John R. Bender
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| Sport(s) | Football, basketball, baseball |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
May 14, 1882 Sutton, Nebraska |
| Died | July 24, 1928 (aged 46) Houston, Texas |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1900–1904 | Nebraska |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1906–1907 | Washington State |
| 1908–1909 | Haskell Institute |
| 1910–1911 | Saint Louis |
| 1912–1914 | Washington State |
| 1915 | Kansas State |
| 1916–1920 | Tennessee |
| Basketball | |
| 1907–1908 | Washington State |
| 1916–1917 | Tennessee |
| 1919–1921 | Tennessee |
| Baseball | |
| 1907–1908 | Washington State |
| 1913–1915 | Washington State |
| 1917, 1920 | Tennessee |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 65–31–7 (football) 41–18 (basketball) 85–33–1 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 SIAA (1916) |
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John Reinhold "Chief" Bender (May 14, 1882 – July 24, 1928) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Washington State University (1906–1907, 1912–1914), Haskell Indian Nations University (1908–1909), St. Louis University (1910–1911), Kansas State University (1915), and the University of Tennessee (1916–1920), compiling a career record of 65–31–7. He is one of the few college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Bender was also the head basketball coach at Washington State (1907–1908) and Tennessee (1916–1917, 1919–1921), and the head baseball coach at Washington State (1907–1908, 1913–1915) and Tennessee (1917, 1920).
A native of Sutton, Nebraska, Bender played college football at the University of Nebraska from 1900 to 1904. Due to loose eligibility standards at the time, he played five seasons for Nebraska. Bender starred at halfback for undefeated teams in 1902 and 1903, served as captain of the 1903 team, and graduated as the leading scorer in Nebraska history. However, tarnishing his image, one story recounts that he refused to play against the national powerhouse Minnesota until Nebraska paid him an acceptable amount of money.
After graduating from Nebraska, Bender served as head football and basketball coach at Washington State between 1906 and 1908, where he posted a 13–1 record in football. His 1907–08 basketball squad also recorded a 12–3 mark, by far the best in school history to that point. Between 1908 and 1909, Bender coached football at Haskell Indian Nations University and from 1910 to 1911 he coached football at Saint Louis University. During the 1911 season, reporters in St. Louis commented that Bender looked like a charm doll called a Billiken, which were a national fad at the time. His squad became known as "Bender's Billikens," which is the genesis of SLU's athletic nickname. Bender returned to coach Washington State football from 1912 to 1914.
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