Athletes - Biggie Munn

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	Athletes - Biggie Munn

Clarence L. "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 — May 11, 1975) was the football coach for Michigan State University (MSU) from 1947-1953 and has the most successful Spartan football coaching record ever with a winning percentage of .857 over seven years, including a 28-game winning streak from October 14, 1950 through October 17, 1953. In 1953, he retired as a coach to take over as MSU's athletic director and held that position for eighteen years (1953-1971).

College and career before Michigan State

A 1931 graduate of the University of Minnesota, "Biggie" Munn was an All-American player and and Big Ten MVP during his college career, as well as the team captain of the track and field team. While in school, he was considered by many as the top collegiate punter in America. Munn began a coaching career at Minnesota as an assistant in 1940 and in 1992, was inducted into the school's "M" Club (Hall of Fame).

Before moving into his position at MSU, replacing coach Charlie Bachman, Munn was a line coach at the University of Michigan from 1942 to 1944 and became head coach at Syracuse University in 1944. The latter school added him to its Hall of Fame in 1973. Munn's first game as MSU's head coach in 1947 did not go well: his team was trounced 55-0 by arch-rival University of Michigan.

Coaching career at MSU

In 1950, Biggie Munn and the Michigan State administration approached and managed to convince the highly popular Notre Dame president Father Cavanaugh to play the Spartans. MSU initially offered to let Notre Dame take eighty percent of the gate, but Cavanaugh insisted they split the receipts down the middle. Once Notre Dame agreed to play, Michigan State attained almost instant national recognition and thereafter was able to get other big games across the country. Munn was the only coach to beat Notre Dame's three-time national champion head coach Frank Leahy three years in a row: 1950, 1951 and 1952.

Munn developed the "Wingback Deep" formation of his formula "Michigan State Multiple Offense." The play featured a shifting back and forth from T-formation to Single Wing, and included a direct snap to the tailback between a T-formation quarterback's legs. On the East Lansing, Michigan dressing room wall, the coach hung a statement on fundamentals the team members were required to read before every home game: "Do not cheat your team or your teammates. Know your plays. Block. Protect. Add to what we are trying to do. Biggie."

During the latter part of his coaching career, Munn developed the talents of Willie Thrower, the Big Ten's first black quarterback. Thrower subsequently became the first black quarterback to play in the National Football League, plaing for the Chicago Bears.

Munn was named the NCAA college football Coach of the Year for the 1952 season after MSU went 9-0 to claim the first of his two back-to-back national championships. In 1953, the Spartans tied for the Big Ten title in their first year in the conference. The school had joined the Big Ten Conference in 1949 but wasn't allowed to contend for the championship until 1953, when Michigan State and University of Illinois tied for the title. The conference voted to send Munn's team to the Rose Bowl, where it beat UCLA 28-20 on January 1, 1954.

In 1953, MSU's athletic director Ralph Young retired and Munn took over and remained in that position until 1971. When he retired as coach he named his assistant, Duffy Daugherty, to succeed him.

Munn's coaching produced seventeen All-American players and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959. Munn's teams have held on to the school's top four spots in rushing-yards-per-game in MSU's history: 1948 (304.5), 1951 (293.9), 1952 (272.4) and 1950 (269.3).

Trivia

During the time he was coach, Munn was notoriously superstitious and would carry a lucky silver dollar with him at all times.

In 1961, Munn became MSU's first inductee into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

Munn authored the coaching textbook Michigan State Multiple Offense in 1953.

MSU's Munn Ice Arena built in 1974 is named in his honor.

Munn passed away in 1975 in East Lansing, Michigan.

Quotes

"Without some laughs, the game isn't worth playing"

"The difference between good and great is a little extra effort."

Bibliography

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Biggie Munn ]

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