John Bridgers
Encyclopedia
John D. Bridgers was an American football
coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Johns Hopkins University
from 1953 to 1956 and at Baylor University
from 1959 to 1968, compiling a career college football
record of 59–74–2. Bridgers was the athletic director
at Florida State University
from 1973 to 1979 and at the University of New Mexico
from 1979 to 1987. He also worked as an assistant coach in the National Football League
with the Baltimore Colts (1957–1958) and Pittsburgh Steelers
(1969).
, Japan
in 1952 and was head football and track coach at Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore from 1953 to 1956. In 1957 and 1958 he served as a coach/coordinator for the Baltimore Colts
, where he developed their pro-style offense attack. He carried that style with him in 1959, coming to Baylor to replace the fired Sam Boyd.
During his Baylor tenure, he compiled a 49–53–1 (.481) record. In his first five seasons, he led the Bears to three bowl game
s, winning two of them. He installed the Colts' wide-open passing game at Baylor, helping make All-Americans of quarterback
Don Trull
and wide receiver
Lawrence Elkins after a record-breaking 1963 season. In the Bears' 1966 season opener against Syracuse
at Baylor Stadium
, Bridgers sent in John Hill Westbrook, making the sophomore running back the first black athlete to play for a Southwest Conference school.
Bridgers spent a year on Chuck Noll
's first Pittsburgh Steelers
staff, where he urged the coach to consider drafting a player he tried to recruit for Baylor, a quarterback named Terry Bradshaw
. After the Steelers took Bradshaw with the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft
they won four Super Bowl
s in the next decade.
, he became athletic director
at Florida State University
in 1973. Despite inheriting a $1 million athletic deficit, he turned the program around with the single most important hire in school history, convincing another talented coach from Alabama, Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden
to leave West Virginia for the Seminoles. Turning around another struggling athletic program, Bridgers left Florida State for the University of New Mexico
in 1979, where his win brother Frank was a principal of a major engineering firm. He encountered a program where major NCAA
infractions had surfaced in the basketball program under Norm Ellenberger
, prompting an FBI
investigation into transcript-rigging. Bridgers turned the scandal-ridden program around by hiring Gary Colson
, and headed the athletic department as the football Lobos under Joe Morrison
enjoyed a 10–1 season in 1982.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
from 1953 to 1956 and at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
from 1959 to 1968, compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 59–74–2. Bridgers was the athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
from 1973 to 1979 and at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
from 1979 to 1987. He also worked as an assistant coach in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Baltimore Colts (1957–1958) and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
(1969).
Coaching career
Bridgers began his career as an assistant coach at the Sewanee: The University of the South (1947–1951), was head coach for the First Cavalry Division Artillery Team in HokkaidoHokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1952 and was head football and track coach at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in Baltimore from 1953 to 1956. In 1957 and 1958 he served as a coach/coordinator for the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
, where he developed their pro-style offense attack. He carried that style with him in 1959, coming to Baylor to replace the fired Sam Boyd.
During his Baylor tenure, he compiled a 49–53–1 (.481) record. In his first five seasons, he led the Bears to three bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
s, winning two of them. He installed the Colts' wide-open passing game at Baylor, helping make All-Americans of quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Don Trull
Don Trull
Donald Dean Trull is a former professional American football quarterback in the American Football League. Trull played football collegiately at Baylor University, where he was an All-American and twice won the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top passer.-External links:*...
and wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Lawrence Elkins after a record-breaking 1963 season. In the Bears' 1966 season opener against Syracuse
Syracuse Orange football
The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision...
at Baylor Stadium
Floyd Casey Stadium
Floyd Casey Stadium is a stadium in Waco, Texas. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Baylor Bears. Floyd Casey Stadium is about four miles from the Baylor campus. Floyd Casey Stadium was built in 1950 and cost $1.8 million dollars to construct...
, Bridgers sent in John Hill Westbrook, making the sophomore running back the first black athlete to play for a Southwest Conference school.
Bridgers spent a year on Chuck Noll
Chuck Noll
Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
's first Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
staff, where he urged the coach to consider drafting a player he tried to recruit for Baylor, a quarterback named Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
. After the Steelers took Bradshaw with the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft
1970 NFL Draft
The 1970 National Football League Draft was held on January 27–28, 1970.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
they won four Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s in the next decade.
Administrative career
After Bridgers left Pittsburgh for an assistant's job at the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
, he became athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in 1973. Despite inheriting a $1 million athletic deficit, he turned the program around with the single most important hire in school history, convincing another talented coach from Alabama, Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons...
to leave West Virginia for the Seminoles. Turning around another struggling athletic program, Bridgers left Florida State for the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in 1979, where his win brother Frank was a principal of a major engineering firm. He encountered a program where major NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
infractions had surfaced in the basketball program under Norm Ellenberger
Norm Ellenberger
Norm Ellenberger was the head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobo basketball team from 1972 to 1979, when he was forced to resign due to a recruiting scandal known as Lobo-gate....
, prompting an FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
investigation into transcript-rigging. Bridgers turned the scandal-ridden program around by hiring Gary Colson
Gary Colson
Gary Colson is an American basketball coach. The Logansport, Indiana native guided several college men's basketball teams, including Valdosta State University, Pepperdine University, University of New Mexico and California State University, Fresno. He compiled a 563-385 record over 34 seasons of...
, and headed the athletic department as the football Lobos under Joe Morrison
Joe Morrison
Joseph R. Morrison was an American football player in the National Football League for the New York Giants and a coach best known as the head coach at the University of South Carolina.-Playing career:...
enjoyed a 10–1 season in 1982.