Herb McCracken
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 20, 1899 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 11, 1995 (aged 95) Ocean Ridge, Florida |
| Playing career | |
| 1918–1920 | Pittsburgh |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1921–1923 | Allegheny |
| 1924–1935 | Lafayette |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 75–48–7 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 National (1926) 3 Middle Three Conference (1929–1931) | |
| Awards | |
| Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1988) | |
| College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1973 (profile) | |
G. Herbert McCracken (June 20, 1899 – March 11, 1995) was an American football player and coach. McCracken played football as a running back at the University of Pittsburgh from 1918 to 1920 under coach "Pop" Warner and was a member of Pittsburgh's 1918 national championship team.
He served as the head coach at Allegheny College from 1921 to 1923 and at Lafayette College from 1924 to 1935, compiling a career college football record of 75–48–7. His 1926 Lafayette Leopards team was recognized as a national champion by Parke H. Davis. That same year his former coach's Pop Warner's Stanford Indians were recognized as the national champions by a different publication.[1]
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1973. Some, including Pop Warner, consider him to be the first to regularly implement the offensive team huddle, beginning its use in Lafayette in 1924 to hide his instructions from the opposing team.[2]
During his coaching days, McCracken was the cofounder of the very successful Scholastic Inc publishing concern, which he was associated with for 63 years. He was also a brother of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity while he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegheny Gators (Independent) (1921–1923) | |||||||||
| 1921 | Allegheny | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| 1922 | Allegheny | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1923 | Allegheny | 7–1 | |||||||
| Allegheny: | 16–8–1 | ||||||||
| Lafayette Leopards (Independent) (1924–1928) | |||||||||
| 1924 | Lafayette | 7–2 | |||||||
| 1925 | Lafayette | 7–1–1 | |||||||
| 1926 | Lafayette | 9–0 | |||||||
| 1927 | Lafayette | 5–3–1 | |||||||
| 1928 | Lafayette | 6–1–2 | |||||||
| Lafayette Leopards (Middle Three Conference) (1929–1935) | |||||||||
| 1929 | Lafayette | 3–5 | T–1st | ||||||
| 1930 | Lafayette | 3–5 | 1st | ||||||
| 1931 | Lafayette | 5–3–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1932 | Lafayette | 3–5 | |||||||
| 1933 | Lafayette | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| 1934 | Lafayette | 2–6 | |||||||
| 1935 | Lafayette | 2–7 | |||||||
| Washington: | 59–40–6 | ||||||||
| Total: | 75–48–7 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
- ^ "Obituary Herb McCracken" (PDF). LA84 Foundation.
External links
 | This biographical article relating to a college football coach first appointed in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1899 births
- 1995 deaths
- American football halfbacks
- Allegheny Gators football coaches
- Lafayette Leopards football coaches
- Pittsburgh Panthers football players
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- Sportspeople from Pittsburgh
- Players of American football from Pennsylvania
- People from Ocean Ridge, Florida
- College football coaches first appointed in the 1920s stubs