Robert Zuppke

Robert Carl Zuppke (1879–1957) was the head football coach at the University of Illinois from 1913 until 1941. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, Zuppke coached his teams to national titles in 1914, 1919, 1923, and 1927. Zuppke's teams also won seven Big Ten Conference championships, and his teams had a cumulative record of 131-81-13 (131 wins, 81 losses, and 13 ties). While at the University of Illinois, Zuppke was a member of the Alpha-Gamma Chapter of Kappa Sigma. Among the players that Zuppke coached at Illinois was Red Grange, who was the most celebrated college football player of the era. The field in Memorial Stadium is named Zuppke Field in his honor. Zuppke is credited for many football inventions and traditions, including the huddle and the flea flicker.

Zuppkeisms

Zuppke had philosophical remarks known as Zuppkeisms. The seven best known are as follows:

# Never let hope elude you; that is life's biggest failure
# The greatest athlete is one who can carry a nimble brain to the place of action
# Moral courage is the result of respect from fellow men
# A good back should keep his feet at all times and never lose his head
# Men do their best if they know they are being observed
# Alumni are loyal if a coach wins all his games
# Advice to freshmen: don't drink the liniment

Head coaching record

CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Illinois Fighting Illini
startyear = 1913
conf = Big Ten Conference
endyear = 1941CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1913
name = Illinois
overall = 4-2-1
conference = 2-2-1
confstanding = 5th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = national
year = 1914
name = Illinois
overall = 7-0
conference = 6-0
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1915
name = Illinois
overall = 5-0-2
conference = 3-0-2
confstanding = T-1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
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championship =
year = 1916
name = Illinois
overall = 3-3-1
conference = 2-2-1
confstanding = T-4th
bowlname =
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championship =
year = 1917
name = Illinois
overall = 5-2-1
conference = 2-2-1
confstanding = T-5th
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
ranking =
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championship = conference
year = 1918
name = Illinois
overall = 5-2
conference = 4-0
confstanding = T-1st
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = national
year = 1919
name = Illinois
overall = 6-1
conference = 6-1
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1920
name = Illinois
overall = 5-2
conference = 4-2
confstanding = 4th
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
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championship =
year = 1921
name = Illinois
overall = 3-4
conference = 1-4
confstanding = T-8th
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1922
name = Illinois
overall = 2-5
conference = 2-4
confstanding = 6th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = national
year = 1923
name = Illinois
overall = 8-0
conference = 5-0
confstanding = T-1st
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1924
name = Illinois
overall = 6-1-1
conference = 3-1-1
confstanding = T-2nd
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1925
name = Illinois
overall = 5-3
conference = 2-2
confstanding = T-4th
bowlname =
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ranking =
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championship =
year = 1926
name = Illinois
overall = 6-2
conference = 2-2
confstanding = T-6th
bowlname =
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ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = national
year = 1927
name = Illinois
overall = 7-0-1
conference = 5-0
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
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ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
year = 1928
name = Illinois
overall = 7-1
conference = 4-1
confstanding = 1st
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1929
name = Illinois
overall = 6-1-1
conference = 3-1-1
confstanding = 2nd
bowlname =
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bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1930
name = Illinois
overall = 3-5
conference = 1-4
confstanding = 8th
bowlname =
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ranking =
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championship =
year = 1931
name = Illinois
overall = 2-6
conference = 0-6
confstanding = 10th
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ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1932
name = Illinois
overall = 5-4
conference = 2-4
confstanding = 7th
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championship =
year = 1933
name = Illinois
overall = 5-3
conference = 3-2
confstanding = T-5th
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ranking =
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championship =
year = 1934
name = Illinois
overall = 7-1
conference = 4-1
confstanding = 3rd
bowlname =
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ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1935
name = Illinois
overall = 3-5
conference = 1-4
confstanding = T-9th
bowlname =
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ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1936
name = Illinois
overall = 4-3-1
conference = 2-2-1
confstanding = 6th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1937
name = Illinois
overall = 3-3-2
conference = 2-3
confstanding = 8th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1938
name = Illinois
overall = 3-5
conference = 2-3
confstanding = 7th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1939
name = Illinois
overall = 3-4-1
conference = 3-3
confstanding = 6th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1940
name = Illinois
overall = 1-7
conference = 0-5
confstanding = 9th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 1941
name = Illinois
overall = 2-6
conference = 0-5
confstanding = 9th
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Illinois
overall = 131-81-12
confrecord = 76-66-8CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 131-81-12 (.612)
bcs =
poll = two
polltype =

ee also

*List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association

External links

* [http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/uaccard/UAControlCard.asp?RG=28&SG=3&RS=20 Robert Zuppke Papers, 1900-13, 1921-22, 1926-57] , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Archives
* [http://collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=20073 College Football Hall of Fame bio]
* [http://www.mashf.com/1990_inductees.htm#Zuppke Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame bio]