14 Facts About Ossie Solem

Oscar Martin "Ossie" Solem was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator.

From 1913 until 1920, Solem was the head coach of the Minneapolis Marines, prior to that team's entry into the National Football League.

Ossie Solem then began his coaching career, coaching for a pre-National Football League professional football franchise called the Minneapolis Marines.

Ossie Solem coached there for three years from 1913 to 1915 before coaching a few years of high school football at East Des Moines High School and South High School of Minneapolis.

Ossie Solem began his college coaching career at Luther College in 1920.

Ossie Solem served as Drake's head football coach and athletic director for 11 years from 1921 to 1931.

In 1932, Ossie Solem signed a three-year contract to succeed Burt Ingwersen as the 13th head football coach at the University of Iowa.

Ossie Solem took over an Iowa football program that had recently been suspended from athletic competition in the Big Ten Conference for a month.

Ossie Solem's contract was extended two years, and with the departure of Iowa's athletic director, Ossie Solem was appointed to that position as well.

Ossie Solem fought tirelessly to have Iowa regarded as a member of equal standing within the conference.

Many of the athletes Ossie Solem successfully recruited to Iowa would become the foundation for the 1939 Hawkeye team, nicknamed the "Ironmen", which included Nile Kinnick and Erwin Prasse.

Simmons stated that he felt Ossie Solem had been too critical of him for Iowa's failures during the 1936 season.

Ossie Solem died at a hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 26,1970.

Ossie Solem was a fine, clean living man, and he was very well thought of in athletic circles.