| Wally Marks | |
| Birth Date: | 16 February 1905 |
| Birth Place: | Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1924–1927 |
| Player Team1: | Chicago |
| Player Positions: | Fullback, halfback (football) Guard (basketball) Pitcher, outfielder (baseball) |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1927–1930 |
| Coach Team2: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years3: | 1930–1932 |
| Coach Team3: | Indiana (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 1933–1941 |
| Coach Team4: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years5: | 1945 |
| Coach Team5: | Personnel Distribution Command |
| Coach Years6: | 1946–1948 |
| Coach Team6: | Indiana State |
| Coach Sport7: | Basketball |
| Coach Years8: | 1927–1931 |
| Coach Team8: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years9: | 1933–1938 |
| Coach Team9: | Indiana State |
| Coach Sport10: | Baseball |
| Coach Years11: | 1929–1931 |
| Coach Team11: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years12: | 1934–1937 |
| Coach Team12: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years13: | 1942 |
| Coach Team13: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years14: | 1946–1947 |
| Coach Team14: | Indiana State |
| Coach Years15: | 1949–1955 |
| Coach Team15: | Indiana State |
| Admin Years1: | 1948 |
| Admin Team1: | Indiana State (interim AD) |
| Overall Record: | 68–58–8 (football) 90–58 (basketball) 108–81–1 (baseball) |
| Championships: | Baseball 4 IIC (1930, 1946–1947, 1949) |
Walter E. Marks (February 16, 1905 – November 24, 1992) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, college athletics administrator, sports official, and university instructor. Marks played football, basketball, and baseball at the University of Chicago. Between 1927 and 1955 he served as the head football, basketball, baseball, and golf coach at Indiana State University, with hiatuses from 1930 to 1931, when he earned a master's degree at Indiana University, and from 1942 to 1945, when he served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Marks was best known for his football and baseball coaching career(s); though his tenure as basketball coach was highlighted by the Sycamores' run to the semifinals of the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Marks also served as the Indiana State's athletic director. In total, Marks spent 44 years at Indiana State rising from instructor to the Dean of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, now known as the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services. He held two degrees from the University of Chicago, a BA and a PhD, and three from Indiana University, an MA, a doctorate in physical education, and a doctorate of education. At his retirement in 1971, Indiana State's home track and field venue was dedicated in his honor. Marks reached the rank of major in the United States Army Air Forces and spent 44 months in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
At the University of Chicago, Marks was an outstanding athlete. A three-sport performer, he earned a total of eight varsity letters in football, basketball, and baseball, was an ROTC Cadet Major, and held membership in several honorary fraternities. He played varsity football for three years under the Maroons' coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg. As a sophomore, he played fullback for Chicago's last Big Ten Conference football championship team in 1924. He was a regular halfback on the 1925 and 1926 Maroon teams and captained the 1926 team. For two years, he was a regular starting guard on the Maroons' basketball team. As a pitcher and an outfielder, he played on Chicago's baseball team for three years and had a .399 batting average as a sophomore. Marks also played professional baseball. While pitching for Terre Haute of the Three-I League, he defeated Carl Hubbell of Decatur in a 17-inning masterpiece.[1]
Marked finished his career as the leader in wins (he currently stands at #2). His 1933 team finished at 7–1 record. This record still ranks as the second best in the school's history; trailing Coach Jerry Huntsman's 1968 team (9–1). His homecoming record was 8–5.
He finished his career as the leader in wins (he currently stands at #7). Led the Sycamores to a semifinal finish in the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials. His 1929–30 team finished at 16–2; it still ranks among the finest season performances of any ISU team with its .888 winning percentage.
He finished his career as the leader in wins (he currently stands at #4). He led the Sycamores to Indiana Intercollegiate Conference titles in 1930, 1946, 1947 and 1949.
Marks was a Big Ten Conference official for 20 years with tenures of eight years in basketball and 16 years in football. He officiated the 1960 Rose Bowl and retired at the close of the 1964 football season. In 1954, and again in 1960, he was named by the Big Ten and the United States Department of Defense as a member of an instructional staff presenting football officiating clinics for United States military personnel in Germany.
| Overall | Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | Postseason |
| 1929 | Indiana State | 5 | 4 | 1 | .550 | |||||
| 1930 | Indiana State | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1931 | Indiana State | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | |||||
| 1934 | Indiana State | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | |||||
| 1935 | Indiana State | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | |||||
| 1936 | Indiana State | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | |||||
| 1937 | Indiana State | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | |||||
| 1942 | Indiana State | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | |||||
| 1946 | Indiana State | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1947 | Indiana State | 11 | 2 | 0 | .846 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1949 | Indiana State | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Champions | ||||
| 1950 | Indiana State | 10 | 5 | 0 | .667 | |||||
| 1951 | Indiana State | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | |||||
| 1952 | Indiana State | 8 | 5 | 0 | .615 | |||||
| 1953 | Indiana State | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | |||||
| 1954 | Indiana State | 6 | 10 | 0 | .600 | |||||
| 1955 | Indiana State | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | |||||
| Overall Totals | 108 | 81 | 2 | .571 | ||||||