Bud Wilkinson

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Bud Wilkinson

Date of birth	April 23, 1916
Place of birth	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date of death	February 9, 1994
Sport	Football
Overall Record	145-29-4
Championships   won	3 National Championships (1950, 1955, 1956) 14 Conference Championships
Coaching Stats	College Football DataWarehouse
School as a player
1930s	University of Minnesota
Position	Quarterback
Coaching positions
1947-1963	University of Oklahoma
College Football Hall of Fame, 1969

Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916–February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, and broadcaster. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Coaching 3 Head Coach 4 After Oklahoma 5 External links

[edit] Early years

Wilkinson's mother died when he was seven, and his father sent him to the Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota, where he excelled in five sports and graduated in 1933. He enrolled at the University of Minnesota, where as a guard and quarterback for head coach Bernie Bierman, Wilkinson led the Golden Gophers to three national championships from 1934 to 1936. Following his graduation in 1937 with a degree in English, he led the College All-Stars to a 6-0 victory over the defending National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers.

[edit] Coaching

He briefly worked for his father's mortgage company, then became an assistant coach at Syracuse and then back at Minnesota. During World War II he served on an aircraft carrier with the U.S. Navy, and also coached a Navy football team at Iowa Preflight Academy, a school designed to prepare its students to enter Naval flight school. At Iowa Preflight, Wilkinson met and coached with Jim Tatum. In 1946 Tatum was hired as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma. Wilkinson followed Tatum to Norman, and after just one season, Tatum left the Sooners for Maryland. The 30-year-old Wilkinson was named head coach (and athletic director) and would soon make history.

[edit] Head Coach

In his first season of 1947, Wilkinson led Oklahoma to a 7-2-1 record and the Big Six championship, the first of 13 consecutive conference titles. Ultimately, Wilkinson would become one of the most celebrated college coaches of all time. His teams captured national championships in 1950, 1955, and 1956, and amassed a 145-29-4 (82.6%) overall record. The centerpiece of his reign in Norman was a 47-game winning streak from 1953 to 1957, an NCAA Division I record that still stands. Except for two losses in 1951, the Wilkinson-coached Sooners did not lose more than one game per season for 11 years from 1948 to 1958, going 107-8-2 over that period. His 1955 Oklahoma team is considered one of the greatest teams in college football history, regardless of era. He was also the first collegiate football coach to host a television show, aptly named "The Bud Wilkinson Show."

Wilkinson was also remarkable for compiling this record while showing a genuine interest and concern for the performance of his players in the classroom. Following the 1963 season, his 17th at Oklahoma, Wilkinson retired from coaching at the young age of 47.

[edit] After Oklahoma

Wilkinson ran as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in 1964, at which point he legally changed his first name to Bud, but lost in the Democratic landslide to Fred R. Harris. In 1965, Wilkinson joined the ABC television network as their lead color commentator on college football telecasts (teaming with Chris Schenkel and, later, Keith Jackson). Wilkinson was the color analyst for two of the greatest games in college football history: Texas vs. Arkansas in 1969 and Nebraska vs. Oklahoma in 1971. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

In 1978, Wilkinson returned to coaching, with the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL. After less than two disappointing seasons, he was fired and returned to broadcasting.

Bud Wilkinson suffered a series of minor strokes and in early 1994, he died of congestive heart failure in St.Louis, at the age of 77.

[edit] External links

• ESPN Classic biography - Bud Wilkinson
• College Football Hall of Fame - Bud Wilkinson
• College Football Data Warehouse - Bud Wilkinson's coaching record 1947-63
• Pro coaching record - Bud Wilkinson 1978-79
• I Remember Bud Wilkinson - Review of Book - "I Remember Bud Wilkinson"

Preceded by Jim Tatum	Oklahoma Sooners Head Coaches 1947-1963	Succeeded by Gomer Jones
Preceded by Don Coryell	St. Louis Cardinals Head Coaches 1978–1979	Succeeded by Larry Wilson

Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals Head Coaches
Driscoll • Horween • Barry • Chamberlin • Gillies • Scanlon • Nevers • Andrews • Chevigny • Schissler • Creighton • Nevers • Conzelman • Handler • Conzelman • Lambeau • Handler • Kuharich • Stydahar • Richards • Ivy • Lemm • Winner • Hollway • Coryell • Wilkinson • Wilson • Hanifan • Stallings • Kuhlmann • Bugel • Ryan • Tobin • McGinnis • Green • Whisenhunt

Switzer Center Mural

Coaches: Harts • Owen • Jones • Tatum • Wilkinson • Switzer • Stoops• Heisman: Vessels • Owens • Sims • White• Awards: Roberts • Weatherall • Jackson • Selmon • Casillas • Roberts • Dixon •  •Williams • Bosworth • Calmus • Phillips • Harris • Lehman • Strait • Brown• Hall of Fame: Reeds • Geyer • Owens • McDonald •  Young • Tubbs • Pruitt • Burris• Three-Time All-Americans: Burris • Shoate• Four-Time All-Conference• Walker • Reed• Record Holders: •Washington•Hinton•Royal•Hunt•Shipp• Special Sooners: Gautt•Gundy•Kalsu•Selmon•Selmon•Owens• NCAA Record 47-Game Winning Streak•Harris•Pricer•Thomas• SplitT•Catlin•Crowder•McPhail•Leake• Wishbone•Mildren•Davis•Lott•Watts•Bradley•Holieway• Special: Uwe von Schamann•Stadium•Orange Bowl•Big 8• Red River Shootout•Pride of Oklahoma•Cheerleaders•Fans•Jumbotron•BCS•Heisman•Outland •Lombardi•Butkus•Thorpe•Nagurski•Rings•Trophies •Sooner Schooner•Ruf-Neks•"Mex" the dog• National Championships: 1950•1955•1956•1974•1975•1985•2000•

Persondata
NAME	Wilkinson, Bud
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wilkinson, Charles Burnham (real name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Football player and coach; Sports announcer
DATE OF BIRTH	April 23, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH	Minneapolis, Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH	February 9, 1994
PLACE OF DEATH	St. Louis, Missouri