Steve Sebo
Stephen Sebo (July 15, 1914 – December 10, 1989) was an American football and baseball player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played baseball and football at Michigan State University, from which he graduated in 1937. He then played minor league baseball and coached sports at Petoskey High School in Petoskey, Michigan. During the World War II era, he served in the United States Army Air Forces and was discharged after 5 years with the rank of major. After the war, Sebo was the head football coach at Alma College from 1946 to 1948 and at the University of Pennsylvania from 1954 to 1959, compiling a career college football record of 33–42–2. The highlight of Sebo's tenure at Penn was the 1959 season, in which the Quakers won their first Ivy League championship. As it turned out, even that wasn't enough to save his job; school officials had already decided before the season that his contract would not be renewed. He also coached basketball at Alma from 1946 to 1949, tallying a mark of 36–24. After Sebo was fired from his post at Penn following the 1959 season, he became the general manager of the New York Titans, a newly formed team of the upstart American Football League that was renamed as the New York Jets in 1963. Sebo left the Titans in 1962 to become the athletic director at the University of Virginia.
 Sebo, circa 1954 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 15, 1914 |
| Died | December 10, 1989 (aged 75) |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1934–1936 | Michigan State |
| Baseball | |
| 1935–1937 | Michigan State |
| 1937 | Alexandria Aces |
| 1939 | Big Spring Barons |
| Positions | Halfback (football) Catcher (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1937–1939 | Petoskey HS (MI) |
| 1944 | Amarillo AAF (backfield) |
| 1946–1948 | Alma |
| 1949 | Harvard (backfield) |
| 1950–1953 | Michigan State (backfield) |
| 1954–1959 | Penn |
| Basketball | |
| 1937–1940 | Petoskey HS (MI) |
| 1946–1949 | Alma |
| Baseball | |
| 1938–1940 | Petoskey HS (MI) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1948 | Alma |
| 1960–1962 | New York Titans (GM) |
| 1962–1970 | Virginia |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 33–42–2 (college football) 36–24 (college basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 MIAA (1948) 1 Ivy (1959) | |
Stephen Sebo (July 15, 1914 – December 10, 1989)[1] was an American football and baseball player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played baseball and football at Michigan State University, from which he graduated in 1937. He then played minor league baseball and coached sports at Petoskey High School in Petoskey, Michigan. During the World War II era, he served in the United States Army Air Forces and was discharged after 5 years with the rank of major.[2][3] After the war, Sebo was the head football coach at Alma College from 1946 to 1948 and at the University of Pennsylvania from 1954 to 1959, compiling a career college football record of 33–42–2.
The highlight of Sebo's tenure at Penn was the 1959 season, in which the Quakers won their first Ivy League championship. As it turned out, even that wasn't enough to save his job; school officials had already decided before the season that his contract would not be renewed.[4]
He also coached basketball at Alma from 1946 to 1949, tallying a mark of 36–24. After Sebo was fired from his post at Penn following the 1959 season, he became the general manager of the New York Titans, a newly formed team of the upstart American Football League that was renamed as the New York Jets in 1963. Sebo left the Titans in 1962 to become the athletic director at the University of Virginia.[5]
Head coaching record
[edit]College football
[edit]| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma Scots (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1946–1948) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Alma | 2–5 | 2–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1947 | Alma | 5–2–1 | 2–2–1 | 4th | |||||
| 1948 | Alma | 8–0 | 5–0 | 1st | |||||
| Alma: | 15–7–1 | 9–5–1 | |||||||
| Penn Quakers (Independent) (1954–1955) | |||||||||
| 1954 | Penn | 0–9 | |||||||
| 1955 | Penn | 0–9 | |||||||
| Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1956–1959) | |||||||||
| 1956 | Penn | 4–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1957 | Penn | 3–6 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1958 | Penn | 4–5 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1959 | Penn | 7–1–1 | 6–1 | 1st | |||||
| Penn: | 18–35–1 | 17–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 33–42–2 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Steve Sebo". Retrieved December 26, 2020.
- ^ "Michigan State Hires Sebo as Backfield Coach". Argus-Press. Associated Press. February 8, 1950. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ "Steve Sebo Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ "40 years ago, Penn won magical first Ivy title".
- ^ Briordy, William J. (January 23, 1962). "Sebo Resigns as Titan General Manager for Position at Virginia". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2010.