Thomas Gene Porter (April 21, 1929 – January 24, 2013) was an American football and ice hockey coach.[1] He served two stints as the head football coach at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota from 1958 to 1967 and 1969 to 1990, compiling a record of 171–119–10.[2] Porter was also the head ice hockey coach at St. Olaf from 1970 to 1977, tallying a mark of 24–110.[3]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 21, 1929 Stillwater, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 2013 (aged 83) Northfield, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | St. Olaf |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1950 | St. Olaf |
| Ice hockey | |
| c. 1950 | St. Olaf |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1954–1955 | Neenah HS (WI) (assistant) |
| 1956–1957 | Neenah HS (WI) |
| 1958–1967 | St. Olaf |
| 1969–1990 | St. Olaf |
| Ice hockey | |
| 1970–1977 | St. Olaf |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 171–119–10 (football) 24–110 (ice hockey) |
| Tournaments | Football 0–1 (NCAA D-III playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 6 MWC (1960–1961, 1966, 1969–1971) 2 MIAC (1978–1979) | |
| Awards | |
| Football MIAC Coach of the Year (1978) | |
A native of Stillwater, Minnesota, Porter attended high school in Bayport, Minnesota. He played football and ice hockey at St. Olaf before graduating in 1951. Porter began his coaching career in 1954 as an assistant football coach at Neenah High School in Neenah, Wisconsin under head coach Jerry Thompson. He succeeded Thompson has head coach 1956 when Thompson left to become head football coach at Ripon College. Porter also coached track and freshman basketball at Neenah.[4]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Olaf Oles (Midwest Conference) (1958–1967) | |||||||||
| 1958 | St. Olaf | 4–4 | 4–4 | 4th | |||||
| 1959 | St. Olaf | 6–2 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1960 | St. Olaf | 6–2 | 6–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1961 | St. Olaf | 6–2 | 6–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 1962 | St. Olaf | 5–2–1 | 5–2–1 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1963 | St. Olaf | 4–4 | 4–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1964 | St. Olaf | 4–4 | 4–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1965 | St. Olaf | 5–3 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1966 | St. Olaf | 7–1 | 7–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1967 | St. Olaf | 6–2 | 6–2 | 2nd | |||||
| St. Olaf Oles (Midwest Conference) (1969–1973) | |||||||||
| 1969 | St. Olaf | 8–1 | 8–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1970 | St. Olaf | 9–0 | 8–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1971 | St. Olaf | 8–1 | 7–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1972 | St. Olaf | 6–3 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1973 | St. Olaf | 5–4 | 5–3 | 5th | |||||
| St. Olaf Oles (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1974–1990) | |||||||||
| 1974 | St. Olaf | 3–6 | 1–6 | T–8th | |||||
| 1975 | St. Olaf | 5–3–1 | 3–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1976 | St. Olaf | 7–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1977 | St. Olaf | 5–4–1 | 2–4–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1978 | St. Olaf | 9–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division III Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1979 | St. Olaf | 7–3 | 6–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 1980 | St. Olaf | 6–4 | 4–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1981 | St. Olaf | 4–7 | 2–6 | T–6th | |||||
| 1982 | St. Olaf | 2–8 | 1–7 | T–8th | |||||
| 1983 | St. Olaf | 3–7 | 3–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 1984 | St. Olaf | 5–3–2 | 4–3–2 | 5th | |||||
| 1985 | St. Olaf | 4–6 | 4–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 1986 | St. Olaf | 5–5 | 4–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1987 | St. Olaf | 3–7 | 3–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 1988 | St. Olaf | 4–6 | 3–6 | T–6th | |||||
| 1989 | St. Olaf | 6–4 | 5–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1990 | St. Olaf | 4–6 | 3–6 | 8th | |||||
| St. Olaf: | 171–119–10 | 146–110–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 171–119–10 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Thomas Porter". Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "Thomas Gene Porter". northfieldfuneral.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ "Tom Porter". stolaf.edu. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
- ^ "Name Neenah's Tom Porter Head Grid Coach at St. Olaf". The Post-Crescent. St. Cloud, Minnesota. March 26, 1958. p. 34. Retrieved December 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com
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