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Bill Lange

Bill Lange (1897-1953)

Teams coached: Muskingum Fighting Muskies, North Carolina Tar Heels, Kenyon Lords
Muskingum record^: 133-94 (.586)
North Carolina record: 85-41 (.675)
Kenyon record^: 1-9 (.100)
Overall record^: 219-144 (.603)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (1941)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • SoCon Regular Season Champion:  2  (1941, 1943)
  • OAC (Div III) Regular Season Champion:  3  (1926, 1927, 1928)
  • SoCon Tournament Champion:  1  (1940)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1944-1945 Kenyon
1939-1944 North Carolina
1923-1936 Muskingum

Bill Lange Facts

  • William Fisher Lange
  • Born February 16, 1897
  • Died June 22, 1953
  • Hometown: Huron, Ohio
  • Alma Mater: Wittenberg College (BA, 1921)
  • Was a basketball and football star at Huron HS (OH) and went on to play both at Wittenberg College (OH)
  • Started coaching at the high school level with stints in Cleveland and London, Ohio
    • Also had a stint coaching the Cleveland Rosenblums of the American Basketball League in 1925
  • Became the athletic director, head football coach and head basketball coach at Muskingum College (OH) in 1923
    • Was 71-32-6 (52-22-5) in 13 seasons as the head football coach, winning five OAC titles
    • On the hardwood, Lange was 133-94 over 13 seasons and won three-straight OAC titles from 1926-28
  • Hired in 1936 to be an assistant football coach and assistant professor at North Carolina
    • Worked with the football team for eight seasons in total (1936-43)
  • Added head basketball coach to his responsibilities in 1939, leading the Tar Heels for five seasons
    • Went 85-41 overall and won two SoCon titles; reached the NCAA Tournament in 1941 (the program’s first)
    • Finished above .500 each season, including a 23-3 record in his first season
  • Left UNC in 1944, returning to his home state of Ohio to be AD and coach basketball and football at Kenyon College
    • Was 0-3 as football coach and 1-9 as basketball coach; only worked at the school for one year
  • Retired from coaching in 1945 and moved to Florida to work in the private sector
  • Passed away in 1953 at the age of 56 while visiting friends in Ohio
    • Posthumously inducted into the Muskingum Athletic HOF (c/o 1980) and Wittenberg Athletic HOF (c/o 1987)

Bill Lange Coaching Tree

  • coming soon

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA and NAIA levels