Charles Cameron "Trusty" Tallman (September 18, 1899 – November 16, 1973)[1] was an American football player and, coach of football and basketball, and law enforcement officer. "Trusty" was the only person in West Virginia sports history who was player, assistant coach and head football coach of Marshall and West Virginia University. Trusty was honorable mention End on Walter Camp's 1922 All-American football team, and was a member of the 1st undefeated West Virginia University team(1922). He was captain of the West Virginia University baseball team, and as pitcher, set a school record. He was also president of Sigma Nu fraternity. He received a law degree from West Virginia University. He played professional football. He served as the head football coach at Marshall University from 1925 to 1928 and at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1936, compiling a career college football record of 37–21–9. "Trusty" arranged for the radio coverage of the first Marshall football game in 1927. Tallman was also the head basketball coach at Marshall during the 1925–26 season, tallying a mark of 10–7. He resigned after the 1937 season to become the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police, and was credited with beginning the West Virginia State Police Academy. He was recommended to DuPont by J. Edgar Hoover. He was in charge of the security for the Manhattan Project Hanford, Washington(Nagasaki bomb-"Fat Man)". Tallman was also a member of the West Virginia Legislature.[2] He later lived in Augusta, Georgia, where he died on November 16, 1973. In September 2021, Trusty was induced into the Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame.[3]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall Thundering Herd (West Virginia Athletic Conference) (1925–1928) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Marshall | 4–1–4 | 3–0–2 | 1st | |||||
| 1926 | Marshall | 5–4–1 | 3–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1927 | Marshall | 5–3–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1928 | Marshall | 8–1–1 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| Marshall: | 22–9–7 | 15–2–2 | |||||||
| West Virginia Mountaineers (Independent) (1934–1936) | |||||||||
| 1934 | West Virginia | 6–4 | |||||||
| 1935 | West Virginia | 3–4–2 | |||||||
| 1936 | West Virginia | 6–4 | |||||||
| West Virginia: | 15–12–2 | ||||||||
| Total: | 37–21–9 | ||||||||
References
- ^ "West Virginia Blue Book". 1937.
- ^ "W. VA. SELECTS TALLMAN.; Names Member of State Legislature Football Coach" (PDF). The New York Times. February 17, 1934. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
- ^ "Ex-safety head dies in Georgia". The Morning Herald. Hagerstown, Maryland. United Press International. November 19, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved December 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com
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