Melvin E. "Sam" Lyle was an American football player, coach, and the founder of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award

The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is an annual college football award given to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, longtime head football coach at Georgia Tech and was...

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Playing career

Lyle played End

Tight 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...

 at LSU

LSU Tigers football

The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 from 1947-1949. He was the captain of the Tiger team that played in the 1950 Sugar Bowl

1950 Sugar Bowl

The 1950 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the second ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the 9th ranked LSU Tigers.Prior to the game, former LSU player Piggy Barnes was caught spying on Oklahoma practices with a telescope and a camera....

. He was drafted by the New York Bulldogs

New York Yanks

The New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City...

 in the tenth round of the 1950 NFL Draft

1950 NFL Draft

The 1950 National Football League Draft was held on January 20–21, 1950.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

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Coaching career

Lyle began his coaching career in 1951 as the ends coach at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 under Bobby Dodd

Bobby Dodd

Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football coach at Georgia Tech. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach, something that only three people have accomplished....

. He was an assistant on the Yellow Jacket teams that won the 1952 Orange Bowl

Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...

 and the 1953

1953 Sugar Bowl

The 1953 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the second ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the seventh ranked Ole Miss Rebels. Georgia Tech won the matchup 24-7 to clinch a national championship....

 and 1954 Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...

s. In 1954 he moved to Oklahoma, where he was an assistant under future College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

r Bud Wilkinson

Bud Wilkinson

Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14...

. In his second and third seasons at Oklahoma, the Sooners won the College football national championship.

In 1958, Lyle succeeded another former Oklahoma assistant, Pop Ivy

Pop Ivy

Frank "Pop" Ivy was a football player and coach who holds the unique distinction of being the only person ever to serve as a head coach in the National Football League, the American Football League and the Western Interprovincial Football Union.A native of Skiatook, Oklahoma, Ivy was part Native...

, as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos

Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

. He resigned after only one season and returned to college football as an assistant at Florida

Florida Gators football

The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...

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Bobby Dodd Award

In 1976, Lyle created the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. The award, named after former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, is an awarded annually to the college football head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. Lyle also served as the chairman of the executive committee of the American Sportsmanship Council, the group who sponsored the Bobby Dodd Award.

Lyle died of kidney failure on May 25, 2007 in Atlanta.