| Hank Foldberg | |
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 12, 1923 Dallas, Texas |
| Died | March 7, 2001 (aged 77) Bella Vista, Arkansas |
| Playing career | |
| 1942 1944–1946 | Texas A&M Army |
| Position(s) | Tight end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1950 1951 1952–1959 1960–1961 1962–1964 | Purdue (Assistant) Texas A&M (Assistant) Florida (Assistant/Line) Wichita Texas A&M |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 22–28–1 |
| Bowls | 0–1 |
| Statistics College Football Data Warehouse | |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships MVC championship (1960, 1961) | |
| Awards First-team All-American (1946) | |
Henry Christian "Hank" Foldberg, Sr. (March 12, 1923 – March 7, 2001), a 1944 graduate of Sunset High School in Dallas, Texas, was an American college and professional football player who became a college football coach. Foldberg played college football for Texas A&M University and the U.S. Military Academy, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Hornets and Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He later served as the head football coach of Wichita State University and Texas A&M University.
Early years[]
Foldberg was born in Dallas, Texas.[1]
College career[]
Foldberg attended Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where he played for the Texas A&M Aggies football team for a single season in 1942.[2] He received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and played tight end for coach Earl Blaik's Army Black Knights football team from 1944 to 1946. Army produced back-to-back undefeated 9–0 records in 1944 and 1945,[3] and the Black Knights were recognized as the Associated Press national champions following both seasons. As a senior in 1946, Army was again undefeated at at 9–0–1,[3] and Foldberg was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American at tight end.[4] As a cadet athlete, he also earned varsity letters in lacrosse and baseball.[5]
Foldberg resigned from the U.S. Military Academy in 1948, a year short of graduation, citing family financial hardship.[6]
Professional career[]
The Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) drafted Foldberg in the fifth round (twenty-eighth pick overall) in the 1947 NFL Draft,[7] but he decided to remain in school at West Point for another year. He played professional football in 1948 and 1949, first with Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers of the AAFC in 1948, and then with the AAFC's Chicago Hornets in 1949.[8] In his two seasons as a pro, he played in twenty-five games, and started fifteen, while catching thirty-one passes for 331 yards.[1]
Three teams from the AAFC merged into the NFL in 1950, and the AAFC ceased to exist thereafter.
Coaching career[]
Foldberg's first coaching job was a 1950 assistantship with the Purdue Boilermakers of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The following year, he returned to College Station, Texas to become a Texas A&M Aggies assistant.[2] One of Foldberg's former assistant coaches from Army's 1944 and 1945 national championship teams, Bob Woodruff, became the head coach for the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and invited Foldberg to join the Gators coaching staff in 1952. Foldberg remained one of Woodruff's principal assistants through the 1959 season.[9] Among other duties, Foldberg served as the Gators line coach.[10]
From 1960 to 1961, Foldberg served as the head football coach at the University of Wichita (now Wichita State University) in Wichita, Kansas, where his Wichita Shockers teams compiled a 16–5 record in two seasons,[11] and won two consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships.[12] After the 1961 regular season, he accepted an offer to become the head football coach and athletic director at Texas A&M University, telling his Wichita Shockers players that it was the only job for which he would leave Wichita. He had previously turned down an offer from the University of Nebraska to coach the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.[13][14][15] Foldberg's 1961 Shockers were defeated 17–9 by the Villanova Wildcats in the December 1961 Sun Bowl.
Foldberg coached the Texas A&M Aggies football team for three seasons from 1962 to 1964.[2] He inherited an Aggies program that had not had a winning season since former Aggies coach Bear Bryant left for the University of Alabama after the 1957 season.[2][16] He was unable to duplicate his successful turnaround of the Wichita Shockers program, compiled an overall record of 6–23–1 as the Aggies head coach,[11] and was replaced by Gene Stallings after the 1965 season.[2] He resigned as the Aggies' athletic director in July 1965.
Life after football[]
Folberg was married to the former Margaret Smith, and they had a son and a daughter.[5] After he left the coaching profession, he entered the real estate business in Arkansas.[10] Foldberg's son, Hank Foldberg, Jr., later played tight end for the Florida Gators football team from 1971 to 1973.[9][10]
Foldberg died at his home in Bella Vista, Arkansas; he was 77 years old.[17]
Head coaching record[]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita Shockers (Missouri Valley Conference) (1960–1961) | |||||||||
| 1960 | Wichita | 8–2 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1961 | Wichita | 8–3 | 3–0 | 1st | L Sun Bowl | ||||
| Wichita: | 16–5 | 6–0[18] | |||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1962–1964) | |||||||||
| 1962 | Texas A&M | 3–7 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1963 | Texas A&M | 2–7–1 | 1–5–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1964 | Texas A&M | 1–9 | 1–6 | 7th | |||||
| Texas A&M: | 6–23–1 | 5–15–1[2] | |||||||
| Total: | 22–28–1[11] | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl, Bowl Alliance or Bowl Coalition game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
See also[]
- 1946 College Football All-America Team
- Army Black Knights
- Florida Gators
- Florida Gators football, 1950–1959
- List of United States Military Academy alumni
- Texas A&M Aggies
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Hank Foldberg. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2010 Texas A&M Football Media Supplement, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, pp. 129, 157, 163 (2010). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 College Football Data Warehouse, Army Black Knights, Army Yearly Results (1940–1944) and Army Yearly Results (1945–1949). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ 2010 Division I Football Records Book, Award Winners and All-Americans, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 6 & 12 (2010). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Associated Press, "Foldberg Turned Down Job As Pro Assistant For Wichita Post," The Ocala Star-Banner, p. 5 (December 21, 1959). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ International News Service, "Foldberg Resigns From West Point," St. Peterburg Times, p. 27 (February 8, 1948). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1947 National Football League Draft. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ National Football League, Historical Players, Hank Foldberg. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 2010 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, Gator History, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 193, 196 (2010). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Tom McEwen, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, pp. 171, 182, 186, 208 (1974).
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records, Henry "Hank" Foldberg Records by Year. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ "'Cats Bank on Defense," Youngstown Vindicator, p. 23 (December 27, 1961). Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ↑ Associated Press, "Hank Foldberg Ponders Offer From Huskers," Toledo Blade, p. 21 (December 9, 1961). Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ↑ "Rumors Say Foldberg Must Decide At Nebraska," The St. Petersburg Times, p. 3C (December 16, 1961). Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ↑ United Press International, "Foldberg Named by Texas Aggies," The New York Times, p. S1 (December 17, 1961). Retrieved May 9, 2011.
- ↑ Associated Press, "Foldberg Gets A&M Grid Job," St. Joseph News-Press, p. 3D (December 17, 1961). Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ↑ "Former end at Army dies at 77," The Victoria Advocate, p. 5B (March 9, 2001). Retrieved May 6, 2011.
- ↑ Missouri Valley Conference 75 1981 Football/Anniversary Issue. Missouri Valley Conference. 1981.
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| DATE OF DEATH = March 7, 2001