By: Justin “Couz” Walker | WV Sports Chat
WVU football has been led by some great head coaches throughout their history. There’s the great Don Nehlen who is the winningest coach all-time at WVU and led the Mountaineers to their first and only appearance in a National Championship game. There’s Rich Rodriguez who oversaw the greatest three year stretch in the modern era of WVU football from 2005-2007; and then returned in 2025 to try and do it again. We can’t forget about Dana Holgorsen, who led the most potent offense in WVU football history. That same offense helped Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and company put up 70 points on Clemson in the Orange Bowl in January 2012. Even the legendary Bobby Bowden roamed the sidelines in Morgantown from 1970-1975.
Even with all of these great coaches who have called WVU home, there is still one who arguably stands out above all the rest. Among all Mountaineer coaches who spent at least four years leading the program, there is only one whose teams were victorious in more than 80% of their games (an overall record of 30-6-3). There’s only one who led WVU to their first undefeated season and their first bowl game. That man was Clarence “Doc” Spears. While Nehlen, Rodriguez and the other coaches mentioned were all successful and innovative in their own right; it was only “Doc” Spears who won 80% of the games he coached for WVU football over a four-year span.
Not only did Spears have great success as the coach at West Virginia, he also brought an innovative approach to the game. Per late Sports Columnist and former coach, Sol Metzger in 1927, Spears is credited for being one of the first coaches to ever run a “shift” offense. While he may not have invented the shift, he ran it with his own unique spin, and it became what is known today as the counter run. To run this offense, the 300+ pound Spears relied on players that were small and fast. This allowed them to outrun and out-maneuver opposing defenses. It also relied heavily on timing. Because of this, “Doc” implemented less physical contact at practices and only scrimmaged once per week.
Clarence Spears was born in Arkansas in 1894. The aspiring doctor also had a great passion for the game of football. It was a passion so great; he chose to pursue football first. Spears played football at Dartmouth and earned All-American honors as a guard in 1914-15. After graduating, he became the Head Coach of the team. During his four-year coaching tenure at Dartmouth, he also completed medical school at the University of Chicago and Rush Medical School. This earned him the nickname of Doc.
Spears, who practiced medicine on the side while at West Virginia, coached the WVU football team from 1921-1924. It was his final three seasons in Morgantown, though, that would really leave a mark. During the 1922 season, Spears led the Mountaineer squad to its first undefeated season in school history with a record of 10-0-1. The tie was a 12-12 game against Washington & Lee. Spears was so confident WVU would win, he actually let his assistants coach that game so he could focus on scouting their next opponent, Rutgers. The successful 1922 campaign included seven shutout victories and ended with the Mountaineers playing in their first ever bowl game. They faced Gonzaga in the San Diego East-West Game, where they scored a 21-13 victory over the Bulldogs. That’s right, Gonzaga once had a football team.
Despite the undefeated season with ten wins, the Mountaineers still did not earn a share of the National Championship. According to WVU football writer and author, John Antonik, WVU’s schedule wasn’t challenging enough that season to earn a legit claim to the title. Instead, there were three other schools who earned a share of the National Championship in 1922. They were Princeton, Cornell and California.
Spears and his Mountaineer team continued their winning ways in 1923 and 1924 with a combined record of 15-2-1 over those two seasons. He also coached WVU for their first season at Old Mountaineer Field, which opened in 1924.
After his four years overseeing the WVU football program, Spears would go on to coach at Minnesota, where he led the Golden Gophers to an undefeated season and Big Ten Championship in 1927. That Minnesota team included Bronco Nagurski, who would go on to become one the most popular football players of all-time. Nagurski was well known for his strength while playing fullback during his days at Minnesota, but would go on to play both fullback and defensive tackle in the NFL. Nagurski’s name still lives on today. College football honors the best defensive player in the country by presenting them with the Bronco Nagurski Award.
Following a five-year run at Minnesota, Spears would coach at Oregon, Wisconsin, Toledo and Maryland; but would never find the same consistent success he did during those three years at WVU.
“Doc” Spears would finally retire from coaching in 1945. It was then he decided to practice medicine full-time in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1955. Clarence “Doc” Spears passed away in Jupiter, Florida in 1964 at the age of 69.
(Sources: WVU Football Innovators – Dr. Clarence Spears by John Antonik; wvusports.com; americanfootballdatabase.fandom.com)
Featured Phot Credit: Randy Jones via Old Mountaineer Field Facebook page
