12 Facts About Cleveland Abbott

Cleveland Leigh "Cleve" Abbott was an American college football player, coach and educator.

Cleveland Abbott was the head coach of the Tuskegee Golden Tigers football team from 1923 to 1954.

Cleveland Abbott received his bachelor's degree from South Dakota State College in Brookings, South Dakota.

Cleveland Abbott was an outstanding, multi-sport athlete at Watertown High School and SDSC.

Cleveland Abbott joined the US Army in 1917 at Camp Dodge and served in Europe in World War I as an officer in the 366th Infantry Regiment.

In 1923, Cleveland Abbott accepted a position as Athletic Director, professor and coach at Tuskegee.

Cleveland Abbott was the eighth head football coach for the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers located in Tuskegee, Alabama and he held that position for 32 seasons, from 1923 until 1954.

Cleveland Abbott earned the respect of his peers through his team's performance and by participating in national committees for the selection of "all-American" players at the collegiate level.

Cleveland Abbott was the first African-American member of USA Track and Field Board circa 1940 and the first African-American member of the US Olympic Committee in 1946.

Cleveland Abbott coached the first African-American Olympic champion, Alice Coachman, and the second, Mildred McDaniel.

Cleveland Abbott was married to Jessie Harriette Scott and had had a daughter, Jessie Ellen Abbott.

Cleveland Abbott was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in September 2018.