Lee Tressel
Encyclopedia
Lee Tressel was a football
coach and athletic director
at Baldwin–Wallace College
in Berea, Ohio
. Tressel accumulated a 155–52–6 record in 23 seasons (1958–1980) as the head football coach as Baldwin–Wallace. His 1978 team won the NCAA Division III National Football Championship
and for his efforts, Tressel was named National Coach of the Year that championship season.
Before coaching at Baldwin–Wallace, Tressel was a successful high school head coach in Ohio
, with stops at Ada High School
, Massillon Washington High School
, and Mentor High School. At Mentor, Tressel put together a 34-game winning streak, while compiling a 16–3 mark in two seasons at Massillon.
Tressel was married to Eloise Tressel, who worked as the athletic historian at Baldwin–Wallace. Tressel is the father of Jim Tressel
, who was the head football coach at Ohio State University
from 2001 through the 2010 season. Another son, Dick, was the head football coach at Hamline University
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
for 23 seasons (1978–2000) and is now an assistant at Ohio State.
Tressel was 56 at the time of his death from lung cancer
. He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1996. On the south side of the Baldwin–Wallace campus in Berea, there is a "Tressel Street" named in his honor. At the corners where Tressel Street starts and ends, at Bagley Road and E. Center Street, lay decorative street signs in honor of Lee and Eloise Tressel for their contributions to the Baldwin-Wallace campus.
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 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 Baldwin–Wallace College
Baldwin–Wallace College
Baldwin–Wallace College is a liberal arts college in Berea, Ohio, founded in 1845. It is home to the Riemenschneider-Bach Institute and the Baldwin–Wallace Conservatory of Music, an internationally renowned music school. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Students receive a...
in Berea, Ohio
Berea, Ohio
- History :The first European settlers were originally from Connecticut. Berea fell within Connecticut's Western Reserve and was surveyed and divided into townships and ranges by one Gideon Granger, a gentleman who served as Postmaster General under President Thomas Jefferson...
. Tressel accumulated a 155–52–6 record in 23 seasons (1958–1980) as the head football coach as Baldwin–Wallace. His 1978 team won the NCAA Division III National Football Championship
NCAA Division III national football championship
The NCAA Division III National Football Championship began in 1973. Before 1973, most of the schools now in Division III competed in the NCAA's former "College Division"....
and for his efforts, Tressel was named National Coach of the Year that championship season.
Before coaching at Baldwin–Wallace, Tressel was a successful high school head coach in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, with stops at Ada High School
Ada High School (Ada, Ohio)
Ada High School is a public high school located in Ada, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Ada Exempted Village School District.The District spends $7,419 per pupil in current expenditures...
, Massillon Washington High School
Massillon Washington High School
Massillon Washington High School, is a 9 to 12 grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District located in the city of Massillon, Ohio. It serves students within the city of Massillon as well as parts of Tuscarawas Township...
, and Mentor High School. At Mentor, Tressel put together a 34-game winning streak, while compiling a 16–3 mark in two seasons at Massillon.
Tressel was married to Eloise Tressel, who worked as the athletic historian at Baldwin–Wallace. Tressel is the father of Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel
James Patrick Tressel is a gameday consultant for the Indianapolis Colts, and former collegiate football head coach at both The Ohio State University from 2001 to 2011 and at Youngstown State University from 1986 to 2000. Tressel is most notable for his time at Ohio State. He was hired by the...
, who was the head football coach at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
from 2001 through the 2010 season. Another son, Dick, was the head football coach at Hamline University
Hamline University
-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
for 23 seasons (1978–2000) and is now an assistant at Ohio State.
Tressel was 56 at the time of his death from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1996. On the south side of the Baldwin–Wallace campus in Berea, there is a "Tressel Street" named in his honor. At the corners where Tressel Street starts and ends, at Bagley Road and E. Center Street, lay decorative street signs in honor of Lee and Eloise Tressel for their contributions to the Baldwin-Wallace campus.