 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 5, 1873 Hartsburg, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 31, 1947 (aged 73) Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Southwestern (KS) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1895 | Oklahoma |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 0–1 |
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]
- ^ 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.