Bill Hess
William R. Hess (February 5, 1923 – June 10, 1978) was an American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Ohio University from 1958 to 1977. In his tenure as head coach for the Ohio Bobcats football team, Hess compiled a 108–91–4 record. He ranked second on Ohio's all-time victories list behind Hall of Famer Don Peden at the time of his retirement,[1] though he has since been passed by Frank Solich. Hess's teams won four Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships (1960, 1963, 1967, and 1968) and won a National Small College Championship in 1960 after having an undefeated season. Hess also led the Bobcats to two bowl games, losing 15–14 to West Texas State in the 1962 Sun Bowl and losing 49–42 to Richmond in the 1968 Tangerine Bowl. His 1968 team is the only team in school history to finish ranked in the major polls.[2] Hess was a native of Columbus, Ohio. He coached high school football in Portsmouth and Grandview Heights, Ohio before joining Woody Hayes's staff at Ohio State University in 1951.[3]
 Hess, c. 1958 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 5, 1923 |
| Died | June 10, 1978 (aged 55) Athens, Ohio, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1951–1957 | Ohio State (assistant) |
| 1958–1977 | Ohio |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 108–91–4 |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NCAA College Division National (1960) 4 MAC (1960, 1963, 1967–1968) | |
| Awards | |
| MAC Coach of the Year (1968) | |
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference) (1958–1977) | |||||||||
| 1958 | Ohio | 5–4 | 2–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1959 | Ohio | 7–2 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1960 | Ohio | 10–0 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1961 | Ohio | 5–3–1 | 3–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1962 | Ohio | 8–3 | 5–1 | 2nd | L Sun | ||||
| 1963 | Ohio | 6–4 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1964 | Ohio | 5–4–1 | 3–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1965 | Ohio | 0–10 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| 1966 | Ohio | 5–5 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1967 | Ohio | 6–4 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1968 | Ohio | 10–1 | 6–0 | 1st | L Tangerine | 18 | 20 | ||
| 1969 | Ohio | 5–4–1 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1970 | Ohio | 4–5 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1971 | Ohio | 5–5 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1972 | Ohio | 3–8 | 1–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1973 | Ohio | 5–5 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1974 | Ohio | 6–5 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1975 | Ohio | 5–5–1 | 2–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1976 | Ohio | 7–4 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1977 | Ohio | 1–10 | 0–8 | 10th | |||||
| Ohio: | 108–91–4 | 63–53–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 108–91–4 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
- DeLassus, David. "Bill Hess Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
- DeLassus, David. "Ohio in the Polls". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- "OU Names Bill Hess New Football Coach". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. Associated Press. January 10, 1958. p. 25-B. Retrieved September 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.