Wendell Smith (coach)
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1908 Aurora, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 1994 Riverside County, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1927–1929 | Occidental |
| Track and field | |
| 1929–1930 | Occidental |
| Positions | End (football) Hammer throw, discus throw, hurles, 100-yard dash, decathlon (track and field) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1935 | Wheaton (IL) |
| 1936–1938 | Manual Arts HS (CA) (line) |
| 1939–1941 | Manual Arts HS (CA) |
| 1946 | Manual Arts HS (CA) |
| 1966 | Los Angeles City (backfield) |
| Track and field | |
| 1936–? | Manual Arts HS (CA) |
| 1947–? | Los Angeles City |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 2–5–1 (college football) |
Marion Wendell Smith (December 15, 1908 – May 8, 1994) was an American football and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois for one season, in 1935, compiling a record of 2–5–1.
After graduating from Van Nuys High School in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, Smith attended Occidental College played on the football team as an End, and led the Occidental Tigers football to a Southern California Conference title in 1929. For Occidental's track and field team, he competed in the hammer throw, discus throw, Hurles, and 100-yard dash.[1] In 1929 and 1930, Smith won the Cliff Argue trophy, awarded to the athlete with the most points at the annual dual track meet between Occidental and Pomona College.[2]
In 1932, Smith was working as a professor of physical education and hygiene at Belvedere Junior High School in Los Angeles. He also competed in track with the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) at that time.[3] In June 1932, he won the Southern California decathlon meet in Los Angeles.[4]
Smith was hired as Wheaton College in 1935 as head football coach and physical instructor.[5] He joined the coaching staff at Manual Arts High School of Los Angeles in 1936. He was put in charge of the varsity track team and coached the line for the varsity football team.[6] Three years later, in 1939, Smith was promoted to head football coach at Manual Arts, replacing Jim Blewett, who left to join the coaching staff of the UCLA Bruins football team.[7] After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he returned to Manual Arts as head football coach in 1946.[8] A year later, he succeeded Harry Campbell as head track coach at Los Angeles City College (LACC).[9] In 1966, Smith coached the backfield for football team at LACC, under newly-hired head football coach Ron Botchan, a fellow Occidental alumnus.[10]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheaton Crusaders (Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1935) | |||||||||
| 1935 | Wheaton | 2–5–1 | 1–2–1 | T–13th | |||||
| Wheaton: | 2–5–1 | 1–2–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 2–5–1 | ||||||||
References
- ↑ "Van Nuyy Athlete Leading Field Star at Occidental". The Van Nuys News. Van Nuys, California. January 28, 1930. p. 8. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com
. - ↑ Eckhoff, Irving (April 17, 1932). "Finley, Meeks Games Prospects". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 4, part VI. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Wendell Smith On Eastern Track Trip". The Van Nuys News. Van Nuys, California. February 11, 1932. p. 6. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Wendell Smith Wins Decathlon At Los Angeles". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. Associated Press. June 5, 1932. p. 1D. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Wendell Smith Starts Work As Wheaton Coach". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. September 10, 1935. p. 22. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ Peters, Jack (September 29, 1936). "Wendell Smith Added To MA Coaching Staff". The Southwest Wave. Los Angeles, California. p. 17. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Wendell Smith To Coach Manual Grids". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. May 5, 1939. p. 13, part II. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "New Coaches Guide Gridders". The Southwest Wave. Los Angeles, California. September 22, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Wendell Smith Track Coach". The Southwest Wave. Los Angeles, California. June 15, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Oxy graduate new grid coach at City College". Eagle Rock Sentinel. Los Angeles, California. September 22, 1966. p. 10. Retrieved January 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
- ↑ "Wheaton Football Year-By-Year Records". Wheaton College. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
External links
- 1908 births
- 1994 deaths
- 20th-century American educators
- American football ends
- American men decathletes
- American men discus throwers
- American men hammer throwers
- American men hurdlers
- American men sprinters
- Los Angeles City Cubs football coaches
- Occidental Tigers football players
- Occidental Tigers men's track and field athletes
- Wheaton Thunder football coaches
- High school football coaches in California
- High school track and field coaches in the United States
- Junior college track and field coaches in the United States
- United States Navy officers
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- Van Nuys High School alumni
- People from Aurora, Nebraska
- People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles
- Players of American football from Los Angeles
- Sports coaches from Los Angeles
- Coaches of American football from California
- Military personnel from Los Angeles
- Schoolteachers from California
- Track and field athletes from Los Angeles
- College football coaches first appointed in the 1930s stubs