Wesley Leonard "Cowboy" Fry (December 10, 1902 – November 11, 1970) was an American football player, coach of football and baseball, and professional football executive. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma City University in 1933 and at Kansas State University from 1935 to 1939, tallying a career college football coach mark of 26–22–6. Fry was also the head baseball coach at Kansas State from 1935 to 1938 and at Northwestern University from 1944 to 1946, compiling a career college baseball record of 53–53–2. He later served as director of player personnel and then as general manager with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) from 1960 to 1963.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 10, 1902 Hartley, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | November 11, 1970 (aged 67) La Mesa, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1923–1925 | Iowa |
| 1926–1927 | New York Yankees |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1928–1932 | Classen HS (OK) |
| 1933 | Oklahoma City |
| 1934 | Kansas State (assistant) |
| 1935–1939 | Kansas State |
| 1940–1946 | Northwestern (assistant) |
| 1947–1956 | California (assistant) |
| Baseball | |
| 1935–1938 | Kansas State |
| 1944–1946 | Northwestern |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1960–1963 | Oakland Raiders (GM) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 26–22–6 (college football) 44–9–1 (high school football) 53–53–2 (college baseball) |
Playing career
editFry played college football at the University of Iowa under legendary coach Howard Jones, excelling as a fullback. He was named to play in the first East–West Shrine Game following his senior season in 1925. Fry then spent the 1926 and 1927 seasons playing professional football with Red Grange for the New York Yankees of the National Football League (NFL). At the same time, Fry attended law school.
Coaching career
editAfter earning his law degree, Fry quit playing professional football and sought to practice law in Oklahoma, but he was quickly diverted onto the path of a football coach. He began his career coaching football at Classen High School in Oklahoma City. In his five seasons at Classen, from 1928 to 1932, his football teams compiled a record of 44–9–1. At Classen, Fry also coached the track team. In 1933, Fry served at the head football coach at Oklahoma City University, leading his squad to an 8–1 record.[1] The following year, when future Hall of Fame coach Pappy Waldorf moved north from Oklahoma A&M to Kansas State University, he hired Fry to be his lone assistant coach. Waldorf left Kansas State after one season, and Fry was hired as the new head coach in 1935.
Fry held the head coaching position at Kansas State for five seasons, posting an 18–21–6 record. Fry also coached the baseball team at Kansas State during this time. Fry stepped aside following the 1939 season, but not before coaching the second-ever televised college football game.
For the 1940 season, Fry rejoined Waldorf as an assistant coach at Northwestern University. In 1947, Fry moved with Waldorf to the University of California. Fry remained Waldorf's assistant coach at Cal through the end of Waldorf's term, in 1956, despite receiving offers of head coaching positions from Oregon State University and Arizona State University.
Administrative career and later life
editIn 1960, Fry joined the Oakland Raiders organization, which was commencing operations as a member of the American Football League. He first served as director of player personnel, then as general manager of the franchise until 1963, when Al Davis was hired as general manager and head coach. Fry died on November 11, 1970, at his home in La Mesa, California.[2]
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Goldbugs (Independent) (1933) | |||||||||
| 1933 | Oklahoma City | 8–1 | |||||||
| Oklahoma City: | 8–1 | ||||||||
| Kansas State Wildcats (Big Six Conference) (1935–1939) | |||||||||
| 1935 | Kansas State | 2–4–3 | 1–2–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1936 | Kansas State | 4–3–2 | 2–1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1937 | Kansas State | 4–5 | 1–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1938 | Kansas State | 4–4–1 | 1–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1939 | Kansas State | 4–5 | 1–4 | T–4th | |||||
| Kansas State: | 18–21–6 | 6–14–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 26–22–6 | ||||||||
College baseball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas State Wildcats (Big Six Conference) (1935–1938) | |||||||||
| 1935 | Kansas State | 4–5 | |||||||
| 1936 | Kansas State | 5–9 | |||||||
| 1937 | Kansas State | 8–4–1 | |||||||
| 1938 | Kansas State | 8–7 | |||||||
| Kansas State: | 25–25–1 (.500) | ||||||||
| Northwestern Wildcats (Big Ten Conference) (1944–1946) | |||||||||
| 1944 | Northwestern | 13–3–1 | |||||||
| 1945 | Northwestern | 7–13 | |||||||
| 1946 | Northwestern | 8–12 | |||||||
| Northwestern: | 28–28–1 (.500) | ||||||||
| Total: | 53–53–2 (.500) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Will Aid Waldorf; Wes Fry, Oklahoma City U. Mentor, Named as Aggie Assistant". Lawrence Journal-World. March 26, 1934. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
- ^ "Wesley L. Fry, 67, Coached California Football Team" (PDF). The New York Times. Associated Press. November 13, 1970. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
Additional sources
edit- Fitzgerald, Tim (2001). Wildcat Gridiron Guide (ISBN 0-9703458-0-1)
External links
edit- Career statistics from Pro Football Reference