Glenn Franklin Thistlethwaite (March 18, 1885 – October 6, 1956) was an American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Illinois College (1908), Earlham College (1909–1912), Northwestern University (1922–1926), the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1927–1931), Carroll College—now known as Carroll University—in Waukesha, Wisconsin (1932–1933), and the University of Richmond (1934–1941), compiling a career college football record of 117–74–16. Coaching at Northwestern from 1922 to 1926, Thistlethwaite compiled a 21–17–1 record, making him one of the most successful coaches in Northwestern Wildcats football history. In 1926, his team won a share of the Big Ten Conference title, only the second in school history, and his tenure sparked a revival in Northwestern football after a post-World War I decline. From 1927 to 1931, Thistlethwaite coached at Wisconsin, tallying a 26–16–3 mark. From 1934 to 1941, he coached at Richmond, where he oversaw the school's entry into the Southern Conference in 1936. Born in Franklin, Indiana in 1885, Thistlethwaite died at the age of 71, on October 6, 1956, of a heart attack at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia.[1]
 Thistlethwaite pictured in Sargasso 1913, Earlham yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 18, 1885 Franklin, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | October 6, 1956 (aged 71) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1905–1907 | Earlham |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1908 | Illinois College |
| 1909–1912 | Earlham |
| 1910s | Oak Park HS (IL) |
| 1922–1926 | Northwestern |
| 1927–1931 | Wisconsin |
| 1932–1933 | Carroll (WI) |
| 1934–1941 | Richmond |
| Basketball | |
| 1909–1913 | Earlham |
| Baseball | |
| 1910–1911 | Earlham |
| 1913 | Earlham |
| Men's track and field | |
| 1935–1941 | Richmond |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1934–1942 | Richmond |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 117–74–16 (college football) 22–25 (college basketball) 18–17–1 (college baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 Big Ten (1926) 1 Virginia (1934) | |
Coaching career
editNorthwestern
editThistlethwaite was the 15th head football coach at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and held that position for five seasons, from 1922 until 1926. His record at Northwestern was 21–17–1.[2]
Carroll
editThistlethwaite was the 17th head football coach at Carroll College—now known as Carroll University—in Waukesha, Wisconsin and held that position for two seasons, from 1932 until 1933. His record at Carroll College was 10–2–1.
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois College Blue Boys (Independent) (1908) | |||||||||
| 1908 | Illinois College | 1–4–2 | |||||||
| Illinois College: | 1–4–2 | ||||||||
| Earlham Quakers (Independent) (1909–1912) | |||||||||
| 1909 | Earlham | 5–1 | |||||||
| 1910 | Earlham | 3–3 | |||||||
| 1911 | Earlham | 6–1 | |||||||
| 1912 | Earlham | 4–4 | |||||||
| Earlham: | 18–9 | ||||||||
| Northwestern Purple/Wildcats (Big Ten Conference) (1922–1926) | |||||||||
| 1922 | Northwestern | 3–3–1 | 1–3–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1923 | Northwestern | 2–6 | 0–6 | 10th | |||||
| 1924 | Northwestern | 4–4 | 1–3 | 8th | |||||
| 1925 | Northwestern | 5–3 | 3–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1926 | Northwestern | 7–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | |||||
| Northwestern: | 21–17–1 | 10–13–1 | |||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Conference) (1927–1931) | |||||||||
| 1927 | Wisconsin | 4–4 | 1–4 | T–9th | |||||
| 1928 | Wisconsin | 7–1–1 | 3–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1929 | Wisconsin | 4–5 | 1–4 | 10th | |||||
| 1930 | Wisconsin | 6–2–1 | 2–2–1 | T–4th | |||||
| 1931 | Wisconsin | 5–4–1 | 3–3 | 6th | |||||
| Wisconsin: | 26–16–3 | 10–14–2 | |||||||
| Carroll Pioneers (Big Four Conference) (1932–1933) | |||||||||
| 1932 | Carroll | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| Carroll Pioneers (Independent) (1932–1933) | |||||||||
| 1933 | Carroll | 6–0–1 | |||||||
| Carroll: | 10–2–1 | 2–1 | |||||||
| Richmond Spiders (Virginia Conference) (1934–1935) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Richmond | 8–1 | 2–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1935 | Richmond | 3–3–3 | 1–1–1 | ||||||
| Richmond Spiders (Southern Conference) (1936–1941) | |||||||||
| 1936 | Richmond | 4–4–2 | 1–3 | 13th | |||||
| 1937 | Richmond | 5–4–1 | 2–3 | T–8th | |||||
| 1938 | Richmond | 6–3–1 | 3–2–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1939 | Richmond | 7–1–2 | 3–1–1 | T–4th | |||||
| 1940 | Richmond | 6–3 | 3–2 | T–5th | |||||
| 1941 | Richmond | 2–7 | 0–6 | 16th | |||||
| Richmond: | 41–26–9 | 15–19–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 117–74–16 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Glenn Thistlethwaite; Former Footboll Coach Had Only One Losing Season" (PDF). The New York Times. Associated Press. October 7, 1956. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ Northwestern Wildcats coaching records Archived October 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine