Francis Mitchell Cayou (March 7, 1878 – May 7, 1948)[2] an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Wabash College from 1904 to 1907 and at Washington University in St. Louis from 1908 to 1912, compiling a career college football coaching record of 38–30–4. He also coached basketball at Washington University from 1908 to 1910 and again from 1911 to 1913, tallying a mark of 25–23. Cayou was a member of the Omaha tribe[3] and attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and then Dickinson College. He played football as a quarterback for the Carlisle Indians. After the close of Carlisle's 1898 season, Cayou and Eddie Rogers played for Dickinson College, where they were enrolled in law school, in their Thanksgiving Day loss versus Penn State.[4] He also played quarterback and running back for Illinois Fighting Illini[5] and was noted for his speed that was displayed on a 95-yard kickoff return versus Purdue.[6] Cayou also set the Illinois Fighting Illini track record in the 220-yard dash, clocking in at 22 3/5 sec,[7] before bettering it with a 22 sec run.[8] Cayou served as captain of the Illinois track team in 1902 when elected captain, O.C. Bell, fell ill.[9]

Frank Cayou
Cayou at Wabash, c. 1907
Biographical details
Born(1878-03-07)March 7, 1878
Decatur, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedMay 7, 1948(1948-05-07) (aged 70)[1]
Hominy, Oklahoma, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1895–1898Carlisle
1898Dickinson
1899–1901Illinois
Track and field
1896–1898Carlisle
1899Dickinson
1900–1902Illinois
Position(s)Quarterback, running back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1902Champaign Central HS (IL)
1904–1907Wabash
1908–1912Washington University
1921–1922Great Lakes Naval Station
Basketball
1908–1910Washington University
1911–1913Washington University
Baseball
1905Wabash
Track
1902–1904Arcola Fire Department (IL)
1918–1921Illinois Athletic Club
1921–1923Great Lakes Navy
Head coaching record
Overall38–30–4 (college football)
25–23 (college basketball)
18–5 (college baseball)

Cayou, known as Standing Elk,[10] also served as chief of the Omaha tribe.[11]

Coaching career

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Cayou was the 16th head football coach at Wabash College, serving from 1904 to 1907, and compiling a record of 20–12–1. In 1905, Cayou led Wabash to one of its most impressive upsets when it defeated Notre Dame, 5–0, at South Bend. It proved to be the Fighting Irish's only home-field loss in 125 games between 1899 and 1928.[12][13]

On January 6, 1918, Cayou became the athletic director of the Illinois Athletic Club,[14] where he served until 1921.[15] Cayou also served as the athletic director of the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois from 1921 to 1923.

Head coaching record

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College football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Wabash Little Giants (Independent) (1904–1907)
1904 Wabash 4–4
1905 Wabash 6–5
1906 Wabash 5–1–1
1907 Wabash 5–2
Wabash: 20–12–1
Washington University Pikers (Missouri Valley Conference) (1908–1912)
1908 Washington University 4–4–1 0–2 6th
1909 Washington University 3–4 0–2 7th
1910 Washington University 3–4 0–2 6th
1911 Washington University 4–2–2 0–0–2 T–3rd
1912 Washington University 4–4 0–2 6th
Washington University: 18–18–3 0–8–2
Total: 38–30–4

References

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  1. ^ Osage County, Oklahoma, Cemeteries: A.J. Powell Cemetery, Sections 36-43
  2. ^ "Services Held for F.M. Cayou", Daily Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK, p. 23, May 10, 1948
  3. ^ "Indian School Commencement", The Sentinel, Carlisle, PA, p. 3, February 28, 1896
  4. ^ "Dickinson Badly Defeated by State at Williamsport", Sentinel, Carlisle, PA, p. 3, November 25, 1898
  5. ^ Illinois Football All-Time Rosters - 1900-1924, retrieved May 24, 2019
  6. ^ George Huff (November 4, 1900), "Cayou's Run of 95 yards: Illinois beats Purdue in last fifteen minutes", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 18
  7. ^ "Illinois Athletes in Good Form: Track men do good work, Keator and Cayou taking the honors", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 19, April 29, 1900
  8. ^ "Illinois Beaten", Daily Review, Decatur, IL, p. 6, May 13, 1900
  9. ^ "University of Illinois Alumni Yearbook and Directory of Chicago Men Athletic Edition 1935", Ancestry.com, p. 92
  10. ^ "Alumnus of School Back of Project", County Democrat-News, Sapulpa, OK, p. 1,4, December 16, 1926
  11. ^ "Indian Chief is U. of I. Graduate", Times, Streator, IL, p. 8, August 26, 1924
  12. ^ Notre Dame Game-by-Game Results Archived 2002-10-03 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 30, 2009.
  13. ^ Sideline Chatter Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), College Football Historical Society Newsletter, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 1, November 2006.
  14. ^ "Frank Cayou to Direct Sports at Illinois A.C.", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 10, December 29, 1917
  15. ^ "Frank Cayou Resigns as Athletic Director", Journal Gazette, Mattoon, IL, p. 1, March 12, 1921
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