Cleve Abbott

Cleveland Leigh "Cleve" Abbott (December 9, 1894 – April 14, 1955) was an American college football and college basketball coach, athletics administrator, and educator. He was the head coach of the Tuskegee Golden Tigers football team from 1923 to 1954.

Early life, education, and military service

Abbott was born in Yankton, South Dakota in 1894, one of seven children to Albert B. (aka Elbert) Abbott (1862–1952) and Mollie Brown Abbott (1868–1909). He graduated from high school in Watertown, South Dakota. Abbott received his bachelor's degree in 1916 from South Dakota State College (SDSC)—now known as South Dakota State University—in Brookings, South Dakota. He was an outstanding, multi-sport athlete at Watertown High School (16 varsity sports letters) and South Dakota State (14 varsity letters).

Abbott joined the United States Army in 1917 at Camp Dodge, and served in Europe in World War I as an officer in the 366th Infantry Regiment

Coaching career After being mustered out of military service in 1919, Abbott taught at Kansas Industrial and Educational Institute—later known as Kansas Technical Institute—in Topeka, Kansas. In 1923, Abbott accepted a position as athletic director, professor, and coach at Tuskegee. Abbott was the eighth head football coach for the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers located in Tuskegee, Alabama and he held that position for 32 seasons, from 1923 until 1954. Abbott earned the respect of his peers through his team's performance and by participating in national committees for the selection of "all-American" players at the collegiate level.

He was the first African-American member of USA Track and Field Board circa 1940 and the first African-American member of the US Olympic Committee in 1946. He coached the first African-American Olympic champion, Alice Coachman (1948 high jump), and the second, Mildred McDaniel (1956 high jump).

Personal life, death, and legacy Abbott was married to Jessie Abbott (1897–1982), and had had a daughter, Jessie Ellen Abbott. He died on April 14, 1955, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Tuskegee.

Abbott was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in September 2018.

Head coaching record College