Phil Dickens
William Phillip Dickens (June 29, 1914[2] – November 16, 1983)[3] was an American football player, coach of football, basketball and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Wofford College (1947–1952), the University of Wyoming (1953–1956), and Indiana University Bloomington (1958–1964), compiling a career record of 89–68–10. Dickens was also the head basketball coach at Wofford for one season in 1941–42, tallying a mark of 10–14, Wofford' head baseball coach for two seasons, from 1941 to 1942, and the school's athletic director from 1947 to 1952.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 29, 1914[1] Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Died | November 16, 1983 |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1934–1936 | Tennessee |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1939–1941 | Wofford (backfield) |
| 1942–1943 | NC State (backfield) |
| 1945–1946 | Mississippi State (assistant) |
| 1947–1952 | Wofford |
| 1953–1956 | Wyoming |
| 1958–1964 | Indiana |
| Basketball | |
| 1941–1942 | Wofford |
| Baseball | |
| 1941–1942 | Wofford |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1947–1952 | Wofford |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 89–68–10 (football) 10–14 (basketball) |
| Bowls | 1–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 5 South Carolina Little Four/Three (1948–1952) 1 Skyline (1956) | |
During his tenure at Indiana, Dickens compiled a 20–41–2 record. His best season came in 1958, where his Hoosiers went 5–3–1, with upset wins over Michigan State, and Michigan; earning him Big Ten/Midwest Coach of the Year and third place as National Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1974. Dickens attended the University of Tennessee, where he was a third-team All-American in 1936 and All-SEC in 1936 at halfback.
Controversy
During his time at Indiana University, Dickens was investigated for violations in athletic recruiting. Dickens was hired as the head Football coach at IU in 1957 after his success at Wofford College and Wyoming. Knowing that the Hoosiers were at a recruiting disadvantage, Dickens blatantly disregarded the rules, with reports of seventeen violations by the IU football program in his first three months. Reports stated that the school offered, "$50 per month, or expense-paid travel between the prospects hometown and Bloomington." Although no offenses were consummated, Indiana chose to forbid Dickens from performing any coaching related activities during the 1957 football season. Additionally, Indiana was placed on probation for one year by the NCAA.[4]
On December 22, 1964, Dickens resigned as Indiana's head football coach and was given a new position as the university's general manager of off-campus physical facilities. In seven seasons, he compiled a 20–41–2 record with the Hoosiers. Due to over-zealous recruiting, he had been suspended for the 1957 season, and the team had been placed on probation from 1960 to 1963.[5]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wofford Terriers (South Carolina Little Four / South Carolina Little Three) (1947–1952) | |||||||||
| 1947 | Wofford | 6–5 | |||||||
| 1948 | Wofford | 4–0–5 | 1st | ||||||
| 1949 | Wofford | 11–1 | 1st | L Cigar | |||||
| 1950 | Wofford | 7–2–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1951 | Wofford | 6–3–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1952 | Wofford | 6–5 | 1st | ||||||
| Wofford: | 40–16–7 | ||||||||
| Wyoming Cowboys (Skyline Conference) (1953–1956) | |||||||||
| 1953 | Wyoming | 5–4–1 | 4–2–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1954 | Wyoming | 6–4 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1955 | Wyoming | 8–3 | 5–2 | T–3rd | W Sun | ||||
| 1956 | Wyoming | 10–0 | 7–0 | 1st | 16 | ||||
| Wyoming: | 29–11–1 | 21–5–1 | |||||||
| Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference) (1958–1964) | |||||||||
| 1958 | Indiana | 5–3–1 | 3–2–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1959 | Indiana | 4–4–1 | 2–4–1 | T–8th | |||||
| 1960 | Indiana | 1–8 | 0–7 | 10th | |||||
| 1961 | Indiana | 2–7 | 0–6 | 9th | |||||
| 1962 | Indiana | 3–6 | 1–5 | 9th | |||||
| 1963 | Indiana | 3–6 | 1–5 | 10th | |||||
| 1964 | Indiana | 2–7 | 1–5 | T–9th | |||||
| Indiana: | 20–41–2 | 8–34–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 89–68–10 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
References
- U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
- Wyoming picks Phil Dickens as head coach
- Phil Dickens at the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
- From Dickens to Sampson
- "Phil Dickens Resigns As Indiana Grid Coach". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 22, 1964. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
