Matty Bell

William Madison "Matty" Bell (February 22, 1899 – June 30, 1983) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He played for Centre, captain of its 1918 team. He served as the head football coach at the Haskell Institute (1920–1921), Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin (1922),[1] Texas Christian University (1923–1928), Texas A&M University (1929–1933), and Southern Methodist University (1935–1941, 1945–1949), compiling a career college football record of 147–88–17. His 1935 SMU Mustangs, which have been recognized as a national champion, went 12–0 in the regular season before losing to Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Bell was also the head basketball coach at Texas Christian for six seasons from 1923 to 1929, tallying a mark of 71–41. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1955. After retiring from coaching following the 1949 season, Bell served as the athletic director at Southern Methodist until 1964. He died in 1983 in Dallas, Texas.

Matty Bell
Biographical details
Born(1899-02-22)February 22, 1899
Fort Worth, Texas
DiedJune 30, 1983(1983-06-30) (aged 84)
Dallas, Texas
Playing career
Football
1916–1919Centre
Position(s)End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1920–1921Haskell
1922Carroll (WI)
1923–1928TCU
1929–1933Texas A&M
1935–1941SMU
1945–1949SMU
Basketball
1923–1929TCU
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1947–1964SMU
Head coaching record
Overall147–88–17 (football)
71–41 (basketball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
1 National (1935)
3 SWC (1935, 1947–1948)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1955 (profile)

During World War II, Bell took a leave of absence from coaching to serve in the aviation branch of the United States Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1945.[2] On June 12, 1942, he was sworn in as a lieutenant commander, and reported to Annapolis.[3][4] Subsequently, he became the athletic director at the Navy Pre-Flight School on the campus of the University of Georgia and rose to the rank of commander.[5] After the war, he returned to SMU as head coach.

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs AP#
Haskell Indians (Independent) (1920–1921)
1920 Haskell 3–1–1
1921 Haskell 5–5
Haskell: 8–6–1
Carroll Pioneers (Independent) (1922)
1922 Carroll 3–4
Carroll: 3–4
TCU Horned Frogs (Southwest Conference) (1923–1928)
1923 TCU 4–52–13rd
1924 TCU 4–51–58th
1925 TCU 7–1–12–0–12nd
1926 TCU 6–1–21–1–2T–3rd
1927 TCU 4–3–21–2–25th
1928 TCU 8–23–2T–3rd
TCU: 33–17–510–11–5
Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Conference) (1929–1933)
1929 Texas A&M 5–42–35th
1930 Texas A&M 2–70–57th
1931 Texas A&M 7–33–23rd
1932 Texas A&M 4–4–21–2–24th
1933 Texas A&M 6–3–12–2–14th
Texas A&M: 24–21–38–14–3
SMU Mustangs (Southwest Conference) (1935–1941)
1935 SMU 12–16–01stL Rose
1936 SMU 5–4–12–3–15th
1937 SMU 5–62–46th
1938 SMU 6–44–22nd
1939 SMU 6–3–14–2T–2nd
1940 SMU 8–1–15–1T–1st16
1941 SMU 5–52–45th
SMU Mustangs (Southwest Conference) (1945–1949)
1945 SMU 5–64–22nd
1946 SMU 4–5–12–4T–5th
1947 SMU 9–0–25–0–11stT Cotton3
1948 SMU 9–1–15–0–11stW Cotton10
1949 SMU 5–4–12–3–15th
SMU: 79–40–843–25–4
Total:147–88–17
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
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References
  1. Carroll University Athletics Archived August 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Season-by-season football results
  2. Billford, Andrew. "Bell, William Madison 'Matty'", Handbook of Texas Online, published by the Texas State Historical Association, uploaded on June 12, 2010, modified on September 28, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. June 13, 1942 press photo description.
  4. Oakland Tribune. "Matty Bell to Leave S.M.U. for Navy Work", June 12, 1942, page D 29.
  5. Fullerton Jr., Hugh. "Sports Round Up", The Evening Capital, Annapolis, Maryland, July 26, 1945, page 7.
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