Frank Summers (coach)

Francis Lee Summers (August 2, 1899 – August 17, 1974) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. A 1922 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Summers played all three sports in his time as a cadet, as well as track. He was a member of the Keydets' 1920 football team known as the "Flying Squadron", the program's only undefeated and tie-free team.[1] Summers served as athletic director for VMI and Hampden–Sydney College, as well as the Staunton Military Academy. He is a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Frank Summers
Biographical details
Born(1899-08-02)August 2, 1899
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 1974(1974-08-17) (aged 75)
Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1920–1922VMI
Position(s)Tackle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1933–1935VMI (assistant)
1936–1941Randolph–Macon
1942–1946Hampden–Sydney
Basketball
1934–1936VMI
1942–1943Hampden–Sydney
1946–1947Hampden–Sydney
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1946–1951VMI
Head coaching record
Overall36–77 (basketball)

Personal life

Summers was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1899. He attended Alexandria High School then entered The United States Military Academy at West Point for one semester to placate one parent. He then transferred to Virginia Military Institute to placate the other parent. At Virginia Military Institute, he established himself immediately as a fine all-around cadet leader and athlete. He lettered in four sports: football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was the first VMI cadet to win letters in all of these sports, and ended up with twelve letters in three years.[2] In football, Summers was named to the All-South Atlantic team and played a key role as left tackle and defensive line on the 1920 squad (nicknamed the "Flying Squadron") that was the first and only undefeated and tie-free VMI football team.[3] He was captain of the track team where he specialized in the shot put and discus throw.[4]

Summers was heralded for his excellence in athletics as well as academics, and was a second ranking officer in the Corps of Cadets.[2] He earned more monograms than anyone in the school's history.[5]

In 1944, Summers took a brief hiatus from college athletics to serve with the American Red Cross during World War II.[3] He had previously attempted to join the military three times, but was rejected on all occasions due to physical reasons.[6] Summers died in 1974 at the age of 75, leaving behind two children; a daughter, Anne, and a son, Frank, Jr.[6]

Coaching career

Following his graduation from the VMI in 1922, Summers coached for one season at the nearby Augusta Military Academy. He then returned to Staunton Military where he coached the school in three sports for ten years, and went on to become its athletic director.[4]

Summers later returned to his alma mater where he served two stints as a VMI head coach in three sports, from 1934 to 1936 and again in the late 1940s. His total head coaching record for the Keydets' basketball team was 12–61.[7] He was the school's baseball coach for two years in 1950 and 1951, and also headed the freshman football teams. Summers was appointed as VMI's Director of Athletics in 1946, succeeding the long-tenured Blandy Clarkson. He left to head the Randolph–Macon College football team in 1936.[4]

Summers coached three sports at Hampden–Sydney College in the mid-1940s, including a stint as football coach from 1942 to 1946. Additionally, Summers briefly served as the school's athletic director.

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Hampden–Sydney (Independent) (1942–1945)
1942 Hampden–Sydney 1–6–1
1943 No team—World War II
1944 Hampden–Sydney 1–3–1
1945 Hampden–Sydney 0–0–1
Hampden–Sydney (Mason–Dixon Conference) (1946–present)
1946 Hampden–Sydney 2–72–24th
Hampden–Sydney: 4–16–32–2
Total:4–16–3

Note: Hampden–Sydney did not field a football team in 1943.[8]

Basketball
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1934–1936, 1947–1949)
1934–35 VMI 3–142–99th
1935–36 VMI 3–140–1010th
1947–48 VMI 3–171–1216th
1948–49 VMI 3–173–815th
VMI: 12–616–39
Total:12–61

[7]

References
  1. Shampoe, Clay (2005). The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame: Honoring Champions of the Commonwealth. Arcadia Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 0738517763. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  2. "Francis Summers – VSHFM Class of 1975". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  3. "Original Flying Squadron Members Lead Varied Lives" (PDF). The Cadet. Lexington, VA: Virginia Military Institute. December 15, 1947. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  4. "Summers Will Coach R.-M. Athletics" (PDF). The Cadet. Lexington, VA: Virginia Military Institute. March 30, 1936. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  5. Frank Summers Team Leadership Award – VMI Prizes, Medals, and Awards
  6. Record of the Hampden-Sydney Alumni Association
  7. 2013–14 VMI Basketball Fact Book
  8. "Hampden–Sydney Football - Year-by-year results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
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