Francis Schmidt

Francis Schmidt

circa 1920
Biographical details
Born	(1885-12-03)December 3, 1885 Downs, Kansas, U.S.
Died	September 19, 1944(1944-09-19) (aged 58) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Playing career
1905	Nebraska
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1915–1916	Kendall (assistant)
1919–1921	Kendall/Tulsa
1922–1928	Arkansas
1929–1933	TCU
1934–1940	Ohio State
1941–1942	Idaho
Basketball
1915–1917	Kendall
1918–1922	Kendall/Tulsa
1923–1929	Arkansas
1929–1934	TCU
Baseball
1923–1929	Arkansas
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1922–1929	Arkansas
Head coaching record
Overall	157–58–11 (football) 258–72 (basketball) 38–64 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 OIC (1919, 1920) 2 SWC (1929, 1932) 2 Big Ten (1935, 1939)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1971 (profile)

Francis Albert Schmidt (December 3, 1885 – September 19, 1944) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Tulsa (1919–1921), the University of Arkansas (1922–1928), Texas Christian University (1929–1933), Ohio State University (1934–1940), and the University of Idaho (1941–1942), compiling a career record of 157–58–11 (.719).

Schmidt's teams were known for trick plays involving multiple laterals and non-standard tackle-eligible, and even guard-eligible, formations. The press labeled Schmidt's approach as the "razzle-dazzle offense". Because Schmidt's teams were known for high scoring, the media nicknamed him Francis "Close the Gates of Mercy" Schmidt. Schmidt was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1971.^[1]

Schmidt also served as the head basketball coach at Tulsa (1915–1917, 1918–1922), Arkansas (1923–1929), and Texas Christian (1929–1934), compiling a career record of 258–72 (.782), and the head baseball coach at Arkansas (1923–1929), tallying a mark of 38–64 (.373).