Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder (Ben was a childhood nickname) had a major impact on the Syracuse University football program during his 25 years as head coach including winning a national championship in 1959.

 

Schwartzwalder, a decorated World War II veteran with just three years of coaching experience at the college level, arrived at Syracuse in 1949. Behind a string of strong running backs – Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Jim Nance and Larry Csonka – and other outstanding players, Schwartzwalder elevated Syracuse to national prominence. In 1959, the Orangemen were voted the nation's top team after defeating Texas, 23-14, in the Cotton Bowl and finishing the season with an 11-0 record. Schwartzwalder, who played his college football at West Virginia, was named national coach of the year that season.

 

Schwartzwalder coached Syracuse University until he retired in 1973. He is the all-time winningest coach in school history with an overall record of 153 wins, 91 loses and 3 ties. He also guided the Orangemen to seven bowl games and won four Lambert Trophies. Since 1993, the winner of the Big East Conference Syracuse-West Virginia football game receives the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

​

Schwartzwalder died in 1993.

 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

 

1935: Graduated from West Virginia University where he started at center for the football team from 1930 to 1935. He was team captain in 1933

 

1935-1941: High school coaching stints in West Virginia and Ohio.

 

1941-1944: Served as paratrooper in U.S. Army, 1941 and saw action in D-Day in 1944. He was a paratrooper in World War II, rose to the rank of major, as major, acquired the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, four battle stars, Presidential Unit Citation.

 

1946-1948: Head coach Muhlenberg College with a 25-5 record.

 

1949-1973: Head coach Syracuse University with an overall record of 153 wins, 91 loses and 3 ties. Took the Orangemen to seven bowl games and won four Lambert Trophies (1952, 1956, 1959 and 1966).

 

1959: Coached Syracuse University's to an 11-0 record, defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl and won the Division One National Football Championship; 1959 National Coach of the Year.

 

1967: Elected P resident of the National Football Coaches Association.

 

1975: Received the Blind Men and Criers annual “Edward J Kearney Award”.