Cleveland Abbott

Cleveland Abbott
Biographical details
Born	December 9, 1894; Yankton, South Dakota, U.S.
Died	April 14, 1955 (aged 60); Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
Football
c. 1912–1915	South Dakota State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1923–1954	Tuskegee
Basketball
1933–1936	Tuskegee
Head coaching record
Overall	203–96–28 (football); 27–18 (basketball)
Bowls	4–7
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	Football; 6 black college national (1924–1927, 1929–1930); 12 SIAC (1924–1933, 1936, 1943)

Cleveland Leigh "Cleve" Abbott (some sources say "Cleveland S. Abbott") (December 9, 1894 – April 14, 1955) was an American college football player, coach and educator.^[1] He was the head coach of the Tuskegee Golden Tigers football team from 1923 to 1954.

Life

Officers of the United States Army's segregated 366th Infantry Regiment on board the RMS Aquitania, en route home from World War I service, Abbott at left

Abbott was born in Yankton, South Dakota in 1894, one of seven children to Albert B. (aka Elbert) Abbott (1862–1952) and Mollie Brown Abbott (1868–1909).

Abbott graduated from high school (1908–1912) Watertown, South Dakota. He received his bachelor's degree (1912–1916) from South Dakota State College (SDSC) in Brookings, South Dakota. He was an outstanding, multi-sport athlete at Watertown High School (16 varsity sports letters) and SDSC (now SDSU) (14 varsity letters). Hired by Booker T. Washington in 1913 to be the Tuskegee Institute football coach and dairy instructor upon 1916 SDSC graduation.

He joined the US Army in 1917 at Camp Dodge and served in Europe in World War I as an officer in the 366th Infantry Regiment

After mustered out in 1919, Abbott taught at the Kansas Vocational School in Topeka, Kansas. In 1923, Abbott accepted a position as Athletic Director, professor and coach at Tuskegee.^[2] Abbott was the eighth head football coach for the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers located in Tuskegee, Alabama^[3] and he held that position for 32 seasons, from 1923 until 1954. Abbott earned the respect of his peers through his team's performance and by participating in national committees for the selection of "all-American" players at the collegiate level.^[4]

He was the first African-American member of USA Track and Field Board circa 1940 and the first African-American member of the US Olympic Committee in 1946. He coached the first African-American Olympic champion, Alice Coachman (1948 high jump), and the second, Mildred McDaniel (1956 high jump).

He was married to Jessie Harriette Scott (March 23, 1897, Des Moines, Iowa – August 12, 1982, Tuskegee, Alabama) and had had a daughter, Jessie Ellen Abbott.

Abbott died on April 17, 1955, in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Cleveland Abbott was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in September 2018.^{[citation needed]}

Head coaching record

College


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Tuskegee Golden Tigers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1923–1954)
1923	Tuskegee	7–1–1
1924	Tuskegee	9–0–1		1st
1925	Tuskegee	8–0–1		1st
1926	Tuskegee	10–0		1st
1927	Tuskegee	9–0–1		1st
1928	Tuskegee	6–1–4		T–1st
1929	Tuskegee	10–0		1st
1930	Tuskegee	11–0–1		1st	W Prairie View
1931	Tuskegee	10–2		1st
1932	Tuskegee	6–1		1st	L Prairie View
1933	Tuskegee	9–1–2		1st
1934	Tuskegee	6–5–1			W Prairie View
1935	Tuskegee	8–4
1936	Tuskegee	7–5		1st	W Prairie View
1937	Tuskegee	6–3–1
1938	Tuskegee	1–7–2			L Prairie View
1939	Tuskegee	3–7
1940	Tuskegee	5–4	4–3	5th
1941	Tuskegee	8–2			L Orange Blossom Classic
1942	Tuskegee	7–3			L Vulcan
1943	Tuskegee	9–2–1		1st	W Vulcan
1944	Tuskegee	6–4–1			L Vulcan
1945	Tuskegee	6–6–1			L Prairie View
1946	Tuskegee	10–2			L Yam Bowl
1947	Tuskegee	6–4–1
1948	Tuskegee	4–4–1
1949	Tuskegee	4–6
1950	Tuskegee	2–5–2
1951	Tuskegee	6–3	5–3	T–7th
1952	Tuskegee	2–6–2
1953	Tuskegee	2–6–2
1954	Tuskegee	3–5–1
Tuskegee:		206–99–27
Total:		206–99–27

References

^ The Afro American January 27, 1940 Archived January 30, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
^ The College on the Hill, a Sense of South Dakota State University History, Dunkle and Smith, 2003
^ The Fayetteville Observer "Negro Gridiron Circuit is Popular" October 25, 1939
^ Baltimore Afro-American "Looking 'em Over" November 2, 1946^{[dead link]}

External links

[1] The Afro American January 27, 1940 Archived January 30, 2021, at the Wayback Machine

[2] The College on the Hill, a Sense of South Dakota State University History, Dunkle and Smith, 2003

[3] The Fayetteville Observer "Negro Gridiron Circuit is Popular" October 25, 1939

[4] Baltimore Afro-American "Looking 'em Over" November 2, 1946^{[dead link]}

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