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Larry Siemering

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Larry Siemering
Biographical details
Born(1910-11-24)November 24, 1910
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 27, 2009(2009-07-27) (aged 98)
Watsonville, California, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1933–1934San Francisco
1935–1936Boston Redskins
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1937–1939Manteca HS (CA)
1940Lodi HS (CA)
1941Stockton
1942–1946Pacific (CA) (assistant)
1947–1950Pacific (CA)
1951Arizona State
1953Washington Redskins (OL)
1954Calgary Stampeders
1956–1958Santa Cruz HS (CA)
1959–1965Cabrillo
Baseball
1945Pacific (CA)
Head coaching record
Overall41–8–4 (college football)
Bowls2–0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
1 CCAA (1947)
Awards

Lawrence Edwin Siemering (November 24, 1910 – July 27, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of San Francisco and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Boston Redskins in 1935 and 1936. Siemering served as the head football coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1947 to 1951 and at Arizona State University in 1951, compiling a career college football coached record of 41–8–4. He also was the head coach of the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders in 1954. In all, Siemering's football career as a player and coach lasted more than forty years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving professional football player at 98 years of age.[1]

Early life

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Siemering was born in San Francisco and was raised in Lodi, California,[1][2] where he attended and played high school football at Lodi High School. During his senior season as a center, the Lodi Flames went undefeated.[2] He graduated in 1928. Also during this time, Siemering played semi-pro baseball for the Sacramento Stallions.[3]

Playing career

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College

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After high school, Siemering accepted a baseball scholarship from the University of San Francisco,[3] where he then also played football.[1] He graduated in 1935.[4]

Professional

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After his college career, Siemering played center in the National Football League for the Boston Redskins in 1935 and 1936; the Redskins moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937.[2] During his tenure there, he played in the 1936 NFL Championship, a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Coaching career

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High school

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After his playing career, Siemering started his coaching career as a high school football coach at Manteca High School and Stockton High School[2] in the San Joaquin Valley.[1] In 1943, his Stockton team went undefeated.[3] Siemering then came back to high school coaching in 1956 at Santa Cruz High School, where he went 9–0 in 1958.[1]

College

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Siemering started his college coaching career as an assistant coach at the College of the Pacific—now known as the University of the Pacific—in Stockton, California under head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.[2] Stagg retired after the 1946 season, and Siemering took over as head coach in 1947. During his first season as coach, the 1947 Pacific Tigers football team went 10–1, the lone loss against Santa Clara, 21–20. At the end of the regular season, the Tigers played in the Raisin Bowl and beat Wichita, 28–14.[5]

Siemering had another winning record in 1948 and went 7–3–1. However, he is best known for his 1949 Pacific team that went an undefeated at 11–0. The team came close to losing only once in 1949, when it defeated San Francisco in the first game of the season, 7–6. The Tigers outscored their opponents 575–66, led the nation in offense, and were ranked as high as tenth in the AP Poll.[1] During the season, the Tigers scored 75 points or more three times, winning 75–20 over Portland, 88–0 over Cal Poly, and 75–0 over the Hawaii.[6] The team was the 15th college team in history to score 500 or more points in a single season.[3]

During his four-year tenure at Pacific, Siemering went 35–5–3 with a .849 winning percentage, the best of any head coach in program history.[2] He then coached at Arizona State University in 1951, where he went 6–3–1.[7] Despite the winning record, he was fired after using an ineligible player who used a fake name.[1]

After a brief second stint in high school teaching, Siemering then became the inaugural head coach of Cabrillo College, a two-year community college in Aptos, California.[8] He coached there from 1959 to 1965.[8] While at Cabrillo, he also coached the Seahawks' golf team until 1976.[8] Siemering was inducted into the first class of the University of the Pacific Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.[1] His 1947 and 1949 teams were inducted later.[4]

Professional

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In 1953, Siemering was an offensive line coach for the Washington Redskins, under head coach Curly Lambeau. He then left the NFL in 1954 to become the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League.[2]

Personal life

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Siemering was married to Sophie Siemering, who died in 2001.[1] On July 27, 2009, he died at Watsonville Community Hospital[2] after a fall at his Watsonville, California home.[1]

Head coaching record

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College football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AP#
Pacific Tigers (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (1947–1948)
1947 Pacific 10–1 5–0 1st W Grape, W Raisin
1948 Pacific 7–1–2 4–1 2nd T Grape
Pacific Tigers (Independent) (1949–1950)
1949 Pacific 11–0 10
1950 Pacific 7–3–1
Pacific: 35–5–3 9–1
Arizona State Sun Devils (Border Conference) (1951)
1951 Arizona State 6–3–1 4–1 T–2nd
Arizona State: 6–3–1 4–1
Total: 41–8–4
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Junior college

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Cabrillo Seahawks (Independent) (1959)
1959 Cabrillo 2–6
Cabrillo Seahawks (Coast Conference) (1960–1965)
1960 Cabrillo 3–6 1–5 6th
1961 Cabrillo 1–8 1–6 T–7th
1962 Cabrillo 5–4 3–2 3rd
1963 Cabrillo 5–2–2 4–1 2nd
1964 Cabrillo 3–6 2–3 4th
1965 Cabrillo 4–5 4–2 T–2nd
Cabrillo: 23–37–2 15–19
Total: 23–37–2

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nolte, Carl (July 30, 2009). "Larry Siemering, football coach, dies at 98". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Milholm, Joelle (July 28, 2009). "Football pioneer Larry Siemering led a life of endless accomplishments". Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Highfill, Bob (July 31, 2006). "Siemering's football teams were ahead of their time". RecordNet.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Dhillon, Jagdip (July 28, 2009). "Legendary Pacific coach dies at 98". RecordNet.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "University of the Pacific - 1947". College Football Reference. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  6. ^ "University of the Pacific - 1949". College Football Reference. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  7. ^ "Arizona State University - 1951". College Football Reference. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c Seimas, Jim (July 31, 2009). "Legendary football coach Larry Siemering, 98, dies". Mercury News. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
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