George Bandy (American football)
American college athletics coach and administrator (1926–1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Raymond Bandy (c. 1926 – July 23, 1983)[1] was an American college athletics coach and administrator. He was the head football, baseball, and basketball coach for Northern Montana College—now known as Montana State University–Northern—in the mid-1950s.
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Helena, Montana, U.S.
University of Montana (1967)
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1926 Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 1983 (aged 56–57) Helena, Montana, U.S. |
| Education | Sacramento State College (1950, 1953) University of Montana (1967) |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1944 | USC |
| Baseball | |
| 1947 | Wenatchee Chiefs |
| 1947 | Boise Pilots |
| 1948 | Wenatchee Chiefs |
| 1948 | Great Falls Electrics |
| 1950 | Great Falls Electrics |
| Positions | Offensive lineman (football) Outfielder, catcher (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1952 | Grant Union HS (CA) |
| 1953–1955 | Belgrade HS (MT) |
| 1956–1961 | Northern Montana |
| Baseball | |
| 1952 | Grant Union HS (CA) |
| 1953–1955 | Belgrade HS (MT) |
| 1956–? | Northern Montana |
| Basketball | |
| 1953–1955 | Belgrade HS (MT) (JV) |
| 1956 | Northern Montana |
| Wrestling | |
| 1955 | Belgrade HS (MT) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1956–1975 | Northern Montana |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 9–23 (college football) |
Early life and playing career
Bandy was born in Sacramento, California. He played less than a year of college football for USC as an offensive lineman before enlisting in the United States Navy for two years. When he returned he played baseball for the Wenatchee Chiefs,[2] Boise Pilots,[3] and Great Falls Electrics as an outfielder and catcher.[4][5]
Coaching and administrative career
In 1952, Bandy coached football and baseball for Grant Union High School.[6][7] After one season he was hired as the football, baseball, basketball,[8] and wrestling coach for Belgrade High School.[9] In 1956, he was hired as the first head football coach for Northern Montana and was also named the baseball and basketball coach.[10][11] He held the position of basketball coach for one season and the position of football coach for five.[12] In five seasons as head football coach he led Northern Montana to a 9–23 record.
Bandy remained athletic director for Northern Montana for twenty years. He was also named president of Northern Montana in 1975 and was named to the same role for Western Montana College— now known as the University of Montana Western—in 1975.[13][14] He served as the commissioner of the Frontier Conference starting in 1980.[15]
Death
Bandy died alongside his wife and recently adopted son when they drowned during a sailing accident in Helena, Montana.[14][16][17]
Head coaching record
College football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Montana Lights (Montana Collegiate Conference) (1957–1961) | |||||||||
| 1957 | Northern Montana | 2–3 | 0–0[n 1] | N/A[n 1] | |||||
| 1958 | Northern Montana | 3–3 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1959 | Northern Montana | 1–6 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1960 | Northern Montana | 1–6 | 1–4 | 5th | |||||
| 1961 | Northern Montana | 2–5 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| Northern Montana: | 9–23 | 6–14 | |||||||
| Total: | 9–23 | ||||||||
Notes
- Northern Montana was not a full conference member in football until 1958.