Chuck Mills
Morton J. "Chuck" Mills (December 1, 1928 – January 18, 2021) was an American college football coach. He served as the head coach at Pomona College (1957–1961), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1962–1963), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (1964), Utah State University (1967–1972), Wake Forest University (1973–1977), Southern Oregon University (1980–1988), and the United States Coast Guard Academy (1997).
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 1, 1928 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 18, 2021 (aged 92) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Illinois State University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1951 | Chicago Mount Carmel HS (IL) (assistant) |
| 1952–1953 | Mendel Catholic HS (IL) |
| 1954 | North Chicago HS (IL) |
| 1955 | Loyola HS (CA) |
| 1956 | Citrus JC (line) |
| 1957–1958 | Pomona (assistant) |
| 1959–1961 | Pomona |
| 1962–1963 | Indiana State (PA) |
| 1964 | Merchant Marine |
| 1965 | Arizona (assistant) |
| 1966 | Kansas City Chiefs (assistant) |
| 1967–1972 | Utah State |
| 1973–1977 | Wake Forest |
| 1980–1988 | Southern Oregon |
| 1997 | Coast Guard |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1978–1980 | Blue–Gray Football Classic (exec. dir.) |
| 1980–1989 | Southern Oregon |
| 1989–? | Coast Guard |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 132–133–5 (college) |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NAIA D-I playoffs) 0–1 (NCAA D-III playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 FFC (1997) | |
Education
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Mills graduated from Illinois State University in 1950.[1][2][3]
Coaching career
During his six years as Utah State's head coach, his teams went 38–23–1; 8–3 marks in 1971 and 1972 were the best. Mills took the first American collegiate football team to Japan. The Japanese equivalent of the Heisman Award, known as the "Mills Trophy," is presented to the top collegiate football player in Japan each year.[4]
Death
In mid-January 2021, Mills was hospitalized in a Honolulu hospital for pneumonia and organ failure. He died on the morning of January 18, 2021, at age 92.[4]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomona Sagehens (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1959–1961) | |||||||||
| 1959 | Pomona | 5–4 | 3–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1960 | Pomona | 2–7 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1961 | Pomona | 5–4 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
| Pomona: | 12–15 | 5–0 | |||||||
| Indiana State Indians (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) (1962–1963) | |||||||||
| 1962 | Indiana State | 5–2–1 | 4–1–1 | T–2nd (West) | |||||
| 1963 | Indiana State | 7–1–1 | 5–1 | 2nd (West) | |||||
| Indiana State: | 12–3–2 | 9–2–1 | |||||||
| Merchant Marine Mariners (NCAA College Division independent) (1964) | |||||||||
| 1964 | Merchant Marine | 3–7 | |||||||
| Merchant Marine: | 3–7 | ||||||||
| Utah State Aggies (NCAA University Division independent) (1967–1972) | |||||||||
| 1967 | Utah State | 7–2–1 | |||||||
| 1968 | Utah State | 3–7 | |||||||
| 1969 | Utah State | 7–3 | |||||||
| 1970 | Utah State | 5–5 | |||||||
| 1971 | Utah State | 8–3 | |||||||
| 1972 | Utah State | 8–3 | T–17 | ||||||
| Utah State: | 38–23–1 | ||||||||
| Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1973–1977) | |||||||||
| 1973 | Wake Forest | 1–9–1 | 0–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1974 | Wake Forest | 1–10 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| 1975 | Wake Forest | 3–8 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1976 | Wake Forest | 5–6 | 3–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1977 | Wake Forest | 1–10 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| Wake Forest: | 11–43–1 | 6–23–1 | |||||||
| Southern Oregon Raiders (Evergreen Conference) (1980–1984) | |||||||||
| 1980 | Southern Oregon | 2–7 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1981 | Southern Oregon | 6–4 | NA | NA | |||||
| 1982 | Southern Oregon | 6–4 | 3–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1983 | Southern Oregon | 9–2 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1984 | Southern Oregon | 6–4 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| Southern Oregon Raiders (Columbia Football League) (1985–1987) | |||||||||
| 1985 | Southern Oregon | 2–6–1 | 1–4–1 | 6th (Southern) | |||||
| 1986 | Southern Oregon | 4–5 | 2–4 | T–4th (Southern) | |||||
| 1987 | Southern Oregon | 7–4 | 4–2 | T–2nd (Southern) | L NAIA Division I Quarterfinal | ||||
| Southern Oregon Raiders (Columbia Football Association) (1988) | |||||||||
| 1988 | Southern Oregon | 5–4 | 3–3 | T–3rd (Mount Hood) | |||||
| Southern Oregon: | 47–40–1 | 24–22–1 | |||||||
| Coast Guard Bears (Freedom Football Conference) (1997) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Coast Guard | 9–2 | 6–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| Coast Guard: | 9–2 | 6–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 132–133–5 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- Hoffmann, Doug (January 19, 2021). "Former Utah State head football coach Chuck Mills dies at age 92". Cache Valley Daily. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- Judd, Brandon (January 19, 2021). "Former Utah State football coach Chuck Mills dies". Deseret News. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- Burglund, Matthew (January 19, 2021). "Former IUP football coach Mills dies at 93". The Indiana Gazette. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- Nagatsuka, Kaz (January 19, 2021). "Chuck Mills, who inspired Japan's college football to flourish, dies at 92". Japan Times. Retrieved January 19, 2021.