Dick Rauch
Encyclopedia
Richard Harvie Rauch was an American football
player and coach in the United States
. Rauch attended Penn State University. He was a player-coach
for the Boston Bulldogs, New York Yankees
and the Maroons over the course of his four-year career. Rauch made his professional debut in the National Football League
in 1925
with the Pottsville Maroons
. He was also the first NFL coach to institute daily practices.
, Rauch attended high school at Harrisburg Tech in 1906. He did not make the football team until his senior year, in 1909. He played center on that team. After high school he went to work in the Pennsylvania Steel Mills outside of Harrisburg for six years. Rauch decided to continue his education. In 1916 he entered Bethlehem Prep, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
, to brush up his mathematics and obtain sufficient credits to enter Penn State. At Bethlehem Prep, Rauch lettered in three sports, football, basketball and track.
on the school's freshman team. By 1917 he made the varsity team and played the entire season at end. At the end of the 1917 season Rauch joined the U.S. Army and was placed in the ordinance department and was stationed in Virginia
.
He was discharged from the Army in August 1919, and returned to Penn State. By that time Rauch started at center
, and then was put in at offensive guard. His place at center was taken by Larry Conover
. Rauch continued to play guard his senior year in 1920, with the exception of the last four games when he was shifted to offensive tackle. After graduating Penn State retained him as assistant coach in 1921. He excelled in scouting. He performed the scouting duties for every college he served.
as the team's offensive line coach. Colgate soon gave him a contract for the following year in 1924. However he accepted an offer by the Pottsville Marroons as serve as head coach of their professional football team.
. During Rauch's first season with the Maroons, the team won the Anthracite League
championship. The very next season the Maroon joined the NFL, and in just their first year in league, the franchise won the NFL championship before having it stripped away from them by the league in a controversial move
.
The next season
Rauch's Maroon completed a 10-2-1 record and captured third place in the NFL standings. However after a 5-8 record in 1927
, Rauch left the team to coach the New York Yankees. Following a 4-8 record with the Yankees during the 1928 season
, Rauch returned to the Maroons franchise which had just been sold to a group of New Englanders who move the franchise to Boston and renamed the team the Boston Bulldogs.
The 1929 season
was Rauch's last season coaching in the NFL. After a 4-4 record, the Maroons-Bulldogs franchise folded.
to study the nesting habits of birds. He later put his knowledge of birds to use by exploring the Antarctic for the U.S. government.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Rauch attended Penn State University. He was a player-coach
Player-coach
A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....
for the Boston Bulldogs, New York Yankees
New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
and the Maroons over the course of his four-year career. Rauch made his professional debut in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in 1925
1925 NFL season
The 1925 NFL season was the 6th regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team...
with the Pottsville Maroons
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...
. He was also the first NFL coach to institute daily practices.
Early career
Born in Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, Rauch attended high school at Harrisburg Tech in 1906. He did not make the football team until his senior year, in 1909. He played center on that team. After high school he went to work in the Pennsylvania Steel Mills outside of Harrisburg for six years. Rauch decided to continue his education. In 1916 he entered Bethlehem Prep, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, to brush up his mathematics and obtain sufficient credits to enter Penn State. At Bethlehem Prep, Rauch lettered in three sports, football, basketball and track.
Penn State and the Army
In 1916 Rauch entered State College and he soon captained and played tight endTight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
on the school's freshman team. By 1917 he made the varsity team and played the entire season at end. At the end of the 1917 season Rauch joined the U.S. Army and was placed in the ordinance department and was stationed in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
He was discharged from the Army in August 1919, and returned to Penn State. By that time Rauch started at center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
, and then was put in at offensive guard. His place at center was taken by Larry Conover
Larry Conover
Larner Somers Gardner Conover aka "The Atlantic City Airedale" was a professional football player who played during the early years of the National Football League. After attending high school in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Conover attended Pennsylvania State University, where he served as the...
. Rauch continued to play guard his senior year in 1920, with the exception of the last four games when he was shifted to offensive tackle. After graduating Penn State retained him as assistant coach in 1921. He excelled in scouting. He performed the scouting duties for every college he served.
Colgate
In 1923, Rauch went to Colgate UniversityColgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
as the team's offensive line coach. Colgate soon gave him a contract for the following year in 1924. However he accepted an offer by the Pottsville Marroons as serve as head coach of their professional football team.
Pro football
Maroons owner Dr. John Striegel hired Rauch, because he was a protégé of the strict discipline philosophy instituted by Penn State coach, Hugo BezdekHugo Bezdek
Hugo Francis Bezdek was a Czech-American sports figure who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon , the University of Arkansas , Penn State University , and Delaware Valley College...
. During Rauch's first season with the Maroons, the team won the Anthracite League
Anthracite League
The Anthracite League, also referred to as the Anthracite Association, was a 1924 football league comprising teams based in eastern Pennsylvania. These teams were based in coal mining towns, hence the league name's reference to anthracite coal. The league lasted for just one season, before folding...
championship. The very next season the Maroon joined the NFL, and in just their first year in league, the franchise won the NFL championship before having it stripped away from them by the league in a controversial move
1925 NFL Championship controversy
The 1925 National Football League Championship, officially held by the Chicago Cardinals, has been the subject of controversy since it was awarded. The controversy centers around the suspension of the Pottsville Maroons by NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, which prevented them from taking the title.The...
.
The next season
1926 NFL season
The 1926 NFL season was the 7th regular season of the National Football League. The league grew to 22 teams, a figure that would not be equaled in professional football until 1961, adding the Brooklyn Lions, the Hartford Blues, the Los Angeles Buccaneers, and the Louisville Colonels, with Racine...
Rauch's Maroon completed a 10-2-1 record and captured third place in the NFL standings. However after a 5-8 record in 1927
1927 NFL season
The 1927 NFL season was the 8th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, the league decided to eliminate the financially weaker teams. As a result, the league dropped from 22 to 12 teams, and a majority of the remaining teams were centered around the East Coast instead...
, Rauch left the team to coach the New York Yankees. Following a 4-8 record with the Yankees during the 1928 season
1928 NFL season
The 1928 NFL season was the 9th regular season of the National Football League. The league dropped to 10 teams after both the Cleveland Bulldogs and the Duluth Eskimos folded before the season. The Buffalo Bisons also had a year out from the league. The Detroit Wolverines were an expansion club...
, Rauch returned to the Maroons franchise which had just been sold to a group of New Englanders who move the franchise to Boston and renamed the team the Boston Bulldogs.
The 1929 season
1929 NFL season
The 1929 NFL season was the 10th regular season of the National Football League. The league increased back to 12 teams with the addition of Orange Tornadoes and Minneapolis Red Jackets and the re-entry of the Buffalo Bisons...
was Rauch's last season coaching in the NFL. After a 4-4 record, the Maroons-Bulldogs franchise folded.
Outside football
Besides being a football player and coach, Rauch also worked as an ornithologist, a steel worker, an electrician and a graduate electrical engineer. Dick spent his off-seasons writing poetry and traveled as far west as the YukonYukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
to study the nesting habits of birds. He later put his knowledge of birds to use by exploring the Antarctic for the U.S. government.