | |
| Dick Hanley 1929–1933 | 2–3 | Northwestern | 5 | |
| Harry Kipke 1929–1933 | 2–3 | Michigan | 5 | |
| Ossie Solem 1922–1925 | 2–2 | Drake | 4 | |
| Charlie Bachman 1922–1925 | 1–2–1 | Kansas State | 4 | |
| Billy Hayes 1931–1933 | 2–0–1 | Indiana | 3 | |
| Fred Dawson 1922–1933 | 1–2 | Nebraska, Virginia | 3 | |
| Gwinn Henry 1923–1925 | 1–2 | Missouri | 3 | |
| Jock Sutherland 1929–1932 | 1–1–1 | Pittsburgh | 3 |
Sam Willaman’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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsinseries | 6 | 2–2–2 |
| Illinoisseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Indianaseries | 5 | 3–0–2 |
| Northwesternseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Michiganseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Grinnellseries | 4 | 2–1–1 |
| Drakeseries | 4 | 2–2 |
| Missouriseries | 4 | 1–3 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915–21 | East Technical HS (OH) high school | Head coach | |
| 1922–25 | Iowa State | Head coach | |
| 1926–28 | Ohio State | Assistant coach | |
| 1929–33 | Ohio State | Head coach | |
| 1934 | Western Reserve | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- John WilceOhio State
Assistants who became head coaches
- George HauserColgate, Minnesota
- Wesley FeslerPittsburgh, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wesleyan (CT)
- Bill EdwardsVanderbilt, Case Western Reserve, Detroit Lions, Wittenberg
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Wilce | Ohio State | 1926–28 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (3)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Hauser | Iowa State, 1924–25: line coach; Ohio State, 1929–31: line coach | Colgate, Minnesota | |
| Wesley Fesler | Ohio State, 1931–32: assistant coach | Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wesleyan (CT) | |
| Bill Edwards | Case Western Reserve, 1934: assistant coach | Vanderbilt, Case Western Reserve, Detroit Lions, Wittenberg |
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.