Fred Joseph Bedenk (July 14, 1897 – May 2, 1978) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head baseball coach at Rice University from 1925 to 1926 and at Pennsylvania State University from 1931 to 1962. Bedenk was also the head football coach at Penn State for one season in 1949, tallying a mark of 5–4.
 Bedenk pictured in The Campanile 1926, Rice yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 14, 1897 |
| Died | May 2, 1978 (aged 80) State College, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1921–1923 | Penn State |
| Baseball | |
| 1922–1923 | Penn State |
| Position(s) | Guard (football) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1924–1926 | Rice (assistant) |
| 1927–1928 | Florida (line) |
| 1929–1948 | Penn State (assistant) |
| 1949 | Penn State |
| 1950–1951 | Penn State (assistant) |
| Baseball | |
| 1925–1926 | Rice |
| 1931–1962 | Penn State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–4 (football) 391–171–3 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| |
Playing career edit
Bedenk played guard for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team. He was elected team captain and earned All-America honors in 1923. He graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Arts in finance in 1924.
Coaching career edit
Bedenk served for several years as Penn state's line coach before being promoted to head coach for the 1949 season. After finishing the year at 5–4, Bedenk requested a return to coaching the line and the university brought in Rip Engle as head coach, and Engle's quarterback from Brown University, Joe Paterno as an assistant coach.
Death edit
Bedenk died on May 2, 1978, at the Mountainview Unit of Centre Community Hospital—now known as Mount Nittany Medical Center—in State College, Pennsylvania, following a long illness.[1]
Head coaching record edit
Football edit
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Nittany Lions (Independent) (1949) | |||||||||
| 1949 | Penn State | 5–4 | |||||||
| Penn State: | 5–4 | ||||||||
| Total: | 5–4 | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ "Joe Bedenk Dies At 80". The Daily News. Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. United Press International. May 3, 1978. p. 6. Retrieved July 7, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
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