Sport(s) Football Name Dewey Luster 1917–1920 Oklahoma Role American football player | 1941–1945 Oklahoma Education University of Oklahoma Overall 27–18–3 Positions Defensive back | |
Born February 1, 1899
Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation ( 1899-02-01 ) Died October 13, 1980, Norman, Oklahoma, United States | ||
Dewey William "Snorter" Luster (February 1, 1899 – October 13, 1980) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1941 to 1945, compiling a record of 27–18–3. Luster was also a player on the Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1917 to 1920 under head coach Bennie Owen and was the captain of the 1920 undefeated team.
Luster was born in Tahlequah, capital of the Cherokee Nation, the son of Otis V. and Callie (Bates) Luster. His father was a merchant and later a newspaper editor in Pauls Valley.
Luster's tenure as head coach at Oklahoma was complicated by World War II. In the six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, nearly 60 Sooner athletes in all sports had enlisted in some branch of the armed services and more continued to enlist as the war progressed. Luster resigned as head coach almost immediately after his Sooner team lost 47–0 to Oklahoma A&M on November 24, 1945. His official reason for his resignation was "poor health."