Gus Zitrides Explained

Gus Zitrides
Birth Date:4 April 1915
Birth Place:Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Death Place:Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Player Years1:1936–1938
Player Team1:Dartmouth
Player Positions:Guard
Coach Years1:1939–1941
Coach Team1:Cornell (assistant)
Coach Years2:1947–1949
Coach Team2:Brown (line)
Coach Years3:1950
Coach Team3:Brown
Overall Record:1–8
Awards:

Gregory George "Gus" Zitrides (April 4, 1915 – January 27, 1987) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Brown University for one season, in 1950, compiling a record of 1–8.[1] Zitrides also spent time as an assistant coach at Brown and Cornell University. He played as a guard at Dartmouth under Earl Blaik from 1936 to 1938.

Early life

Born to a family of Greek descent,[2] Zitrides attended Central High School in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he played high school football from 1932 to 1935.[3] Zitrides then attended Dartmouth College, where he played for the football team as a guard from 1936 to 1938 under head coach Earl Blaik.[4]

Coaching career and military service

Zitrides then served for three years as an assistant coach at Cornell University.[5] In 1942, Zitrides resigned his position to enter the United States Navy and earn a reserve commission through the V-5 program, which ran physical fitness programs around the country to train Navy pilots.[6]

After the War, Zitrides returned to his alma mater as a line coach in 1947 under head coach Rip Engle.[7] Before the 1950 season, Engle left to take over at Penn State, and he offered to bring along his assistants, Zitrides and Bill Doolittle. Zitrides declined the offer because Brown University offered him the head coaching position. Doolittle elected to remain at Brown as Zitrides's assistant.[8] Zitrides was relieved after recording only one win to eight losses in his first season.[9] [10]

Later life

After his coaching career, Zitrides entered government service in 1951, in which he worked until his retirement in 1973.[3] He died in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, on January 27, 1987, at the age of 71.[11] Manchester Central High School inducted him into its hall of fame in 1996.[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.brownbears.com/sports/m-footbl/FB_History/All-Time_Coaching_Records All-Time Coaching Records
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20121102155423/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/442260992.html?dids=442260992:442260992&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+28,+1938&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=In+the+Wake+of+the+News&pqatl=google In the Wake of the News
  3. http://www.mansd.org/central/archives/hall_of_fame/hof.htm CHS Hall of Fame
  4. https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D1FFD34541B728DDDAF0994D8415B878FF1D3 DARTMOUTH IS FAVORITE; Hanoverians Expected to Defeat Brown Eleven Today
  5. https://archive.today/20120713183232/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/861127252.html?dids=861127252:861127252&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Mar+21,+1942&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Gus+Zitrides+Quits+Coaching+for+Navy&pqatl=google Gus Zitrides Quits Coaching for Navy
  6. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z5YKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ak0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4288,9045027&dq=gus+zitrides&hl=en Navy Claims Sports Stars and Coaches
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20121102155230/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/885942542.html?dids=885942542:885942542&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+25,+1950&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Zitrides+Appointed+To+Succeed+Engle+As+Brown+University+Football+Coach&pqatl=google Zitrides Appointed To Succeed Engle As Brown University Football Coach
  8. Gene Collier, Joe Paterno, and Mike Bynum, The Paterno Legacy, p. 1951, Epic Sports, 1997, .
  9. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1950/12/12/zitrides-is-probably-relieved-but-brown/ Zitrides Is Probably Relieved, But Brown AC Mum
  10. https://archive.today/20130131141514/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/888477902.html?dids=888477902:888477902&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+20,+1951&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Brown+Names+Alva+Kelley+As+Head+Football+Coach&pqatl=google Brown Names Alva Kelley As Head Football Coach; Yale Line Mentor Succeeds Gus Zitrides, Whose Team Won Only One Game Out of Nine Last Fall; Assumes New Duties Monday New Brown Coach
  11. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB95EBCB4575172&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM DEATHS HERE