Nick Denes

Nicholas George Denes[1] (Romanian: Nicolae George Deneș (December 16, 1906 – November 28, 1975) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Kentucky University from 1957 to 1967, compiling a record of 57–39–7. His 1963 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team went undefeated, winning the Ohio Valley Conference conference title and the 1963 Tangerine Bowl. Denes was also the head baseball coach at Western Kentucky from 1958 to 1962, tallying a mark of 48–40–1. Nick Denes Field, the home venue for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers baseball team, is named for him. Denes was the head football coach at the University of Tennessee Junior College—now known as the University of Tennessee at Martin—from 1937 to 1938. He coached athletics at Corbin High School in Corbin, Kentucky from 1929 to 1937 and at Louisville Male High School in Louisville, Kentucky from 1939 to 1957.

Nick Denes
Biographical details
Born(1906-12-16)December 16, 1906
Bucharest, Romania
DiedNovember 28, 1975(1975-11-28) (aged 68)
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1927Champaign HS (IL) (backfield)
1929–1936Corbin HS (KY)
1937–1938Tennessee JC
1939–1956Louisville Male HS (KY)
1957–1967Western Kentucky
Basketball
1929–1937Corbin HS (KY)
Baseball
1958–1962Western Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall57–39–7 (college football)
48–40–1 (college baseball)
Bowls1–0
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
1 OVC (1963)
Awards
OVC Coach of the Year (1963)

Early life and education

Denes was born in 1906 in Bucharest, Romania and raised in Garrett, Indiana. He graduated from the University of Illinois and received a master's degree from the University of Kentucky.[2]

Coaching career

Denes began his coaching career in 1927, as a backfield coach for the football team at Champaign High School in Champaign, Illinois. In 1929 he was hired as head football and head basketball coach at Corbin High School in Corbin, Kentucky. His football teams compiled a record of 63–11–5 in eight seasons. They were champions of the Cumberland Valley Conference four times (1931, 1933–1935) and runners-up twice (1930, 1932). His basketball teams were 142–39 and won the Cumberland Valley Conference four times (1929, 1931, 1932, 1936).[3]

Death

Denes died on November 28, 1975, at Greenview Hospital in Bowling Green, Kentucky.[2]

Head coaching record

College football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1957–1967)
1957 Western Kentucky 5–3–11–3–1T–4th
1958 Western Kentucky 4–52–4T–5th
1959 Western Kentucky 5–43–34th
1960 Western Kentucky 2–6–11–4–1T–6th
1961 Western Kentucky 6–34–23rd
1962 Western Kentucky 5–33–35th
1963 Western Kentucky 10–0–17–01stW Tangerine
1964 Western Kentucky 6–3–13–3–1T–3rd
1965 Western Kentucky 2–6–21–5–17th
1966 Western Kentucky 5–53–46th
1967 Western Kentucky 7–1–15–1–12nd
Western Kentucky: 57–39–733–32–5
Total:57–39–7
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. Lowell H. Harrison (1987). Western Kentucky University. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 172. ISBN 0-8131-1620-1.
  2. "Giant among coaches...Highly successful, but popular Nick Denes dies at 69". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. November 30, 1975. p. C1. Retrieved September 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
  3. "N. G. Denes at Univ. Of Tenn. Junior College—Made Enviable Record at Corbin, Ky". Garrett Clipper. Garrett, Indiana. September 13, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved September 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
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