Bob Snyder
Encyclopedia
Bob Snyder was a football
player and coach who spent more than three decades in the sport, including his most prominent position as head coach of the National Football League
's Los Angeles Rams.
, Snyder played three years of football at Ohio University
, seeing action on both sides of the ball. During that trio of seasons that began in 1933, Snyder was off the field for just four minutes, winning small college All-America honors as a senior.
in 1936, where he played for the Pittsburgh Americans before shifting to the NFL the following year with the Cleveland Rams
. Playing quarterback (as well as serving as the team's placekicker) for two seasons, Snyder finished the 1938 NFL season with 631 yards passing, while also showing excellent speed and mobility.
On February 13, 1939, Snyder was traded to the Chicago Bears
and used at running back. After contributing throughout the campaign, he suffered a deep personal tragedy when his two-week-old son, Robert Calvin, died on November 30.
When he returned the next year, Snyder played exclusively at quarterback (and continuing as a kicker), but had the misfortune of playing on the same team as future Hall of Fame signal caller Sid Luckman
. That frustration was soothed somewhat when the Bears went on to capture the 1940 NFL Championship with the biggest rout in the league's postseason history, defeating the Washington Redskins
, 73–0.
After another season of play resulted in another championship for the Bears, with Snyder kicking three field goals in the 37-9 championship game victory, Snyder retired to become the University of Notre Dame
's freshman football coach on July 10, 1942. His main focus was instruction in his area of expertise, the T-Formation, and his work undoubtedly proved to be successful when two quarterbacks under his tutelage, Angelo Bertelli
and Johnny Lujack
, went on to win the Heisman Trophy
.
Snyder returned to the playing field with one more season with the Bears in 1943, notching a trio of league kicking records with 39 conversions, while also connecting on all 12 of his field goal attempts. During the November 14 contest against the New York Giants, Snyder scored on eight conversions during the Bears' high-scoring effort. After the season ended with another Bears' championship, he spent one year contributing to the war effort, serving as personnel manager of the Thompson Aircraft plant in his hometown of Toledo. A back injury suffered during his playing days had prevented Snyder from serving in the armed services. During this stretch, he also coached Libby High School, his alma mater, to an Ohio state title.
win Most Valuable Player accolades. Under bitterly cold conditions on December 16, the Rams won the NFL title with a 15–14 decision over the Redskins. Just weeks later, Ram owner Dan Reeves
shifted the franchise to Los Angeles, with Snyder spending the following season in the same capacity.
After Rams head coach Adam Walsh resigned at the conclusion of the 1946 NFL season
, Snyder was named head coach on January 20, 1947 and immediately became the league's youngest head coach. Winning three of the first four games of the regular season, Snyder watched the Rams collapse at midseason with a four-game losing streak to finish with a 6–6 mark. The pressures of that season followed him into the next, causing him to resign on September 3, 1948, citing an ulcer condition.
Despite that stress, Snyder would stay away from coaching for less than a month before accepting an assistant post with the USC Trojans. On January 28, 1949, he left that position for an assistant coaching spot with the Green Bay Packers
under Curly Lambeau
, but again remained only a year before heading home to become head football coach at Toledo
.
Snyder made a bit of history by naming Dick Huston as freshman coach, the first African-American mentor to ever work for a non-black college. Despite being back among family, Snyder left the school after finishing 4–5 during the 1950 season, and wouldn't resurface until 1953 when he was named head coach of the Canadian Football League
's Calgary Stampeders
.
That foray would again only span one season before he was dismissed. The aftermath of his departure was ugly as Snyder claimed in February 1954 that players were taking the amphetamine
benzedrine
to keep up their stamina during the season, a charge that was roundly denied by the league. In August of that year, Snyder spent one season as an assistant at Villanova University
, then returned to the NFL for two years with the Pittsburgh Steelers
before moving back for one year to the college level as a West Virginia University
assistant.
Snyder watched his coaching career wind down during the 1960s, working at the minor league football level, beginning with a stint with the Toledo Tornandoes of the United Football League. On September 19, 1965, he was named head coach of the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League
, lasting until his resignation on November 22, 1967. The following year, he became head coach of the league's Indianapolis Capitols, but resigned on February 4, 1969 to enter private business in Toledo.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach who spent more than three decades in the sport, including his most prominent position as head coach of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Los Angeles Rams.
College career
A native of Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Snyder played three years of football at Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
, seeing action on both sides of the ball. During that trio of seasons that began in 1933, Snyder was off the field for just four minutes, winning small college All-America honors as a senior.
Professional career
He moved on to the fledgling American Football LeagueAmerican Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
in 1936, where he played for the Pittsburgh Americans before shifting to the NFL the following year with the Cleveland Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. Playing quarterback (as well as serving as the team's placekicker) for two seasons, Snyder finished the 1938 NFL season with 631 yards passing, while also showing excellent speed and mobility.
On February 13, 1939, Snyder was traded to the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and used at running back. After contributing throughout the campaign, he suffered a deep personal tragedy when his two-week-old son, Robert Calvin, died on November 30.
When he returned the next year, Snyder played exclusively at quarterback (and continuing as a kicker), but had the misfortune of playing on the same team as future Hall of Fame signal caller Sid Luckman
Sid Luckman
Sidney Luckman, known as Sid Luckman, was an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1939 to 1950...
. That frustration was soothed somewhat when the Bears went on to capture the 1940 NFL Championship with the biggest rout in the league's postseason history, defeating the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, 73–0.
After another season of play resulted in another championship for the Bears, with Snyder kicking three field goals in the 37-9 championship game victory, Snyder retired to become the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
's freshman football coach on July 10, 1942. His main focus was instruction in his area of expertise, the T-Formation, and his work undoubtedly proved to be successful when two quarterbacks under his tutelage, Angelo Bertelli
Angelo Bertelli
Angelo Bortolo Bertelli was an American football player. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1943 playing as a quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.-Early life:...
and Johnny Lujack
Johnny Lujack
John Christopher Lujack Jr. is a former American football quarterback and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner.Lujack was born on January 4, 1925, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and professionally for the Chicago Bears. Lujack was the first of...
, went on to win the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
.
Snyder returned to the playing field with one more season with the Bears in 1943, notching a trio of league kicking records with 39 conversions, while also connecting on all 12 of his field goal attempts. During the November 14 contest against the New York Giants, Snyder scored on eight conversions during the Bears' high-scoring effort. After the season ended with another Bears' championship, he spent one year contributing to the war effort, serving as personnel manager of the Thompson Aircraft plant in his hometown of Toledo. A back injury suffered during his playing days had prevented Snyder from serving in the armed services. During this stretch, he also coached Libby High School, his alma mater, to an Ohio state title.
Coaching career
In 1945, Snyder joined the Rams as an assistant coach, and played a major role in helping rookie quarterback Bob WaterfieldBob Waterfield
Robert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship...
win Most Valuable Player accolades. Under bitterly cold conditions on December 16, the Rams won the NFL title with a 15–14 decision over the Redskins. Just weeks later, Ram owner Dan Reeves
Dan Reeves (NFL owner)
Daniel "Dan" Reeves was the owner of the Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams from 1941 to his death in 1971.In addition to the controversial move of the Rams from Cleveland to Los Angeles, Reeves is remembered for being the first NFL owner to sign an African-American player in the post World War II era...
shifted the franchise to Los Angeles, with Snyder spending the following season in the same capacity.
After Rams head coach Adam Walsh resigned at the conclusion of the 1946 NFL season
1946 NFL season
The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him...
, Snyder was named head coach on January 20, 1947 and immediately became the league's youngest head coach. Winning three of the first four games of the regular season, Snyder watched the Rams collapse at midseason with a four-game losing streak to finish with a 6–6 mark. The pressures of that season followed him into the next, causing him to resign on September 3, 1948, citing an ulcer condition.
Despite that stress, Snyder would stay away from coaching for less than a month before accepting an assistant post with the USC Trojans. On January 28, 1949, he left that position for an assistant coaching spot with the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
under Curly Lambeau
Curly Lambeau
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau was founder, player, and first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional American football team...
, but again remained only a year before heading home to become head football coach at Toledo
Toledo Rockets football
The Toledo Rockets football team is a college football program in Division I FBS, representing the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo began playing football in 1917, although it did not field teams in 1931, and 1943-1945. Since the inception of the AP...
.
Snyder made a bit of history by naming Dick Huston as freshman coach, the first African-American mentor to ever work for a non-black college. Despite being back among family, Snyder left the school after finishing 4–5 during the 1950 season, and wouldn't resurface until 1953 when he was named head coach of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
.
That foray would again only span one season before he was dismissed. The aftermath of his departure was ugly as Snyder claimed in February 1954 that players were taking the amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
benzedrine
Benzedrine
Benzedrine is the trade name of the racemic mixture of amphetamine . It was marketed under this brandname in the USA by Smith, Kline & French in the form of inhalers, starting in 1928...
to keep up their stamina during the season, a charge that was roundly denied by the league. In August of that year, Snyder spent one season as an assistant at Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, then returned to the NFL for two years with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
before moving back for one year to the college level as a West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
assistant.
Snyder watched his coaching career wind down during the 1960s, working at the minor league football level, beginning with a stint with the Toledo Tornandoes of the United Football League. On September 19, 1965, he was named head coach of the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League
Continental Football League
The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...
, lasting until his resignation on November 22, 1967. The following year, he became head coach of the league's Indianapolis Capitols, but resigned on February 4, 1969 to enter private business in Toledo.