Dick Trachok

Richard Matthew Trachok (December 27, 1925[1] – August 2, 2020) was an American university athletic director and college football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Nevada, Reno from 1959 to 1968. He amassed a 40–48–3 record during his tenure. Trachok served as the University of Nevada athletic director until 1986.

Dick Trachok
Biographical details
Born(1925-12-27)December 27, 1925
Jerome, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedAugust 2, 2020(2020-08-02) (aged 94)
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Playing career
1943Pittsburgh
1946–1948Nevada
Position(s)Halfback, fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1949–1958Reno HS (NV)
1959–1968Nevada
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1969–1986Nevada
Head coaching record
Overall40–48–3 (college)

During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Corps.[2] He then attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he played on the football team as a halfback from 1946 to 1948.[3][4][5]

Trachok coached the Reno High School football team, where the Deseret News described him as "one of Nevada's most successful high school gridiron coaches."[6] During a coaching clinic held in 1957 at the University of Utah, he recommended that coaches keep their offenses and defenses simple.[6]

In April 1959, Nevada hired Trachok as its head coach.[7] In November 1960, Trachok canceled a six-hour flight to Denver in favor of a 32-hour bus ride after a plane crash killed sixteen players from California Polytechnic.[8] The Nevada flight had been booked with Arctic-Pacific, the same carrier that Cal Poly had used.[8] Trachok finished his coaching tenure with a 40–48–3 record, and took over as Nevada's athletic director. He held that post until 1986.[9] In 1975, the university inducted Trachok into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame.[9]

Trachok died on August 2, 2020, at the age of 94.[10]

Head coaching record

College
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Nevada Wolf Pack (Far Western Conference) (1959–1968)
1959 Nevada 4–33–23rd
1960 Nevada 3–62–3T–3rd
1961 Nevada 5–42–3T–4th
1962 Nevada 5–3–12–2–13rd
1963 Nevada 3–62–35th
1964 Nevada 1–91–45th
1965 Nevada 6–44–12nd
1966 Nevada 6–33–3T–3rd
1967 Nevada 4–4–12–3–15th
1968 Nevada 3–6–11–4–1T–6th
Nevada: 40–48–322–28–3
Total:40–48–3

References
  1. Dick Trachok: Memories of a Life in Sports, University of Nevada, Reno, 2014.
  2. "Dick Trachok". sharedhistory.acs.unr.edu. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  3. 2008 Nevada Football Media Guide, p. 146, University of Nevada, Reno, 2008.
  4. Nevada Trounces Hawaii, 73 to 12, The Milwaukee Journal, December 18, 1948.
  5. Penn State Held Favorite to Win Over Pitt Today, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 20, 1943.
  6. Keep Grid Patterns Simple, Coaches Told, The Deseret News, April 26, 1957.
  7. Trachok New Coach Of Nevada's Eleven, The New York Times, April 12, 1959.
  8. Team Cancels 6-Hour Flight For Bus Ride, The Palm Beach Post, November 16, 1960.
  9. Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, University of Nevada, Reno, October 25, 2010.
  10. Beloved Nevada icon and Wolf Pack's No. 21, Dick Trachok has died
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