Athletes - Tommy Hudspeth

Home > Listing Index > Athletes > Tommy Hudspeth

	Athletes - Tommy Hudspeth

Tommy Hudspeth was an football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach at Brigham Young University, the University of Texas-El Paso, the National Football League's Detroit Lions and the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Hudspeth graduated from Tulsa University in 1953 after completing his playing career at the school. He moved into the coaching ranks that Fall as an assistant coach at [Norman High School in Oklahoma, then served the next two years in the military. Upon his release, he accepted an assistant position at Tulsa Central High School in 1956.

Returning to his alma mater the following year, Hudspeth served as an assistant for the next four years, then moved up north to the CFL, working in a similar capacity with the Calgary Stampeders from 1961-1963.

In 1964, he became a head coach for the first time, taking over the fortunes of the Brigham Young Cougars. Over the next eight years, he compiled a record of 39-42, including an 8-2 mark in 1966, and brought in the program's first black player in 1970. On January 22, 1972, Hudspeth resigned, with his successor, Lavell Edwards, later leading the school to the 1984 national championship.

That same year, Hudspeth took the offensive coordinator position at Texas-El Paso, then became interim head coach on October 22 when head coach Bobby Dobbs resigned following a 56-7 loss. Hudspeth closed out the year, but following a distastrous 0-11 year in 1973, he was dismissed, as well.

The advent of the new World Football League in 1974 provided a new job opportunity for Hudspeth when he was hired as offensive backs coach of the Chicago Fire. One of the main reasons he was hired was due to his relationship with team quarterback Virgil Carter, who had played under him at BYU. However, during the course of the season, the team's weak defense, coupled with severe financial troubles, eventually saw Hudspeth also take over the defensive backfield coaching duties.

Escaping from the ill-fated league, Hudspeth took an off-the-field job the next year as the coordinator of personnel and scouting for the Detroit Lions. He remained in that position until October 5, 1976, when Lions' head coach Rick Forzano resigned following a 1-3 start and Hudspeth was tabbed to replace him.

The new coach had mixed results during the remainder of the 1976 NFL season, with team owner William Clay Ford actively pursuing Los Angeles Rams head coach Chuck Knox to replace Hudspeth. When that gambit failed, Hudspeth was re-hired on February 9, 1977, signing a three-year contract. Only 11 months later, Hudspeth was dismissed, ending his Lions' tenure with an 11-13 mark.

On March 7, 1979, Hudspeth returned to Canada when he signed a three-year contract to become the general manager of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. He would return as a head coach on September 14, 1981, when he replaced Willie Wood with the reeling Argonauts sporting an 0-10 record. Once again, he closed out the season, then returned to the front office.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Tommy Hudspeth ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Tommy Hudspeth; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay