Bob DeMoss obit

Purdue Legend Bob DeMoss Passes Away

The former quarterback and head coach was 90.

He was not on the list. 

Bob DeMoss, the former quarterback and head coach of Purdue football, is one of hte most legendary names in our school’s football history. His tenure as head coach was short and unmemorable, as Purdue was a meager 13-18 under him from 1970-72 with two wins over rival Indiana, but before that he was basically the father of the Cradle of Quarterbacks.

Earlier today he passed away at the age of 90 according to Purdue Sports:

DeMoss played at Purdue from 1945-48, passing for 2,759 yards and 23 touchdowns during his career. That was good enough for him to be drafted in the NFL, where he played for a year. After that, he served as an assistant coach for 20 years, helping Purdue to the 1967 Rose Bowl. He mentored Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Mike Phipps, and basically the rest of the early members of the Cradle of Quarterbacks.

After being head coach for three years, he served as an assistant athletic director for another 20 years until 1992. He was inducted into the Purdue athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

DeMoss was a true, lifelong Boilermaker. He gave almost 50 years of his life in service to Purdue and helped to establish the rich quarterback tradition that Purdue footblal is known for. He will truly be missed.

DeMoss played football as a quarterback at Purdue from 1945 to 1948. He helped the Boilermakers win their first four games and move into the national rankings at No. 9. The next week, he led the Boilermakers into Ohio Stadium, where they routed the #4 team in the country, 35-13 He was then selected in the second round of the 1949 NFL draft by the New York Bulldogs, for whom he played in 1949. DeMoss was selected again in the 22nd round of the 1950 NFL draft by the New York Giants, but retired from playing to become an assistant football coach at Purdue.

For 20 years, beginning in 1950, DeMoss was an assistant football coach where he was credited with developing Purdue's reputation as the 'cradle of quarterbacks,' having recruited and coached the likes of Dale Samuels, Len Dawson, Bernie Allen, Bob Griese, Mike Phipps and Gary Danielson. As assistant athletics director, DeMoss oversaw the baseball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, men's track and field, and wrestling programs.

In 1970, DeMoss replaced Jack Mollenkopf as head coach. Two days after Mollenkopf announced his retirement, DeMoss was named his successor, becoming the third and most-recent Purdue alum to serve as head coach. DeMoss inherited a Purdue squad who was loaded at the running back position with Stan Brown, and Otis Armstrong, but the team struggled to find consistency out of its quarterback position. DeMoss resigned following the 1972 season, citing his desire to be with his family more as his reason for stepping down. DeMoss compiled a career college football record of 13–18.

In DeMoss' three seasons as head coach, the Boilermakers posted an 11-12 Big Ten mark. On October 3, 1970, Purdue upset third-ranked Stanford University with a 26-14 scoring on the road, earning DeMoss Coach of the Week laurels by United Press International. DeMoss resigned as coach on December 3, 1972, making him the last quarterback to coach the Boilermakers until current head coach Jeff Brohm.