Ray Courtright Raymond O . " Ray " Courtright ( September 19 , 1891 – August 1979 ) was an American football and baseball player and college coach of football , basketball , golf , and wrestling . Courtright attended the University of Oklahoma where he played halfback for the football team from 1911 to 1913 and also competed in baseball , basketball and track . He was the head football coach at Pittsburg State University ( 1915 – 1917 ) , the University of Nevada , Reno ( 1919 – 1923 ) , and Colorado School of Mines ( 1924 – 1926 ) . Courtright was also an assistant football coach ( 1927 – 1936 ) , head golf coach ( 1929 – 1944 ) and head wrestling coach ( 1942 – 1944 ) at the University of Michigan . University of Oklahoma . Courtright was a multi - sport athlete at the University of Oklahoma competing in football , baseball , basketball and track . He played halfback for Bennie Owen ' s Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1911 to 1913 . In November 1911 , he helped Oklahoma break a nine - game losing streak to Kansas with a long run that set up a field goal for the game ' s only points in a 3 – 0 win . He was also reported to be one of the " Sooner stars " in a 14 – 6 win over Missouri in 1911 . In November 1912 , he scored all six of the Sooners ' points on two field goals in the fourth quarter of a 6 – 5 win over Kansas . One Oklahoma newspaper noted : " Oklahoma owes her victory to the educated toe of Raymond Courtright , who left a sick bed that he might give his team the advantage of his kicking in a pinch . For ten days he has not been in a football suit until Saturday . " And as a senior in 1913 , he scored one of the Sooners ' two touchdowns in a 14 – 3 win over Colorado in a game played in five inches of mud in front of a crowd of 5 , 000 at Oklahoma City . He was reportedly selected as an All - Southwestern halfback for three consecutive years . In 1919 , one sports writer noted that Courtright was " considered the best halfback ever developed at Oklahoma . " Courtright was also a pitcher for Oklahoma ' s baseball team . He once pitched a no - hitter against Missouri , and on another occasion he pitched 20 innings in a 1 – 1 game against Oklahoma A & M . He also received varsity letter s for basketball and track ( as a hurdler ) . He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oklahoma in 1914 . Early years as coach . After graduating from Oklahoma , Courtright started his coaching career either at Oklahoma Preparatory , or at Atlanta Union Preparatory School . In 1915 , he was hired by Kansas State Normal School at Pittsburg ( now known as Pittsburg State University ) . He served as the head football coach at Pittsburg for three seasons from 1915 to 1917 , compiling a record of 15 – 11 – 2 . Courtright also served as the athletic director at Pittsburg . University of Nevada , Reno . In April 1919 , Courtright was hired by the University of Nevada , Reno as its director of athletics and head coach of the football , basketball , baseball and track teams . Courtright was Nevada ' s football coach for five years from 1919 to 1923 . During his years at Nevada , Courtright was " affectionately known as ' Corky ' . " In his first year as Nevada ' s coach , Courtright led the team to an 8 – 1 – 1 record , doubling the highest season win total of any prior Nevada football team . The only loss came in the first game of the season , a 13 – 7 loss to the California freshman team . Courtright ' s 1919 Nevada team outscored its opponents 450 to 32 , including scores of 132 – 0 over College of the Pacific , 102 – 0 over the Mare Island Marines , and 56 – 0 over UC Davis . At the time , Courtright called the 1919 Nevada team " the best team I ever had , " and others called it the " best team that ever played on Mackay Field . " At the end of the 1919 season , the " Reno Evening Gazette " wrote : " It was a good move when the students and regents decided last spring to go east and get one of the best men to come to Nevada and build up a football team . In selecting a coach they also demanded an all - round man , who could coach basket ball , track , baseball and put into operation a regular system of physical culture for all the students as well . Coach Courtright fitted the requirements and the football season proves the wisdom of the selection . . . " In 1920 , Courtright ' s team finished with a record of 7 – 3 – 1 with wins over both the Utah Utes ( 14 – 7 ) and Utah State Aggies ( 21 – 0 ) , and losses to California ( 79 – 7 ) , USC ( 38 – 7 ) , and Santa Clara ( 27 – 21 ) . Courtright never reached the same level of success after the 1920 season , finishing 4 – 3 – 1 in 1921 , 5 – 3 – 1 in 1922 and 2 – 3 – 3 in 1923 . However , his most notable game at Nevada was a scoreless tie with California on November 3 , 1923 . The 1923 California team was known as the " Wonder Team . " It had gone through three full seasons without a loss , and had outscored its opponents 151 to 0 in the first seven games of the 1923 season . Nevada had only 15 men on its football team in 1923 and was considered to be a decided underdog . When Courtright returned to the Nevada campus in 1961 , he was shown souvenirs of his time at the school . Ty Cobb , then a sports columnist , accompanied Courtright and wrote : " Courtright chuckled when he saw a huge framed layout of newspaper headlines from 1923 - - when Nevada tied the great California ' Wonder Team . ' ' Yep , that WAS quite a game , ' he chortled . " Courtright compiled a record of 26 – 13 – 7 while at Nevada , and his teams outscored opponents by a combined total of 993 to 464 . Shortly before his resignation in 1924 , the " Nevada State Journal " credited Courtright with having " brought the Nevada eleven from the class of a second rate team to its present rank among the best of the western college football squads . " Courtright was also the head basketball coach at Nevada and led the basketball team to championships of the California - Nevada Basketball League in both 1920 and 1921 . Courtright ' s teams finished with records of 6 – 2 and 10 – 3 in 1920 and 1921 , but suffered losing seasons in 1922 and 1923 . In four seasons as Nevada ' s basketball coach , Courtright compiled a record of 25 wins and 29 losses . Colorado School of Mines . In March 1924 , Courtright was hired away from Nevada by the Colorado School of Mines in Golden , Colorado . At the time , the School of Mines had an enrollment of 450 students . Courtright was given a three - year contract at an advanced salary with a promise of a raise after the first season . Courtright stated that he regretted leaving Nevada but could not turn down the offer made by the Colorado school . He was the head football coach at the Colorado School of Mines from 1924 to 1926 and compiled a record of 7 – 17 – 1 . University of Michigan . In September 1927 , Courtright was hired as an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan . He served in that capacity from 1927 to 1936 . Courtright was also the head golf coach at Michigan from 1929 to 1944 . His teams won two NCAA National Championships ( 1934 – 1935 ) , and he coached two NCAA individual champions , John Fischer ( 1932 ) and Chuck Kocsis ( 1936 ) . His 1943 Michigan golf team was also the runner up in the NCAA National Championship . In 1942 , he was also appointed as the head coach of Michigan ' s wrestling team while regular coach Cliff Keen was serving in the military . In addition to the NCAA golf championship , Courtright ' s teams won eight Big Ten Conference golf championships and one Big Ten wrestling championship . In August 1944 , Courtright reported that he had received notice from the University of Michigan that his coaching position was being terminated , effective November 1 , 1944 , for economic reasons . Fresno State . In May 1946 , Courtright was hired by Fresno State College ( now known as California State University , Fresno ) as an assistant football coach . Fresno State ' s head football coach , Jimmy Bradshaw , had been Courtright ' s top ground gainer when Courtright was the head coach at Nevada . The Fresno State Bulldogs finished with an 8 – 4 record in 1946 .