Harris G. Cope

Harris Goodwin Cope (March 16, 1880 – September 24, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He served as the head football coach at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee from 1909 to 1916 and Howard College—now known as Samford University—in Marion, Alabama from 1922 to 1923, compiling a career [[college football coaching record of 48–28–12. Cope was a member of the National Football Rules Committee in 1914–15.

Harris G. Cope
Cope c. 1913
Biographical details
Born(1880-03-16)March 16, 1880
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
DiedSeptember 24, 1924(1924-09-24) (aged 44)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1899–1901Sewanee
Position(s)Quarterback (football)
Third baseman (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1904Sewanee (assistant)
1909–1916Sewanee
1922–1923Howard (AL)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1909–1913Sewanee
1922–?Howard (AL)
Head coaching record
Overall48–28–12
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 SIAA (1909)

Early life and playing career

Cope first played at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut.[1]

Sewanee
Cope c. 1901

In his first year of varsity football, Cope was a substitute quarterback on the undefeated "Iron Men" of the 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team. He was the captain and the starting quarter for Sewanee's 1901 team.[2]

Cope played third baseman on the Sewanee baseball team.

Coaching career

Cope worked for a short time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. For many years, he returned to Cartersville during the off-seasons to manage the Cartersville Colts semi-professional men’s baseball team.[3]

Sewanee

Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach (43), behind Shirley Majors' 93 and John Windham's 45; and has the highest winning percentage of any Sewanee coach who coached for more than 3 seasons. His continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years.[4]

1909

In Cope's first year at head coach he led the Sewanee Tigers to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship in 1909, beating previous season's champion LSU and handing Vanderbilt its first loss to a Southern team in six years.

Howard

Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard. Cope was also a very astute golfer, playing in club tournaments during his off-seasons.

Death

Cope died of pneumonia in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 24, 1924, just before the start of Howard's football season.[5]

Legacy

Cope's disciples include:

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Sewanee Tigers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1909–1916)
1909 Sewanee 6–15–01st
1910 Sewanee 8–23–1T–3rd
1911 Sewanee 6–3–12–39th
1912 Sewanee 5–1–22–1–25th
1913 Sewanee 4–32–27th
1914 Sewanee 5–34–25th
1915 Sewanee 4–3–22–2–210th
1916 Sewanee 5–2–22–2–214th
Sewanee: 43–18–722–14–6
Howard Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1922–1923)
1922 Howard 2–6–20–2
1923 Howard 3–4–31–3–1
Howard: 5–10–51–5–1
Total:48–28–12
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. Marvin McCarthy (January 2, 1922). "Howard Gets Coach Cope". Atlanta Constitution. p. 9. Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. John Hunter Garland (1962). The Mills, Cope, and related families of Georgia. p. 188.
  3. "Coach For Sewanee". Atlanta Georgian. August 31, 1909.
  4. James Gregg, Jr. (1949). "Sports At Sewanee". Sewanee Alumni News: 3.
  5. Horn, Blinkey (September 25, 1924). "Henderson-Brown Will Sub for Howard as Vandy's Foe Saturday". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 9. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com open access.
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