Ray Hanson
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Ray "Rock" Hanson (deceased 1982), former United States Marine Colonel and veteran of World War I and World War II, was best known as the football coach at Western Illinois State Teachers College (now Western Illinois University) in Macomb, Illinois, USA from 1926 to 1964.
Hanson officially began his coaching career at Western after studying under Knute Rockne (hence the nickname "Rock"). Hanson had the distinction of being the football coach the first year that a black athlete, Ernest Page, played on Western's team, as well as having the longest tenure of any head football coach ever at Western.
Hanson is most remembered as the person who gained permission from the Marine Corps to use the name "Fighting Leathernecks" for Western's teams. To this day, Western Illinois University is the only public school in the U.S. that has permission through the Department of the Navy to use the United States Marine Corps official seal and mascot (the bulldog) along with the nickname.
Western's mascot, an English bulldog named Colonel Rock (or more commonly "Rocky"), was named in honor of coach Hanson, as was Western's football field (Hanson Field).
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Jay • Hawkes • Barclay • Hanson • Barclay • Barnwell • Hanson • Morley • Ricci • Moore • Margenthaler • Kerwin • Thomas
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