John Alexander Harts (September 5, 1873 – August 31, 1947) was an American football coach and elocution teacher.[1] Harts was from Winfield, Kansas and served as the first coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team at the University of Oklahoma in 1895.
Harts attended Southwestern College.[2] He was the primary organizer of the first OU team, which was made up of students and Norman, Oklahoma residents.[3] The team only played one game that year against a more experienced Oklahoma City team; the Sooners lost 34–0. Following that year, Harts left OU to prospect for gold in the Arctic.[1]
Harts is the only head football coach of record at Oklahoma to complete his tenure without a win.[4] In the one game that he coached, the Sooners failed to score a point or to make a first down.[1]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Bowl/playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma Sooners (Independent) (1895) | |||||||||
| 1895 | Oklahoma | 0–1 | |||||||
| Oklahoma: | 0–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 0–1 | ||||||||
References
- ^ a b c Burr, Carol (Fall 1998). "If you think football is just a kids' game, you didn't attend the University of Oklahoma" (PDF). Sooner Magazine. p. Inside front cover.
- ^ "Head coaches". University of Oklahoma athletics. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- ^ Keith, Harold (September 1942). "Football Ups and Downs" (PDF). Sooner Magazine. pp. 12–13, 54.
- ^ DeLassus, David. "Oklahoma Sooners (coaching records)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.