Nelson Norgren Explained

Nelson Norgren
Birth Date:	10 September 1891
Death Place:	Mill Valley, California, U.S.
Player Years1:	1910–1914
Player Team1:	Chicago
Coach Sport1:	Football
Coach Years2:	1914–1917
Coach Team2:	Utah
Coach Years3:	1921–?
Coach Team3:	Chicago (assistant)
Coach Sport4:	Basketball
Coach Years5:	1914–1917
Coach Team5:	Utah
Coach Years6:	1921–1942
Coach Team6:	Chicago
Coach Years7:	1944–1957
Coach Team7:	Chicago
Coach Sport8:	Baseball
Coach Years9:	1915–1916
Coach Team9:	Utah
Coach Years10:	1922–1926
Coach Team10:	Chicago
Coach Years11:	1930
Coach Team11:	Chicago
Overall Record:	13–11 (football) 209–440 (basketball) 33–60–1 (baseball)
Awards:	2× Second-team All-American (1912, 1913)

Nelson H. Norgren (September 10, 1891 – December 31, 1974) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. As a coach, he led the University of Utah to a national AAU basketball championship in 1916. He later served as the basketball coach at the University of Chicago from 1921 to 1957.

Playing career

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Norgren graduated from North Division High School in 1910. He attended the University of Chicago, where he played football, basketball, track, and baseball, winning 12 letters. He played football for Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was named to Walter Camp's College Football All-America Teams in 1912 (second-team) and 1913 (third-team).

Coaching career

Football coach

Norgren was the head coach of football at Utah from 1914 through 1917. While there, he accumulated a record of 13–11 (.542).^[1]

Basketball coach

In 1914, Nelson became the athletic director and basketball coach at the University of Utah. His team won the 1916 AAU national championship. In 1917, he coached Brigham Young University to a second-place finish in the 1917 AAU tournament.

In 1921, Norgren was hired by his former coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg, as the University of Chicago's assistant football coach and head basketball coach. He also coached the school's baseball team from 1922 to 1926. In 1942, Norgren was elected president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He retired as Chicago's basketball coach in 1957. In his 34 seasons as the head basketball coach at Chicago, his teams had a winning record in only three seasons: 1924, 1948, and 1949. His teams had back-to-back winless seasons in 1951 (0–18) and 1952 (0–15) and had a combined record of 1–49 from 1951–1953.

Norgren was inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame and the University of Chicago Hall of Fame.

Later years

Norgren retired in 1957 and moved to Mill Valley, California.^[2] ^[3] He died there in 1975 at age 83 after a long illness.^[4]

Head coaching record

Basketball

Norgren's record as basketball coach at the University of Chicago was as follows:

1921–22 — 15–15
1922–23 — 6–9
1923–24 — 11–6
1924–25 — 3–14
1925–26 — 5–11
1926–27 — 6–11
1927–28 — 8–9
1928–29 — 5–11
1929–30 — 5–12
1930–31 — 8–9
1931–32 — 2–15
1932–33 — 2–16
1933–34 — 5–15
1934–35 — 2–18
1935–36 — 6–14
1936–37 — 4–16
1937–38 — 6–12
1938–39 — 9–11
1939–40 — 5–14
1940–41 — 6–14
1941–42 — 2–19
1944–45 — 7–8
1945–46 — 6–14
1946–47 — 4–13
1947–48 — 2–16
1948–49 — 10–8
1949–50 — 10–8
1950–51 — 0–18
1951–52 — 0–15
1952–53 — 1–16
1953–54 — 6–9
1954–55 — 6–13
1955–56 — 7–9
1956–57 — 6–11
Overall record at University of Chicago — 186–429 (.302)

Notes and References

Web site: All-Time Coaching Records: Nelson H. Norgren Records by Year . College Football Data Warehouse . July 9, 2010 . October 19, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121019115911/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=1756 . dead .
News: Nels Norgren Coaching Saga Nearing Close. Chicago Tribune. Ed Schneider. December 4, 1956. Sports 3. Newspapers.com.
News: U. of Chicago Group Honors Retiring Coach. Chicago Tribune. February 3, 1957. II-3. Newspapers.com.
News: Nelson H. Norgren, Grid Star. Independent Journal. San Rafael, California. January 3, 1975. 4. Newspapers.com.