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    Harris G. Cope

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min

    Harris G. Cope
    Cope, c. 1913
    Biographical details
    Born(1880-03-16)March 16, 1880
    Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
    DiedSeptember 24, 1924(1924-09-24) (aged 44)
    Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
    Playing career
    Football
    1899–1901Sewanee
    Position(s)Quarterback (football)
    Third baseman (baseball)
    Coaching career (HC unless noted)
    Football
    1904Sewanee (assistant)
    1909–1916Sewanee
    1922–1923Howard (AL)
    Administrative career (AD unless noted)
    1909–1913Sewanee
    1922–1924Howard (AL)
    Head coaching record
    Overall48–28–12
    Accomplishments and honors
    Championships
    1 SIAA (1909)

    Harris Goodwin Cope (March 16, 1880 – September 24, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He served as the head football coach at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee from 1909 to 1916 and Howard College—now known as Samford University—in Marion, Alabama from 1922 to 1923, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 48–28–12. Cope was a member of the National Football Rules Committee in 1914–15.

    Early life and playing career

    [edit]

    Cope first played at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut.[1]

    Sewanee

    [edit]
    Cope c. 1901

    In his first year of varsity football, Cope was a substitute quarterback on the undefeated "Iron Men" of the 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team. He was the captain and the starting quarter for Sewanee's 1901 team.[2]

    Cope played third baseman on the Sewanee baseball team.

    Coaching career

    [edit]

    Cope worked for a short time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. For many years, he returned to Cartersville during the off-seasons to manage the Cartersville Colts semi-professional men’s baseball team.[3]

    Sewanee

    [edit]

    Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach (43), behind Shirley Majors' 93 and John Windham's 45; and has the highest winning percentage of any Sewanee coach who coached for more than 3 seasons. His continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years.[4]

    1909

    [edit]

    In Cope's first year at head coach he led the Sewanee Tigers to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship in 1909, beating previous season's champion LSU and handing Vanderbilt its first loss to a Southern team in six years.

    Howard

    [edit]

    Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard. Cope was also a very astute golfer, playing in club tournaments during his off-seasons.

    Death

    [edit]

    Cope died of pneumonia in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 24, 1924, just before the start of Howard's football season.[5]

    Legacy

    [edit]

    Cope's disciples include:

    • Bob Taylor Dobbins, played for Sewanee (1913–1915), assistant for Howard (1922–1923)
    • Frank Faulkinberry, played for Sewanee (1907–1910), head coach for Middle Tennessee State (1926–1932)
    • Jenks Gillem, played for Sewanee (1910–1912), head coach for Howard (1925–1926), Birmingham–Southern (1928–1939), head coach for Sewanee (1940–1941)
    • Frank Juhan, played for Sewanee (1908–1910), assistant for Sewanee (1913–1915)
    • Henry D. Phillips, assistant for Sewanee (1909–1915)
    • Silas Williams, played for Sewanee (1908–1909), assistant for Sewanee (1914–1915), head coach for Chattanooga (1919–1921)

    Head coaching record

    [edit]
    Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
    Sewanee Tigers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1909–1916)
    1909 Sewanee 6–1 5–0 1st
    1910 Sewanee 8–2 3–1 T–3rd
    1911 Sewanee 6–3–1 2–3 9th
    1912 Sewanee 5–1–2 2–1–2 5th
    1913 Sewanee 4–3 2–2 7th
    1914 Sewanee 5–3 4–2 5th
    1915 Sewanee 4–3–2 2–2–2 10th
    1916 Sewanee 5–2–2 2–2–2 14th
    Sewanee: 43–18–7 22–14–6
    Howard Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1922–1923)
    1922 Howard 2–6–2 0–2
    1923 Howard 3–4–3 1–3–1
    Howard: 5–10–5 1–5–1
    Total: 48–28–12
          National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ Marvin McCarthy (January 2, 1922). "Howard Gets Coach Cope". Atlanta Constitution. p. 9. Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    2. ^ John Hunter Garland (1962). The Mills, Cope, and related families of Georgia. p. 188.
    3. ^ "Coach For Sewanee". Atlanta Georgian. August 31, 1909. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
    4. ^ James Gregg, Jr. (1949). "Sports At Sewanee". Sewanee Alumni News: 3.
    5. ^ Horn, Blinkey (September 25, 1924). "Henderson-Brown Will Sub for Howard as Vandy's Foe Saturday". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 9. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
    [edit]
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    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris G. Cope
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