Caesar Felton "Zip" Gayles (May 22, 1900 – November 5, 1986) was an American college football and college basketball coach.[1] He served as the head football coach at Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College—now known as Tennessee State University—in 1927, Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College—now known as University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff–from 1928 to 1929, and at Langston University from 1930 to 1957. He was also the head basketball coach at Langston from 1930 to 1965, tallying a mark of 571–281. Gayles was inducted into the Oklahoma Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974, the NAIA Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.[2]
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 22, 1900 Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 1986 (aged 86) Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1920–1924 | Morehouse |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1927 | Tennessee A&I |
| 1928–1929 | Arkansas AM&N |
| 1930–1957 | Langston |
| Basketball | |
| 1930–1965 | Langston |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 145–100–24 (football) 571–281 (basketball) |
| Bowls | 2–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 2 black college national (1939, 1941) 7 SWAC (1933, 1936, 1938–1940, 1944, 1949) | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2015 | |
Coaching career
editTennessee A&I
editAfter graduating, Gayles took a faculty and coaching position at Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College in Nashville, Tennessee, now called Tennessee State University.[2] As the fourth head coach of the football, he led the squad to a record of 1–2–3 in 1927.[3]
Some records list his name as "Felton Gale" at this time but other records confirm that "Felton Gale" and "Caesar Felton Gayles" are indeed the same person.[2]
Arkansas–Pine Bluff
editGayles was the head football coach at Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College—now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff—for two seasons, from 1928 to 1929, compiling a record of 8–9–3.
Langston
editGayles coached for 35 years at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma. As the basketball coach from 1930 to 1965, his teams compiled a record of 571–281. He also was the football coach for 28 seasons, from 1930 to 1957, finishing with a record of 146–78–18. His teams were National Negro champions twice in both basketball and football.[4]
Death
editGayles died on November 5, 1986, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.[5]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee A&I Tigers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1927) | |||||||||
| 1927 | Tennessee A&I | 1–2–3 | 1–1–2 | ||||||
| Tennessee A&I: | 1–2–3 | 1–1–2 | |||||||
| Arkansas AM&N Lions (Independent) (1928–1929) | |||||||||
| 1928 | Arkansas AM&N | 2–7 | |||||||
| 1929 | Arkansas AM&N | 6–2–3 | |||||||
| Arkansas AM&N: | 8–9–3 | ||||||||
| Langston Lions (Independent) (1930) | |||||||||
| 1930 | Langston | 5–1 | |||||||
| Langston Lions (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1931–1957) | |||||||||
| 1931 | Langston | 3–3–1 | |||||||
| 1932 | Langston | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1933 | Langston | 9–1 | T–1st | L Prairie View | |||||
| 1934 | Langston | 7–2 | 3–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1935 | Langston | 2–3–2 | 1–3–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1936 | Langston | 7–1–1 | 4–1–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1937 | Langston | 3–4–1 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1938 | Langston | 4–1–3 | 3–0–3 | T–1st | |||||
| 1939 | Langston | 7–0–1 | 5–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1940 | Langston | 6–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1941 | Langston | 9–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | W Vulcan | ||||
| 1942 | Langston | 6–2–1 | 1–2–1 | 3rd | W Prairie View | ||||
| 1943 | Langston | 2–4 | |||||||
| 1944 | Langston | 6–2–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1945 | Langston | 5–3 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1946 | Langston | 2–6–1 | 2–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1947 | Langston | 2–7–1 | 2–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1948 | Langston | 7–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1949 | Langston | 8–1–1 | 6–0–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1950 | Langston | 9–1 | 6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1951 | Langston | 4–5 | 4–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1952 | Langston | 2–6–1 | 1–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1953 | Langston | 3–6 | 2–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1954 | Langston | 4–4–1 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1955 | Langston | 6–1–2 | 4–1–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1956 | Langston | 2–7 | 2–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1957 | Langston | 0–9 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| Langston: | 136–89–19 | ||||||||
| Total: | 145–100–24 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "On The Road Again And Again And..." Sports Illustrated. April 22, 1985. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Caesar "Zip" Gayles". The Jim Thorpe Association. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ "2013 Football Media Guide". Tennessee State Tigers athletic department. p. 110. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 29, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ Hersom, Bob (August 14, 2008). "Zip Gayles never got his chance against Iba's team". NewsOK.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ "Ex-Langston Coach Dies". The Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. November 7, 1986. p. 96. Retrieved May 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
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