Don Larson (American football)
Don "Swede" Larson (c. 1926 – November 29, 1994) was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, for 33 years from 1954 to 1986. He compiled a career record of 166–121–6 and led the team to conference championships in 1964 and 1965, and conference co-championships in 1974, 1977, and 1980. He was selected as the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin coach in 1977 and 1980. He also played college football at Illinois Wesleyan and was captain of the 1949 Illinois Wesleyan football team. He also coached the tennis, track, golf, and swimming teams at Illinois Wesleyan.[1][2][3][4][5]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1926 Princeton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 1994 Normal, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1946–1949 | Illinois Wesleyan |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1954–1986 | Illinois Wesleyan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 166–121–6 (football) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 5 CCI/CCIW (1964, 1965, 1974, 1977, 1980) | |
| Awards | |
| Football CCIW Coach of the Year (1977, 1980) 6× NAIA District 20 Coach of the Year | |
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Wesleyan Titans (College Conference of Illinois / College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) (1954–1986) | |||||||||
| 1954 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–3 | 4–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1955 | Illinois Wesleyan | 6–3 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1956 | Illinois Wesleyan | 3–5–1 | 3–3–1 | T–4th | |||||
| 1957 | Illinois Wesleyan | 1–7–1 | 1–5–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1958 | Illinois Wesleyan | 4–4 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1959 | Illinois Wesleyan | 6–3 | 5–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1960 | Illinois Wesleyan | 7–2 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1961 | Illinois Wesleyan | 2–7 | 1–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1962 | Illinois Wesleyan | 4–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1963 | Illinois Wesleyan | 6–3 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1964 | Illinois Wesleyan | 7–1–1 | 5–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1965 | Illinois Wesleyan | 8–0 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1966 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–3 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1967 | Illinois Wesleyan | 7–2 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1968 | Illinois Wesleyan | 6–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1969 | Illinois Wesleyan | 3–6 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1970 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–3–1 | 5–2–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1971 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–4 | 5–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1972 | Illinois Wesleyan | 4–5 | 4–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1973 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–4 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1974 | Illinois Wesleyan | 8–1 | 7–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1975 | Illinois Wesleyan | 4–4–1 | 4–3–1 | 6th | |||||
| 1976 | Illinois Wesleyan | 6–3 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1977 | Illinois Wesleyan | 6–3 | 6–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 1978 | Illinois Wesleyan | 4–5 | 3–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1979 | Illinois Wesleyan | 7–2 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1980 | Illinois Wesleyan | 7–2 | 6–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 1981 | Illinois Wesleyan | 3–6 | 3–5 | T–4th | |||||
| 1982 | Illinois Wesleyan | 4–5 | 4–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1983 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1984 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1985 | Illinois Wesleyan | 3–6 | 3–5 | 5th | |||||
| 1986 | Illinois Wesleyan | 5–3–1 | 4–3–1 | T–4th | |||||
| Illinois Wesleyan: | 166–121–6 | 142–89–6 | |||||||
| Total: | 166–121–6 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- "Don Larson, 1949 Captain, New Football Coach: Wesleyan Picks Princeton Man To Handle Team". The Pantagraph. April 19, 1954. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Wesleyan football family fetes Larson". The Pantagraph. May 10, 1987. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Larson, IWU football part company". The Pantagraph. November 19, 1986. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Jim Barnhart (November 21, 1986). "Larson resignation not fair to coach". The Pantagraph. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Larson remembered as 'caring' coach, full of pride for IWU: Winningest Titan football coach dies at 68". The Pantagraph. November 30, 1994. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
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