Clay Stapleton

George Clayton Stapleton (June 24, 1921 – October 30, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator.

Clay Stapleton
Biographical details
Born(1921-06-24)June 24, 1921
Jenkins, Kentucky
DiedOctober 30, 2014(2014-10-30) (aged 93)
Marshall, Missouri
Playing career
1941, 1946–1947Tennessee
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950–1952Wofford (line)
1953–1954Wyoming (assistant)
1955–1957Oregon State (assistant)
1958–1967Iowa State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1967–1970Iowa State
1971–1973Florida State
1973–1978Vanderbilt
Head coaching record
Overall42–53–4

Stapleton grew up in Fleming-Neon, Kentucky, where he played basketball and football for the Fleming High School Pirates. He was later recruited by the University of Tennessee and played as a guard for the Volunteers over the span of a few seasons between 1941 and 1947. Stapleton began working as an assistant football coach in 1950, and became the head coach at Iowa State University in 1958.

Stapleton served as the head football coach at Iowa State from 1958 until 1967, compiling a record of 42–53–4. Stapleton was known for his single-wing offense and notorious for punting on third down. He is also well-known for coaching Iowa State's "Dirty Thirty" – the 1959 team that started the season with only 30 healthy players – to a 7–3 record, coming one game shy of earning a bid to the Orange Bowl.[1] He served as Iowa State's athletic director following his coaching stint, from 1967 to 1970. He was the athletic director at Florida State University from 1971 to 1973 and at Vanderbilt University from 1973 to 1978. Stapleton played college football at the University of Tennessee for head coach Robert Neyland.

On September 9, 2006, Stapleton was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame with fellow alumni Beth Bader, Jon Brown, John Crawford, Barry Hill, Russ Hoffman, Jerry McNertney, Hugo Otopalik, Keith Sims, and Winnifred Tilden.

Stapleton died on October 30, 2014, in Marshall, Missouri, at the age of 93.[2]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Iowa State Cyclones (Big Seven / Big Eight Conference) (1958–1967)
1958 Iowa State 4–60–67th
1959 Iowa State 7–33–3T–3rd
1960 Iowa State 7–44–34th
1961 Iowa State 5–53–45th
1962 Iowa State 5–53–45th
1963 Iowa State 4–53–4T–4th
1964 Iowa State 1–8–10–78th
1965 Iowa State 5–4–13–3–14th
1966 Iowa State 2–6–22–3–26th
1967 Iowa State 2–81–67th
Iowa State: 42–53–422–43–3
Total:42–53–4

References
  1. "Clay Stapleton (2006) - Hall of Fame". Iowa State University Athletics. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. Peterson, Randy (October 30, 2014). "Cyclones legendary 'Dirty 30' football coach has died". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.