Bob Odell (American football)

Bob Odell
Position:	Halfback
Personal information
Born:	March 5, 1922; Corning, Iowa
Died:	December 15, 2012 (aged 90); King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Career information
High school:	East High School (Sioux City, Iowa)
College:	Penn
NFL Draft:	1944 / Round: 2 / Pick: 15
Career history
As a player:
	Card-Pitt (1944);
As a coach:
	Yale (1946–1947); (Assistant coach); Temple (1948); (Assistant coach); Wisconsin (1949–1957); (Line coach); Buckell (1958–1964); (Head coach); Penn (1965–1970); (Head coach); Williams (1971–1986); (Head coach);
Career highlights and awards
	Maxwell Award (1943); Consensus All-American (1943);
	College Football Hall of Fame

Robert Harper Odell (March 5, 1922 – December 15, 2012) was an American football player who, as a college senior at the University of Pennsylvania, won the Maxwell Award in 1943. In 1944 he was drafted in the second round (15th overall) by the Chicago-Pittsburgh Cardinals-Steelers but served in the United States Navy from 1944 through 1946. The Pittsburgh Steelers offered Odell $8,000 to play for the 1946 season. However, his doctor recommended that he give up football due to a knee injury suffered while playing basketball. He was the head football coach at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1960s and at Williams College from 1971 to 1986. With a record of 75–49–4 in 16 years as the head coach at Williams, Odell ranks third in career wins behind Dick Farley and Charlie Caldwell. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

He died of kidney disease in a nursing home in 2012.^[1]

Head coaching record[]


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing
Bucknell Bison (Middle Atlantic Conference) (1958–1964)
1958	Bucknell	1–8	1–5	6th (University)
1959	Bucknell	4–5	3–3	4th (University)
1960	Bucknell	7–2	5–1	2nd (University)
1961	Bucknell	6–3	5–2	2nd (University)
1962	Bucknell	6–3	5–1	2nd (University)
1963	Bucknell	6–3	3–1	2nd (University)
1964	Bucknell	7–2	4–1	T–2nd (University)
Bucknell:		37–26	26–14
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1965–1970)
1965	Penn	4–4–1	2–4–1	6th
1966	Penn	2–7	1–6	7th
1967	Penn	3–6	2–5	6th
1968	Penn	7–2	5–2	3rd
1969	Penn	4–5	2–5	T–5th
1970	Penn	4–5	2–5	6th
Penn:		24–29–1	14–27–1
Williams Ephs (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (1971–1986)
1971	Williams	7–1
1972	Williams	7–1
1973	Williams	6–2
1974	Williams	7–1
1975	Williams	7–0–1
1976	Williams	4–4
1977	Williams	5–3
1978	Williams	5–3
1979	Williams	4–4
1980	Williams	5–2–1
1981	Williams	3–5
1982	Williams	4–4
1983	Williams	2–5–1
1984	Williams	3–5
1985	Williams	2–5–1
1986	Williams	4–4
Williams:		75–49–4
Total:		136–104–5

References[]

^ Frank Fitzpatrick (October 22, 2012). "Bob Odell, 90; college football hall of famer starred at Penn". Philly.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.

External links[]

Bob Odell at the College Football Hall of Fame

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[1] Frank Fitzpatrick (October 22, 2012). "Bob Odell, 90; college football hall of famer starred at Penn". Philly.com. Retrieved December 24, 2012.

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