Harris G. Cope

Harris G. Cope

Cope, c. 1913
Biographical details
Born	(1880-03-16)March 16, 1880 Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Died	September 24, 1924(1924-09-24) (aged 44) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1899–1901	Sewanee
Position(s)	Quarterback (football) Third baseman (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1904	Sewanee (assistant)
1909–1916	Sewanee
1922–1923	Howard (AL)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1909–1913	Sewanee
1922–1924	Howard (AL)
Head coaching record
Overall	48–28–12
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 SIAA (1909)

Harris Goodwin Cope (March 16, 1880 – September 24, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. He served as the head football coach at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee from 1909 to 1916 and Howard College—now known as Samford University—in Marion, Alabama from 1922 to 1923, compiling a career college football coaching record of 48–28–12. Cope was a member of the National Football Rules Committee in 1914–15.

Cope first played at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut.^[1]

In his first year of varsity football, Cope was a substitute quarterback on the undefeated "Iron Men" of the 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team. He was the captain and the starting quarter for Sewanee's 1901 team.^[2]

Cope played third baseman on the Sewanee baseball team.

Cope worked for a short time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. For many years, he returned to Cartersville during the off-seasons to manage the Cartersville Colts semi-professional men’s baseball team.^[3]

Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach (43), behind Shirley Majors' 93 and John Windham's 45; and has the highest winning percentage of any Sewanee coach who coached for more than 3 seasons. His continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years.^[4]

In Cope's first year at head coach he led the Sewanee Tigers to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship in 1909, beating previous season's champion LSU and handing Vanderbilt its first loss to a Southern team in six years.

Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard. Cope was also a very astute golfer, playing in club tournaments during his off-seasons.

Cope died of pneumonia in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 24, 1924, just before the start of Howard's football season.^[5]

Cope's disciples include:

• Bob Taylor Dobbins, played for Sewanee (1913–1915), assistant for Howard (1922–1923)
• Frank Faulkinberry, played for Sewanee (1907–1910), head coach for Middle Tennessee State (1926–1932)
• Jenks Gillem, played for Sewanee (1910–1912), head coach for Howard (1925–1926), Birmingham–Southern (1928–1939), head coach for Sewanee (1940–1941)
• Frank Juhan, played for Sewanee (1908–1910), assistant for Sewanee (1913–1915)
• Henry D. Phillips, assistant for Sewanee (1909–1915)
• Silas Williams, played for Sewanee (1908–1909), assistant for Sewanee (1914–1915), head coach for Chattanooga (1919–1921)

• Harris G. Cope at Find a Grave