19 Facts About Gus Henderson

Elmer Clinton "Gloomy Gus" Henderson was an American football coach.

In between his stints at Tulsa and Occidental, Henderson moved to the professional ranks, helming the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the American Football League in 1937 and the Detroit Lions of the National Football League in 1939.

Gus Henderson coached basketball and baseball at USC, each for two seasons.

Gus Henderson was born in Oberlin, Ohio on 10 March 1889.

Gus Henderson graduated from Oberlin College, and then coached at Broadway High School in Seattle, Washington.

Gus Henderson arrived at the University of Southern California in 1919 and set the Trojans football team on its first steps toward national prominence.

Gus Henderson accused Penn State coach Hugo Bezdek of doing so as a psychological tactic, and the coaches nearly began throwing punches.

Gus Henderson was a great coach when we needed one most because we were just growing up.

Gus Henderson received his nickname from Los Angeles Times sports editor Paul Lowry because of his tendency to poor-mouth the Trojans' prospects before a game.

Gloomy Gus Henderson was a character in a popular era comic strip, Happy Hooligan.

Gus Henderson's contract was bought out at the end of the year.

Gus Henderson moved to the University of Tulsa in 1925 and served as the Golden Hurricane head coach for the next 11 seasons.

Gus Henderson oversaw the construction of the Skelly Field, which opened in 1930.

Under Gus Henderson, Tulsa captured five conference championships: the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference title in 1925, the Big Four Conference titles in 1929,1930, and 1932, and the Missouri Valley Conference title in 1935.

Gus Henderson replaced Earl "Dutch" Clark, who had resigned to take a job as head coach of the Cleveland Rams.

Again, Gus Henderson returned to Los Angeles to take over the football program at Occidental College.

Gus Henderson died on 16 December 1965 at age 76 in Desert Hot Springs, California of complications from pneumonia.

Gus Henderson was survived by his wife, Kathryn, and their daughter.

Gus Henderson was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.