Homer Woodson Hargiss

Updated on Jan 19, 2024

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Alma mater Kansas State Normal 1914–1917 Kansas State Normal Positions Fullback 1913 Kansas (assistant)		1910–1912 College of Emporia Role American football player 1905–1909 Kansas State Normal Name Homer Hargiss

Sport(s) Football, basketball, track and field Born September 1, 1887 Cherokee County, Kansas ( 1887-09-01 ) Died October 15, 1978, Lawrence, Kansas, United States
Education Emporia State University

Homer Woodson "Bill" Hargiss (September 1, 1887 – October 15, 1978) was an American football and basketball player, and track and field athlete, and coach in Kansas and Oregon. He was an early innovator in football and was known to be one of the first coaches to use the forward pass and the huddle.

Playing career

Hargiss participated in sports at Kansas Normal College, now Emporia State University. He was a standout at the college in football, baseball, basketball, gymnastics, boxing, and track & field. Emporia State honored him in 1982 by inducting him into their "Athletic Hall of Honor"—the first year the honor was available, as a distinguished alumni in 1970, and for the all-Centennial Team in 1997. Hargiss would later return to the college as a coach.

College of Emporia

Hargiss' first coaching job came as the head coach of the College of Emporia (C of E) in Emporia, Kansas. The school had a well-developed rivalry with Kansas State Normal School, where Hargiss played quarterback the previous year, and would later coach.

At C of E, Hargiss developed plays using talented quarterback Arthur Schabinger that most had never seen before, namely the forward pass and the option pass.

Forward pass

In the team's 1910 game at Washburn, Arthur Schabinger has been credited by some to have thrown the first legal forward pass in college football history. While this claim is widely disputed by other colleges (there are multiple claims dating back to 1906), College of Emporia most certainly was one of the first innovators of the play particularly to throw "overhand" forward passes instead of the more common "underhand" passes. The school was using the forward pass as a regular play three years before Knute Rockne and Notre Dame.

For the second to last game in 1910, Schabringer scored seven touchdowns in a 107–0 win over Pittsburg Normal. The forward pass played a major role in the game as well.

Option pass

Hargiss also ran the option pass play (possibly the first of all time) at the College of Emporia in 1910. The "option pass" play was a sweep to the end with halfbacks that would either pass or run depending on how the defensive play would develop.

Oregon State University

Hargiss was the head football, basketball, and track coach at Oregon State University from 1918 to 1919. During his tenure there, he compiled a 6–8–1 record. From 1918–1920 he also coached the Oregon State Beavers basketball team.

Emporia State University

Hargiss was the ninth and twelfth head football coach for Emporia State University (called Kansas Normal School at the time) in Emporia, Kansas and he held that position for twelve seasons, from 1914 until 1917 and then returning from 1920 until 1927. His overall coaching record at ESU was 61–23–11. This ranks him third at ESU in terms of total wins and first at ESU in terms of winning percentage.

In the 1920 game against Washburn University under coach Dwight Ream, Emporia State fullback Jack Reeves sustained a neck injury that resulted in his death. The 1922 season also saw the loss of player Don Davis (it is not known if Davis died from play or natural causes).

While at Kansas Normal, Hargiss coached the 1926 team to an undefeated season and outscored their opponents 144 to 3. The closest game of the season was a 6–0 battle against Hargiss's former team, the College of Emporia.

University of Kansas

From 1928 to 1932, Hargiss served as the head football coach at University of Kansas, compiling a record of 18–16–2. He was fired as football coach on October 10, 1932, two days after the Jawhawks lost at home to Oklahoma, 21–6. Hargiss was succeeded by assistant coach Adrian Lindsey.

Use of the huddle

Oregon State was one of the very first schools nationally to use the huddle formation in a game. It happened against the University of Washington in Seattle in 1918. Hargiss instructed the starters that once they returned to the field, they were to stand 10 yards behind the ball before the beginning of each play and whisper to one another what they were going to do next.

An eyewitness to the game was veteran Seattle sports columnist Royal Brougham, whose stories of the contest give testimony today to OSU's early use of this pioneering new formation.

Forward pass

While coaching at the College of Emporia, Hargiss would regularly use the forward pass and records show that it was used as early as 1910, three years before Knute Rockne began to regularly call the play.

Honors and legacy

Charter Inductee Kansas Sports Hall of Fame 1961.

Inducted into the NAIA Track and Field Hall of Fame.

One of the first coaches to use forward pass, unbalanced line, and huddle.

Head football and track and field coach at KU for 5 and 10 years respectively. Football conference champions in 1930.

Coached five world record holders in track: John Kuck, Glenn Cunningham, Jim Bausch, Clyde Coffman and Peter Mehringer.

His 1926 football team at Emporia State University was undefeated and allowed only 3 points.

Earned 16 college athletic letters at Kansas State Normal (Emporia State) participating in football, basketball, track and field, baseball, gymnastics and boxing and was named captain five times.

He was a three-sport standout at Beulah High School in Beulah, Kansas.

Was collegiate track coach of Senator Bob Dole

Was one of the first coaches to gather within hours after the reported death of coaching great Knute Rockne

Personal life

Hargiss graduated from Kansas Normal School in Emporia, Kansas. His brother, Floyd Daniel Hargiss was a football coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas.