Jack Mollenkopf

Bio

Jack Mollenkopf was a coach who stressed fundamentals, preparation and execution. His life motto was loyalty. When he died, the Indianapolis Star paid this tribute; "What Purdue got with Mollenkopf was 24 hours of loyalty each and every day. Every time he left campus, he believed he was representing the school." As Purdue's head coach for 14 years, 1956-69, his record was 84-39-9 for a .672 percentage. He was best in the big games, with a 10-4 record against Notre Dame and 11-2-1 against Indiana. In Purdue's only Rose Bowl appearance under his tutelage, January 1, 1967, the Boilermakers beat Southern California, 14-13. Among the All-America players who were on Mollenkopf's Purdue teams were Bob Griese, Mike Phipps, Len Dawson, Leroy Keyes and Lamar Lundy. He starred in football and baseball in his student days at Bowling Green State University. Jack moved into high school coaching and won three unofficial state championships at Toledo Waite in Ohio. Stu Holcomb brought Jack to Purdue as an assistant, a job he held nine years, 1947-55. Mollenkopf moved up to head coach in 1956 and retired after the 1969 season.