Elton Rynearson
Encyclopedia
Elton James Rynearson, Sr. (April 7, 1893 – February 8, 1967) was an American athlete, coach, and athletic director. He was affiliated with Eastern Michigan University
(known as Michigan State Normal College prior to 1956) for most of his life, beginning his association with the school as a student in 1910 and retiring as the school's athletic director in 1963.
, Berrien County
, Michigan
. He was the son of Isaiah Rynearson and Grace Ann McCarten. He attended Michigan State Normal College from 1910–1914 and played for the football, baseball, and basketball teams. He was the captain of the basketball team his junior and his senior year, during which time the team achieved a record of 17-8. Eastern Michigan University records also list Rynearson as the basketball team captain for the 1916-1917 season, in which the team's record was 15-1.
Rynearson played three years of minor league baseball from 1913 to 1915 for the Kalamazoo Kazoos in the Southern Michigan League (1913–1914) and the Brantford Red Sox
in the Canadian League (1915).
The 1916 Michigan State Normal College yearbook, The Aurora, lists Rynearson as an assistant coach of the football team, and he assumed head coaching responsibilities in 1917. Over the course of his career, he coached at least one year in every varsity sport at Michigan State Normal, including football, basketball, baseball and track. In 28 years as the head football coach, Rynearson compiled a record of 114–58–15. He led the 1925 and 1927 football teams to undefeated 8–0–0 records. Between 1925 and 1927, his teams compiled a record of 22–1–0 and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 405 to 31. In 17 years as the basketball coach, he compiled a record of 141–100. During a four-year stretch from 1917 to 1921, he led the basketball team to a combined record of 48–9, including a one-loss season in his first year as the coach. He also served as athletic director from 1948 to 1963.
Rynearson continued to live in Ypsilanti, Michigan
in his later years. In November 1966, the National Football Foundation awarded him the Willie Heston Award, given each year to an individual personifying the leadership qualities developed by football.
Rynearson suffered a heart attack on January 28, 1967, and died one week later at St. Joseph Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. His funeral was held at St. John's Catholic Church in Ypsilanti.
In September 1969, Eastern Michigan dedicated its new football stadium as Rynearson Stadium
. The Eastern Michigan football
program has played its home games at Rynearson Stadium since the 1969 season. In 1976, Rynearson was posthumously named one of the inaugural members of the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Rynearson's return in 1925 sparked the most successful period in school history. From 1925 through 1930, the team achieved a 40-4-2 record, including perfect season
s in 1925 and 1927. From 1925 through 1927 they outscored opponents 405 points to 31 and registered 19 shutouts. They won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Championship in 1925, and won the Michigan Collegiate Conference
championships in 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930. Although less dominant, Rynearson's teams continued to have success throughout the 1930s, never having a losing season until the teams of 1940 and 1941 combined for a 2-10-3 record. The 1943 and 1945 teams (there was no team in 1944) were again successful, combining for a 7-0-1 record. However, following the end of World War II, Rynearson's teams again struggled, and he ended his coaching career on a streak of three losing seasons from 1946 through 1948. His 26 seasons as head coach are double those of the next-longest serving coach, Fred Trosko
, and no Eastern Michigan University football coach has reached even half of Rynearson's win total of 114 games.
Championship in 1921. His 160 career wins as coach rank second among EMU men's basketball head coaches, behind only Ben Braun
.
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
(known as Michigan State Normal College prior to 1956) for most of his life, beginning his association with the school as a student in 1910 and retiring as the school's athletic director in 1963.
Biography
Rynearson was born in Three OaksThree Oaks, Michigan
Three Oaks is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,829 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Three Oaks Township.-Geography:...
, Berrien County
Berrien County, Michigan
Berrien County is a county located in the extreme southwest of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,813. The county seat is St. Joseph....
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He was the son of Isaiah Rynearson and Grace Ann McCarten. He attended Michigan State Normal College from 1910–1914 and played for the football, baseball, and basketball teams. He was the captain of the basketball team his junior and his senior year, during which time the team achieved a record of 17-8. Eastern Michigan University records also list Rynearson as the basketball team captain for the 1916-1917 season, in which the team's record was 15-1.
Rynearson played three years of minor league baseball from 1913 to 1915 for the Kalamazoo Kazoos in the Southern Michigan League (1913–1914) and the Brantford Red Sox
Brantford Red Sox
The Brantford Red Sox are an independent, minor league baseball team of the, semi-pro, Intercounty Baseball League based in Brantford, Ontario. They play their home games at Arnold Anderson Stadium.-History:...
in the Canadian League (1915).
The 1916 Michigan State Normal College yearbook, The Aurora, lists Rynearson as an assistant coach of the football team, and he assumed head coaching responsibilities in 1917. Over the course of his career, he coached at least one year in every varsity sport at Michigan State Normal, including football, basketball, baseball and track. In 28 years as the head football coach, Rynearson compiled a record of 114–58–15. He led the 1925 and 1927 football teams to undefeated 8–0–0 records. Between 1925 and 1927, his teams compiled a record of 22–1–0 and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 405 to 31. In 17 years as the basketball coach, he compiled a record of 141–100. During a four-year stretch from 1917 to 1921, he led the basketball team to a combined record of 48–9, including a one-loss season in his first year as the coach. He also served as athletic director from 1948 to 1963.
Rynearson continued to live in Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...
in his later years. In November 1966, the National Football Foundation awarded him the Willie Heston Award, given each year to an individual personifying the leadership qualities developed by football.
Rynearson suffered a heart attack on January 28, 1967, and died one week later at St. Joseph Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. His funeral was held at St. John's Catholic Church in Ypsilanti.
In September 1969, Eastern Michigan dedicated its new football stadium as Rynearson Stadium
Rynearson Stadium
Rynearson Stadium is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. It held its first game on September 27, 1969 when EMU upset the University of Akron, 10-3. Currently, the stadium has seating for...
. The Eastern Michigan football
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...
program has played its home games at Rynearson Stadium since the 1969 season. In 1976, Rynearson was posthumously named one of the inaugural members of the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Football coach
Following the smallpox-shortened 1916 season, during which he was an assistant coach, Rynearson was hired to replace Elmer Mitchell as head coach. Although Rynearson's offense was more effective, outscoring opponents 111 to 82, more than half of the scoring came in a single game, a 63-0 rout of Central Michigan, and the team ended the season with a 3-4 record. After the shortened 3-game 1918 season was coached by Lynn Bell, Rynearson returned to coach the 1919 squad to their first winning season in four years. After another winning season in 1920, other coaches assumed the duties for four years, during which the team managed a 9-15-4 record. Because of the multiple breaks in his coaching time periods, Rynearson is one of a select group of college football coaches with non-consecutive tenure.Rynearson's return in 1925 sparked the most successful period in school history. From 1925 through 1930, the team achieved a 40-4-2 record, including perfect season
Perfect Season
A perfect season is any sports season, excluding the playoff portion of a season, in which a team remains undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the collegiate level in the United States.A perfect season may...
s in 1925 and 1927. From 1925 through 1927 they outscored opponents 405 points to 31 and registered 19 shutouts. They won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The nine teams in the conference are all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was established on March 24, 1888, making...
Championship in 1925, and won the Michigan Collegiate Conference
Michigan Collegiate Conference
The Michigan Collegiate Conference was an athletic conference that existed in the United States for six years, from 1927 through 1932.Formed in December 1926, the members were Michigan State Normal , Western State Teachers College , Central State Teachers College , and the College of the...
championships in 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930. Although less dominant, Rynearson's teams continued to have success throughout the 1930s, never having a losing season until the teams of 1940 and 1941 combined for a 2-10-3 record. The 1943 and 1945 teams (there was no team in 1944) were again successful, combining for a 7-0-1 record. However, following the end of World War II, Rynearson's teams again struggled, and he ended his coaching career on a streak of three losing seasons from 1946 through 1948. His 26 seasons as head coach are double those of the next-longest serving coach, Fred Trosko
Fred Trosko
Fred Trosko was an American football player and coach. He played at the halfback position for the University of Michigan football team from 1937 to 1939...
, and no Eastern Michigan University football coach has reached even half of Rynearson's win total of 114 games.
Basketball coach
Rynearson served as men's basketball coach for MSNC from 1917–1921, 1925–1932, 1935–1940, and 1944-1946. In his 18 years as the men's basketball head coach, he compiled a record of 160-129. During a four-year stretch from 1917 to 1921, he led the basketball team to a combined record of 48-11, including a one-loss season in his first year as the coach and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationMichigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The nine teams in the conference are all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association was established on March 24, 1888, making...
Championship in 1921. His 160 career wins as coach rank second among EMU men's basketball head coaches, behind only Ben Braun
Ben Braun
Ben Braun is the men's college basketball coach at Rice University. He previously spent 12 years with the California Golden Bears program and 11 years at Eastern Michigan University, where he remains the winningest coach in school history.-Coaching History:...
.