Weeb Ewbank Finding
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Cradle of Coaches: Weeb Ewbank Page 1 Walter Havighurst Special Collections Miami University Libraries Cradle of Coaches Collection Weeb Ewbank Date Range: 1925-2007 OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Title: Cradle of Coaches: Weeb Ewbank Collection Creator: Steve Stout, Gerald Stout, Nick Selvaggio Dates: 1925-2007 Media: Manuscripts, typescripts, news clippings, publications, photographs, transparencies, videos, hats, pins. Quantity: 7 cubic feet Location: Closed stacks COLLECTION SUMMARY The Weeb Ewbank Collection forms a portion of the Cradle of Coaches Collection, and includes correspondence, playbooks, and other materials pertaining to Wilbur “Weeb” Ewbank, particularly his time spent as Head Coach of the Baltimore Colts from 1954 to 1962, Head Coach of the New York Jets from 1963-1975, and in retirement beginning in 1975. While some items in the collection are unique, others are copies, made from playbooks, correspondence, and other materials. PROVENANCE OF THE COLLECTION Following his death in 1998, Ewbank’s family sold his extensive collection of memorabilia through a Chicago auction house. Two Miami University alumni from Urbana, Ohio, Gerald Stout (’52), Nick Selvaggio (’88) and Gerald’s son Steve Stout purchased the collection and donated it to the Walter Havighurst Special Collections. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION On May 6, 1907, Wilbur Charles Ewbank was born in Richmond, Indiana, the son of Charles and Stella (Dickerson) Ewbank, who owned and operated two grocery stores. A younger brother had difficulty pronouncing Wilbur’s name, and called him “Weeb,” a nickname that would remain the entirety of Ewbank’s life. In 1925, Ewbank graduated from Morton High School in Richmond, where he played quarterback on the football team, outfield in baseball, and also served as a member of the basketball team. His interest in athletics led him to pursue a bachelor’s degree from the now defunct School of Coaching at Miami University in 1928. At Miami, Ewbank played second-string quarterback on the football team, coached by Chester “Chet” Pittser, as well as outfield on the baseball team. Although Ewbank was once quoted as saying “football comes first and family is a necessary evil,” he had a close family. While at Miami, Ewbank married Lucy Massey. After Ewbank’s continued coaching successes, Lucy instructed her husband, when he travelled to games, not to “bring home anything else she had to polish.” The two had three daughters, Nancy, Jane, and Luanne, and eight grandchildren. Following his years at Miami, Ewbank went on to coach the football team at Van Wert High School in Van Wert, Ohio, from 1928-1930. He spent summers taking classes at Columbia University to earn his Master’s degree, graduating in 1932. Ewbank then returned to Oxford, Ohio, to serve as the Head Coach of the McGuffey High School football team as well as an assistant coach at Miami University. He held these positions until 1943, when he joined the Navy. Ewbank joined Miami alumnus Paul Brown to coach the Great Lakes Naval Training Station football team in North Chicago, Illinois. After the war, Ewbank went on to coach basketball and football at Brown University for one year. In 1947, Ewbank began as football Head Coach at Washington University in St. Louis. While he was coach, the Washington Maroons only lost one game. Following his time in St. Louis, Ewbank joined Paul Brown again as a line coach for the Cleveland Browns from 1949-1953, making the transition from collegiate to professional football. 06/07/2013 JC Cradle of Coaches: Weeb Ewbank Page 2 In 1954, Ewbank accepted the position of Head Coach of the Baltimore Colts. Remembering this experience, Ewbank said, “My first impression was that we had to get some ball players!” Ewbank helped to develop the team, leading them to win the World Championships in 1958 and 1959 (the former of which has been named “The Greatest Game Ever Played.”) Sonny Werblin bought the New York Titans franchise of the American Football League in 1963 and changed both the team’s name and its coach. After great success with the Colts, Ewbank went on to serve as Head Coach of the New York Jets from 1963-1973, and then as the team’s Vice President until 1975. On joining the Jets, Ewbank said, “We’d had an abominable situation with the Colts…and this was worse…But then I kept telling people I’d seen sicker cows get well.” The Jets won the AFL Championship in 1968, and Super Bowl III in 1969, making Ewbank the only coach ever to lead two different AFL teams to victory in a championship, and the only man to coach winning teams in AFL, NFL, and World Championships. Jets assistant coach and Ewbank’s son-in-law Charley Winner took over after Ewbank retired. In 1975, with a career record of 130-129-7 (the 11th best record of any football coach in the NFL), Ewbank and Lucy retired to Oxford, Ohio, where they continued to be active in NFL and Miami University alumni activities. Ewbank was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on July 29, 1978. He liked to attend practices of the Miami University football team, and sat quietly in the stands, not offering any coaching advice unless he was asked. Known for meticulous record-keeping, Ewbank kept copies of all official correspondence which was sent out. He kept high standards for his players as well. As coach of the Colts, Ewbank required each player to keep a notebook of plays. If a player lost that notebook, he was fined $200. As coach of the Jets, Ewbank began grading each player on every play, a practice that was later adopted by many other coaches. Ewbank personally answered the majority of fan letters he received, from young and old fans alike, and kept all their letters. In a 1973 letter to Dick Minnis of the Ladies’ Home Journal, Ewbank wrote, “It is letters such as yours that are far more important to me than any monetary rewards that might come in my coaching career.” Colts correspondence was typed with blue ink, and Jets correspondence used green typing paper. Ewbank usually color-coded his playbooks for each opposing team as well. Ewbank authored two books, Weeb Ewbank’s Pro Football Way to Physical Fitness (1967) and Goal to Go: The Greatest Football Games I Have Coached (1972). Ewbank passed away on November 17, 1998. SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION The collection begins with biographical information about Weeb Ewbank. Items are then organized chronologically, starting with playbooks used by Ewbank at McGuffey High School, and ending with articles and information on Ewbank’s funeral. Correspondence files are separate from coaching files and other materials. Ewbank kept copies of much of his outgoing correspondence, which is filed chronologically with the incoming correspondence. Many of Ewbank’s playbooks and sheets of plays are dated or labeled so as to give an indication of date; where playbook materials were unlabeled, they are filed in a separate “Unknown Team” section. As coach of the Jets, Ewbank kept color-coded binders for each opposing team for selected seasons. The playbooks have been kept intact and placed in acid-free folders. The collection also includes a box of photographs, both framed and unframed, of Ewbank, as well as a box containing plaques, Ewbank’s hats, pins, and other memorabilia. Various materials relating to the Cradle of Coaches collection as a whole are organized at the end of the collection. In some cases, related items may be in multiple folders. Items were organized topically and chronologically by the archivist, and in some cases, the order of items in a folder was maintained to preserve the order in which they were placed by Ewbank. ORGANIZATION OF THE COLLECTION Series I: Biographical Information Series II: Student at Miami University Subseries I: Classmates, Reunions II: Baseball III: Basketball Series III: High School Coaching Career, 1928-1943. Subseries I: General Coaching Information II: McGuffey High School Series IV: Miami University, Coach Subseries I: Correspondence Series V: Great Lakes Naval Training Center, 1943-1946 Series VI: Brown University, 1946-1947 Subseries I: Correspondence Series VII: Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1947-1948 Subseries I: Coaching II: Correspondence Series VIII: Cleveland Browns, 1949-1953 Subseries I: Coaching II: Correspondence III: Scouting 06/07/2013 JC Cradle of Coaches: Weeb Ewbank Page 3 IV: Miscellaneous Series IX: Baltimore Colts, 1954-1962 Subseries I: Coaching, general II: 1954 Season III: 1955 Season IV: 1956 Season V: 1957 Season VI: 1958 Season Sub-subseries I: Championship game, December 28, 1958 VII: 1959 Season VIII: 1960 Season IX: 1961 Season X: 1962 Season XI: Senior Bowl, January 1963 XII: Correspondence XIII: Assistant Coaching Applicants XIV: Johnny Unitas XV: Films XVI: Offensive Plays XVII: Defense Sub-subseries I: Defensive Plays II: End Defense III: Defensive Tackle XVIII: Line Blocking Fundamentals XIX: Pass Protection XX: Scouting Materials XXI: Clinic Materials XXII: Coaching clinic materials XXIII: Evaluating player forms XXIV: Blank forms XXV: Miscellaneous Series X: New York Jets, 1963-1975 Subseries I: 1963 Season II: 1964 Season III: 1965 Season Sub-subseries I: Scouting IV: 1966 Season Sub-subseries I: Offensive plays – Buffalo. V: 1967 Season VI: 1968 Season VII: 1969 Season VIII: 1970 Season IX: 1971 Season Sub-subseries I: St. Louis Cardinals II: Miami Dolphins III: San Diego Chargers IV: New England Patriots X: 1972 Season XI: 1973 Season Sub-subseries I: General. II: Newspaper articles III: NFL Management Council Memos and Documents IV: Green Bay Packers