About Tuss McLaughry
Lived 1893 – 1974 (aged 81). Tuss McLaughry was an American basketball coach.
DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry (May 19, 1893 – November 26, 1974) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania (1915–1916, 1918, 1921), Amherst College (1922–1925), Brown University (1926–1940), and Dartmouth College (1941–1942, 1945–1954), compiling a career college football record of 143–149–13. McLaughry was also the head basketball coach at Brown from 1926 to 1929, tallying a mark of 17–32. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as coach in 1962. Of all coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, McLaughry is the only one with a winning percentage under .500.
Early life Born on May 19, 1893, in Chicago, McLaughry was the son of James Alexander McLaughry Sr. (1860–1942) and his wife, Mary Graham McLaughry (1874–1952). He had at least seven siblings. He grew up in Sharon, Pennsylvania and attended Michigan State University for a year before transferring to Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Coaching career McLaughry's coaching career at Dartmouth College was interrupted after two years due to World War II, where McLaughry served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps.
Twenty years after graduating from high school, McLaughry attended night and summer classes to earn his law degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. While and after coaching at Dartmouth, McLaughry was also the chairman of the Physical Education Department there until 1960.
McLaughry was instrumental in developing the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) during his lifetime, even serving a one-year term as President in 1936, and then remaining active with the organization as a volunteer secretary-treasurer from 1940 to 1960. It was after 1960 that McLaughry earned compensation for this position, and retired from the organization in 1965.
Personal life On August 21, 1911 in Detroit, McLaughry married Florence Marguerite Jackson (July 20, 1892 – June 1, 1985), daughter of John Llouington Jackson (1849-1924) and Ella Adele (nee Lovett) Jackson (1856-1911). Together, they had three children: Jeanne Marguerite McLaughry (1912-2007) John Jackson McLaughry (1917-2007), who followed in his father's footsteps and played and coached football; he was the head football coach at Union College from 1947 to 1949, Amherst College from 1950 to 1958, and Brown University from 1959 to 1966. He also served with the Marines in World War II as a Major. Robert DeOrmond McLaughry (1921-2016)
McLaughry died on November 26, 1974, at his home in Norwich, Vermont.
Head coaching record Football
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Important facts
People in Tuss McLaughry's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Tuss McLaughry's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Tuss McLaughry?
American football player and coach, basketball coach (1893-1974)
When was Tuss McLaughry born?
Tuss McLaughry was born on 19 May 1893 in Chicago.
When did Tuss McLaughry die?
Tuss McLaughry died on 26 November 1974 in Norwich.
What was Tuss McLaughry's occupation?
Tuss McLaughry was a basketball coach.
What nationality was Tuss McLaughry?
Tuss McLaughry was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Tuss McLaughry. https://biography.guide/tuss-mclaughry/
MLA: "Tuss McLaughry." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/tuss-mclaughry/.
Chicago: "Tuss McLaughry." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/tuss-mclaughry/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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