Frank Wilton

Frank S. Wilton Jr. (August 17, 1905 – December 17, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He served as the head football coach for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1932 to 1941, compiling a record of 44–39–5. Wilton was also the head baseball coach at Miami from 1933 to 1942, tallying a mark of 74–47.

Frank Wilton
Biographical details
Born(1905-08-17)August 17, 1905
Chicago, Illinois
DiedDecember 17, 1977(1977-12-17) (aged 72)
Solvang, California
Playing career
Football
1926–1928Stanford
Position(s)Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
c. 1930Burlingame HS (CA)
1931Stanford (assistant)
1932–1941Miami (OH)
Baseball
1933–1942Miami (OH)
Head coaching record
Overall44–39–5 (college football)
74–47 (college baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
3 Buckeye (1932–1933, 1936)

Playing career

Wilton lettered three seasons (1926–1928) in football for Pop Warner at Stanford University. In his three years the Stanford football team went a combined 26–5–3 with two trips to the Rose Bowl. In 1927 against USC he caught a 74-yard touchdown pass from Biff Hoffman, which was at the time the longest in Stanford history.[1]

Coaching career

Wilton came to Miami University from Stanford and installed Pop Warner's double wingback offensive system.[2] In his first two years, 1932 and 1933, he led the Redskins to Buckeye Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships. In those two years he only lost three games, two to Big Ten Conference teams Indiana and Illinois. The next two years his teams won only five games each year, but returned to championship form in 1936 with a 7–2 record and a share of the conference title. The Redskins slid to a 4–4–1 record in 1937, but rebounded in 1938 with a 6–3 record. The last three years of Wilton's tenure saw a drastic downturn in victories. The 1939, 1940, and 1941 seasons produced a total of three wins. After the 1941 season he was replaced by Stu Holcomb. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Wilton resigned his duties at Miami, effective at the end of the school year, to join the United States Navy.[3] He left Miami with the most football wins in school history, a record he retained until Randy Walker surpsed him in 1997. Wilton's 44 wins remain third in Miami football history, more than those tallied by Hall of Fame coaches George Little, Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, and Bo Schembechler.

Military service and later life

Wilton was commissioned as a Lieutenant in United States Navy Reserve. During World War II he was based at NRAB/NAS Millington, a pre-flight cadet training base in Memphis, Tennessee. As a Lieutenant Commander with ComAir 7th Fleet in the Pacific theater, he ran athletic programs for aviators' R&R. After the war, Wilton ran athletic programs at NAS Saint Mary's College of California. When he left the Navy, he became a training coordinator with the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Neenah, Wisconsin. In his early years there, he coached the company football team for two seasons.[4]

After 20 years at Kimberly-Clark and six years of working and traveling in Central America and South America, Wilton moved to Hanford, California. He died on December 17, 1977, in Solvang, California.[5]

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Miami Redskins (Buckeye Athletic Association) (1932–1938)
1932 Miami 7–15–01st
1933 Miami 7–24–1T–1st
1934 Miami 5–42–23rd
1935 Miami 5–3–11–3–15th
1936 Miami 7–1–13–1–1T–1st
1937 Miami 4–4–12–34th
1938 Miami 6–31–3T–4th
Miami Redskins (Independent) (1939–1941)
1939 Miami 1–7–1
1940 Miami 0–7–1
1941 Miami 2–7
Miami: 44–39–518–13–2
Total:44–39–5
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "2005 Stanford Cardinal Media Guide". Archived from the original on June 19, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2006.
  2. Kurz, Bob (1983) "Miami of Ohio, the Cradle of Coaches" p. 52 Library of Congress Catalog Card number 83-50645
  3. Kurz, Bob (1983) "Miami of Ohio, the Cradle of Coaches" p. 54 Library of Congress Catalog Card number 83-50645
  4. Wilton, Glenn Warner Paul [son]Miami, class of 1955.
  5. "Frank Wilton, former Miami coach dies". Journal-News. Hamilton, Ohio. December 18, 1977. p. 24. Retrieved October 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
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