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| Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder | |
|---|---|
| Name | Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder |
| Birth date | 1909-04-03 |
| Birth place | Massillon, Ohio |
| Death date | 2000-12-15 |
| Death place | Syracuse, New York |
| Alma mater | University of Pittsburgh |
| Occupation | American football coach, United States Army officer |
| Known for | Head coach, Syracuse football program |
Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder was an American football coach and United States Army officer notable for building the Syracuse University program into a national contender, developing professional-level players, and serving with distinction in World War II and the Korean War. He combined coaching success at Western Reserve University and Syracuse University with leadership recognized by military honors and collegiate awards, influencing figures who moved on to the National Football League and College Football Hall of Fame recognition.
Schwartzwalder was born in Massillon, Ohio, a city associated with Massillon Tigers and Ohio high school football traditions, and attended Washington High School where he played under local coaches linked to the regional powerhouse culture that produced alumni who attended the University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State University, and University of Notre Dame. He matriculated at the University of Pittsburgh and played under coach Jock Sutherland, a mentor connected to the Pittsburgh Panthers football legacy and the broader interwar era of college football luminaries such as Knute Rockne and Bear Bryant. At Pittsburgh he earned a degree before beginning a coaching trajectory that would intersect with institutions including Case Western Reserve University and Syracuse University.
As a collegiate player at the University of Pittsburgh, Schwartzwalder competed in the Pittsburgh Panthers football program during the late 1920s and early 1930s, participating in contests against teams like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Penn State Nittany Lions. He lined up in the single-wing system popularized by figures such as Jock Sutherland and contemporaries like Pop Warner, contributing to Pitt teams that faced rivals including the Army and the Ohio State Buckeyes. His experience as a player informed a coaching philosophy later applied at Western Reserve University and Syracuse University.
Schwartzwalder began his coaching career at high school and small-college stops before becoming head coach at Western Reserve University (now part of Case Western Reserve University), where his teams faced regional opponents such as the Kent State Golden Flashes and Wayne State. He moved to Syracuse University as head coach in 1949 and, over nearly three decades, transformed the Syracuse Orange into a nationally recognized program that played marquee intersections with programs like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Michigan Wolverines, Penn State, and the Clemson Tigers. His 1959 team achieved a major-college national ranking and produced the Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, while other proteges such as Jim Brown, Floyd Little, and Larry Csonka became prominent in the National Football League and earned nods to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Schwartzwalder's coaching tree included assistants and players who later joined staffs at institutions like Boston College, West Virginia University, Temple University, and programs across the ACC and Big Ten. His tenure featured bowl appearances including the Orange Bowl and matchups that drew recruits from regions tied to programs like Notre Dame, Penn State, and Syracuse rivals.
During World War II Schwartzwalder served as an officer in the United States Army with deployments in the European Theater, participating in campaigns that linked him to units operating in areas of the Western Front and engagements contemporaneous with operations like the Normandy landings and the push into Germany. He earned military decorations and returned to service during the Korean War, aligning him with the thread of coach-veterans such as Tom Landry and Eddie Erdelatz who combined military leadership with athletic coaching. His military experience influenced discipline and organizational methods that he integrated into collegiate programs, paralleling leadership models seen in institutions like United States Military Academy and United States Naval Academy.
Schwartzwalder's family life was rooted in upstate New York, with residence and community ties in Syracuse, New York and connections to regional civic institutions including Syracuse University alumni networks, local media outlets like the Syracuse Post-Standard, and municipal organizations in Onondaga County, New York. He was part of social and civic circles that intersected with other coaches and administrators from programs such as Cornell, Colgate, and Binghamton University. His relationships with athletes who became professional players linked him to the National Football League landscape, agent networks, and collegiate athletic directors at universities including Michigan State University and Penn State University.
Schwartzwalder's legacy includes induction into halls recognizing coaching achievement such as the College Football Hall of Fame, and his influence is memorialized at Syracuse University facilities and in the histories of programs like the Syracuse Orange, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Case Western Reserve. His protégés—Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka, and others—entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canton, Ohio football heritage, connecting his impact to the broader narrative of mid-20th-century American football that includes landmark figures such as Paul Brown, George Halas, and Vince Lombardi. Honors bestowed on Schwartzwalder reflect recognition by collegiate bodies, veteran associations linked to the United States Army, and community commemorations in Syracuse, New York and Massillon, Ohio.
Category:1909 births Category:2000 deaths Category:Syracuse Orange football coaches Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees