Pete Elliott obit

Pete Elliott, Football All-American and Coach, Dies at 86

 

He was not on the list.

College Football Coach. The younger brother of College Hall of Fame player and coach Chalmers "Bump" Elliott, Pete attended Bloomington High School in Illinois and later enrolled at the University of Michigan. While with the Wolverines, he distinguished himself on the gridiron as well as on the hardwood, in addition to golf and totaled twelve letters. In basketball, he earned All-Big Ten honors in 1948 and while with Michigan's football squad, he played at the quarterback and defensive halfback positions receiving All-American recognition. He was a contributor to the Wolverines run during 1947 which culminated with a win in the Rose Bowl against Southern California on January 1st, 1948. Two of his years at Michigan (1947 and 1948), he was a teammate of his brother "Bump". After graduation, Pete launched his coaching career as an assistant at Oklahoma and in 1956 at the age of 30, he became head coach at Nebraska. After one year there, he moved onto California (1957 to 1959) and guided the Golden Bears to a Rose Bowl appearance in 1958. From 1960 to 1966, he served as head coach at the University of Illinois and led his team to the Rose Bowl title in 1963. During his tenure with the Fighting Illini, he mentored Dick Butkus who went onto have a Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears. After two years as head coach at Miami-Florida (1973 to 1974), he retired and became a businessman while serving as a sports commentator. From 1979 until 1996, Elliott served as Executive Director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Elliott served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1956), the University of California, Berkeley (1957–1959), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1960–1966), and the University of Miami (1973–1974), compiling a career college football record of 56–72–11. From 1979 to 1996, Elliott served as executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Elliott was an All-American quarterback on the undefeated 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team that won a national championship. He was also a standout basketball player who was first-team All-Big Ten Conference in 1948 and second-team All-Big Ten in 1949 as well as team MVP in 1948. The 1948 team finished third in the eastern region of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Elliott is the only Michigan athlete to have earned 12 letters in varsity sports: football, basketball, and golf.

After college, Elliot served as an assistant football coach at Oregon State University from 1949 to 1950 and the University of Oklahoma from 1951 to 1955. He was the golf coach at Oklahoma. In 1956, he took the head football coaching job at Nebraska, lasting one year with a record of 4–6. The next year, he took over at California, where he remained until 1959 with a compiled record of 10–21. In 1958, he led the Golden Bears to an AAWU title and an appearance in the Rose Bowl, where they lost to Iowa.

In 1960, Elliott succeeded Ray Eliot at Illinois and was at the school until 1966. With the Illini, his record was 31–34–1, earning a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl victory over Washington during the 1963 season. He, along with basketball coaches Harry Combes and Howie Braun, was pressured into resigning on March 19, 1967, by the university which was threatened with expulsion by the Big Ten Conference over a slush fund scandal. In 1973, he became head coach at Miami, where he remained for two years and compiled an 11–11 record.

Biographical details

Born    September 29, 1926

Bloomington, Illinois, U.S.

Died    January 4, 2013 (aged 86)

Canton, Ohio, U.S.

Playing career

Football

1945–1948      Michigan

Position           Quarterback (football)

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

Football

1949–1950      Oregon State (ends)

1951–1955      Oklahoma (assistant)

1956    Nebraska

1957–1959      California

1960–1966      Illinois

1973–1974      Miami (FL)

1978    St. Louis Cardinals (assistant)

Golf

1953–1954      Oklahoma

Administrative career (AD unless noted)

1974–1978      Miami (FL)

1979–1995      Pro Football Hall of Fame (exec. dir.)

Head coaching record

Overall            56–72–1

Bowls  1–1

Accomplishments and honors

Championships

As coach:

AAWU (1958)

Big Ten (1963)

As player:

 

National (1948)

Awards

First-team All-American (1948)

First-team All-Big Nine (1948)