Maurice J. "Clipper" Smith (October 15, 1898 – March 17, 1984) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Gonzaga University (1925–1928),[1][2][3] Santa Clara University (1929–1935),[4] Villanova College—now known as Villanova University (1936–1942), the University of San Francisco (1946), and Lafayette College (1949–1951). Smith was also the head coach of the National Football League's Boston Yanks from 1947 to 1948, tallying a mark of 7–16–1. In addition, he was the head basketball coach at Gonzaga from 1925 to 1929 and the head baseball coach at the school for one season in 1926, notching a record of 4–11.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 15, 1898 Manteno, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 17, 1984 (aged 85) Laguna Beach, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1917–1920 | Notre Dame |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1921–1924 | Columbia (OR) |
| 1925–1928 | Gonzaga |
| 1929–1935 | Santa Clara |
| 1936–1942 | Villanova |
| 1944 | Cherry Point Marines |
| 1946 | San Francisco |
| 1947–1948 | Boston Yanks |
| 1949–1951 | Lafayette |
| Basketball | |
| 1922–1924 | Columbia (OR) |
| 1925–1929 | Gonzaga |
| Baseball | |
| 1926 | Gonzaga |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1925–1929 | Gonzaga |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 7–16–1 (NFL) 73–75 (college basketball) 4–11 (college baseball) |
| Bowls | 1–0–1 |
Smith died on March 17, 1984, at his home in Laguna Beach, California.[5]
Head coaching record edit
College football edit
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | AP# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga Bulldogs (Independent) (1925–1928) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Gonzaga | 7–2–2 | |||||||
| 1926 | Gonzaga | 5–2–1 | |||||||
| 1927 | Gonzaga | 5–3–1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Gonzaga | 6–2–1 | |||||||
| Gonzaga: | 23–9–5 | ||||||||
| Santa Clara Missionites / Broncos (Independent) (1929–1935) | |||||||||
| 1929 | Santa Clara | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1930 | Santa Clara | 5–3–1 | |||||||
| 1931 | Santa Clara | 5–4–1 | |||||||
| 1932 | Santa Clara | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1933 | Santa Clara | 6–2–1 | W New Year's Classic | ||||||
| 1934 | Santa Clara | 7–2–1 | |||||||
| 1935 | Santa Clara | 3–6 | |||||||
| Santa Clara: | 37–23–4 | ||||||||
| Villanova Wildcats (Independent) (1936–1942) | |||||||||
| 1936 | Villanova | 7–2–1 | T Bacardi | ||||||
| 1937 | Villanova | 8–0–1 | 6 | ||||||
| 1938 | Villanova | 8–0–1 | 18 | ||||||
| 1939 | Villanova | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1940 | Villanova | 4–5 | |||||||
| 1941 | Villanova | 4–4 | |||||||
| 1942 | Villanova | 4–4 | |||||||
| Villanova: | 41–17–3 | ||||||||
| Cherry Point Marines Flying Leathernecks (Independent) (1944) | |||||||||
| 1944 | Cherry Point Marines | 3–6 | |||||||
| Cherry Point Marines: | 3–6 | ||||||||
| San Francisco Dons (Independent) (1946) | |||||||||
| 1946 | San Francisco | 3–6 | |||||||
| San Francisco: | 3–6 | ||||||||
| Lafayette Leopards (Middle Three Conference) (1949–1951) | |||||||||
| 1949 | Lafayette | 2–6 | 1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1950 | Lafayette | 1–8 | 0–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1951 | Lafayette | 1–7 | 0–2 | 3rd | |||||
| Lafayette: | 4–21 | 1–5 | |||||||
| Total: | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References edit
- ^ "Clipper Smith works his outfit overtime". Spokane Daily Chronicle. October 28, 1925. p. 18.
- ^ "Clipper Smith may change job". Spokane Daily Chronicle. May 18, 1929. p. 1.
- ^ "Clipper Smith heading south". Spokane Daily Chronicle. May 30, 1929. p. 14.
- ^ "Clipper Smith heads for Villanova; plays Santa Clara in fall". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. United Press. June 25, 1936. p. 10.
- ^ "Maurice 'Clipper' Smith Dead at 85". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press. March 20, 1984. p. B7. Retrieved April 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
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