Steve Belichick facts for kids
Belichick in Yackety Yack 1954,
University of North Carolina yearbook |
|
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1919 Monessen, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | November 19, 2005 (aged 86) Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1938–1940 | Western Reserve |
| 1941 | Detroit Lions |
| 1942 | Great Lakes Navy |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1946–1948 | Hiram |
| 1949–1952 | Vanderbilt (backfield) |
| 1953–1955 | North Carolina (backfield) |
| 1956–1989 | Navy (backfield/scout) |
| Basketball | |
| 1946–1949 | Hiram |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 8–12–2 (football) 24–29 (basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Case Western Reserve Hall of Fame (1976) | |
Stephen Nickolas Belichick (born January 7, 1919 – died November 19, 2005) was an important person in American football. He was a player, a coach, and a scout. He played college football at Western Reserve University. This school is now part of Case Western Reserve University. He played there from 1938 to 1940.
After college, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions in 1941. After serving in World War II, Belichick started his coaching career. From 1946 to 1949, he was the head football coach and head basketball coach at Hiram College. He then became an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University (1949–1952) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1953–1955). He spent the longest part of his career, 34 years, at the United States Naval Academy (1956–1989).
Steve Belichick's son, Bill, became a very famous head coach in the NFL. Bill coached the New England Patriots. Steve also has two grandsons through Bill: Stephen and Brian. Both of them are also involved in football coaching.
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Steve Belichick's Football Playing Days
After finishing high school in Struthers, Ohio, Steve Belichick played college football. He played for Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He was a fullback for the Spartans team.
One of his best seasons was in 1938. His team went undefeated with a perfect 9–0 record. In 1940, his team played in a bowl game. This was the school's first and only bowl game, the 1941 Sun Bowl. Belichick scored the first touchdown in that game, helping his team win against Arizona State.
After college, he first worked as an equipment manager for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. The team was not doing well. Belichick reportedly told the coach, "I can do better than most of the guys you've got." The coach, Bill Edwards, had coached Belichick in college. He agreed and signed him as a player. Belichick even scored a 65-yard touchdown on a punt return in one game.
During World War II, Belichick served in the United States Navy. While serving, he also played football for the successful 1942 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team.
Coaching and Scouting Career in Football
In 1942, Belichick joined the United States Navy. He served in both Europe and the Pacific during the war. After he finished his service in 1946, he became the head coach at Hiram College in Ohio.
In 1949, he left Hiram to become a backfield coach at Vanderbilt University. He stayed there for two seasons. Then, in 1953, he joined the University of North Carolina as an assistant coach. At both Vanderbilt and North Carolina, he worked with his former coach, Bill Edwards.
In 1956, Belichick joined the staff at the United States Naval Academy. He worked there for more than 30 years. His main job was a scout. A football scout watches other teams play to find out their strengths and weaknesses. This helps their own team prepare for games.
Belichick wrote a book called Football Scouting Methods in 1962. This book became a very important guide for football scouting. Many people in football, like Charley Casserly, called it the best book on the topic. Some even called it the "Bible" of football scouting.
In 1982, Nick Saban, who later became a very famous college football coach, worked with Belichick on the Navy football staff.
Steve Belichick's Family Life
Steve Belichick was the youngest of five children. His parents, Marija Barković and Ivan Biličić, came to the United States in 1897. They came from a place called Draganić, Karlovac, Croatia. They settled in Monessen, Pennsylvania. After they got married, they legally changed their names to Mary and John Belichick.
In 1924, his family moved to Struthers, Ohio. Steve Belichick always kept strong connections with the local Croatian community there. In 1951, he married Jeannette Ruth Munn. They had one child together, their son Bill. Bill is the former head coach of the New England Patriots. He has often said that his father was his biggest influence. Bill started analyzing game films with his dad when he was only 10 years old.
Steve Belichick's Legacy and Honors
Belichick was honored for his achievements in both football and basketball. He was inducted into the Case Western Reserve University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976.
The Belichick Library is located on the campus of the United States Naval Academy. Steve Belichick donated many books to this library. It has books about football strategy and history, as well as Navy Football items. His son Bill has also added to the collection in recent years. It is now one of the largest collections of football-related books outside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Steve Belichick Varsity Weight Room is used by the Case Western Reserve Spartans football team. It is located in Cleveland. This weight room was built in 2013. Part of the money for it came from a donation by his son, Bill.
In 2019, Struthers High School named its outdoor athletic facilities the Steve Belichick Complex. This was done to honor him in his hometown.
