Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: Oregon (1906, 1913-16), Arkansas (1908-12), Penn State (1918-29), Delaware Valley [PA] (1949)
Place of Birth: Prague, Bohemia
Date of Birth: Apr 01, 1884
Place of Death: Atlantic City, NJ
Date of Death: Sep 19, 1952
Hugo Bezdek played fullback at the University of Chicago and was third team All-America in 1905. He played second base on the college baseball team. He was the football coach at Oregon in 1906, Arkansas 1908-12, Oregon again 1913-17, and Penn State 1918-29. He was Penn State's baseball coach 1920-30 and director of athletics 1930-36. In 1937-38 he coached the Cleveland Rams. And in 1949 he went back to college coaching for one year at Delaware Valley. His college coaching record was 127-58-16. He also coached the Mare Island (CA) Marines after the college season ended in 1917. Bezdek was in the Rose Bowl three times -with the 1916 Oregon team, 1917 Mare Island, and 1922 Penn State. He managed a baseball team, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1917-19, doing this job in the summer between his football coaching assignments in the fall. The Pirates hadn't had a winning record in five years, but Bezdek brought them to fourth place. His Penn State football teams in 1919-22 went 30 straight games undefeated (3 ties). His best players at Penn State included Harry Wilson, Bob Higgins, and Glenn Killinger. Hugo Bezdek was born April 1, 1884, in Prague, Bohemia; he came to the United States in 1889. He died September 19, 1952.
