Quick Facts:
Born: March 28, 1932
Died: August 13, 2018 (86 years old)
High School: Sandusky, OH (1949)
College: Kent State University (1954)
Fun Fact: Succeeded Earle Bruce as Head Coach in Sandusky and Massillon.
Won an Ohio State Championship at Sandusky HS, OH in 1965 prior to coming to Massillon in 1966.
Head Coaching Record – Massillon
| Year | Won | Loss | Tied | Points - MASS | Points - OPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 142 | 135 |
| 1967 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 200 | 79 |
| 1968 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 226 | 135 |
| 3 Seasons | 20 | 9 | 1 | 568 | 349 |
Overall Winning Percentage: 66.6 %
Overview 1966-1968:
Overall Record: 20-9-1
Record vs. McKinley: 1-2-0
OHSAA Playoff Appearances: N/A
Additional Coaching Experience
1957-1963 – Assistant Coach at Sandusky HS, OH
1964-1965 – Head Coach at Sandusky HS, OH
* Led Sandusky to Ohio State Championship (1965)
1966-1968 – Head Coach at Massillon Washington, OH
Overall High School Head Coaching Record:
Profile:
Sandusky‟s Seaman Named Tiger Head Football Coach
The Evening Independent
Teams Have Compiled 19-1 Record. Succeeds Bruce for Second Time
J. Robert Seaman has become the second Sandusky football coach to move to Massillon. The Massillon board of education announced today that Seaman, 34, has been selected as the new head football coach, athletic director and director of physical education at Washington high school. He will be on the job Monday.
In his first 2 years in a held coaching position, Seaman guided Sandusky‟s Blue Streaks to a 19-1 mark. The only loss was a 32-6 decision to Elyria in 1964.
The formal appointment of Seaman Is expected to be made at a regular meeting of the board of education Monday night. Seaman is to be awarded a 3-year contract at a salary of $10,900. He will be employed on a 45 week work year.
Seaman was an assistant coach under Earle Bruce during the 1960 through 1963 seasons. He coached the guards, centers and linebackers. The Blue Streaks had a 34-3-3 mark during those 4 seasons. Dr. John Ellis, superintendent of schools, made this statement today. “We are fortunate to secure a dedicated, talented coach such as Robert Seaman.
Earl D Bruce, who guided the Tigers to 20 straight winds in his 2 years at the helm, will begin his defensive backfield coaching duties at Ohio State July 1. He said this of Seaman: “I think the community and the board of education have picked a very fine football coach, teacher, and, by all means, a gentleman. If I had a son playing football I would want him to play for Seaman.”
“I understand Bob has made some improvements in my type of game since he has
been head man at Sandusky.” Bruce, laughed.
“Seriously, though, we run basically the same things: a T-formation offense with some variations such as split ends, and, the „Oklahoma‟ 5-4 defense like we have. On offense he has used more T-formation than we have though.”
(The „T’ formation puts the backs in a straight line behind the center and gives the quarterback ample opportunity to fake.)‟
Contacted at his residence in Sandusky, Seaman said, “We use a similar type of offense. I operate a lot from the T with a split end, but this can vary with personnel. Both Earle and I believe in toughness and hitting. “If we have a passer and receiver, we‟ll throw,: he continued, “We threw enough here to keep the defense honest – about 8 to 10 times a game. We had 19 touchdown passes – one in every one of the last 9 ball games.”
Coach Seaman makes adjustments Massillon Tigers seek Return to Greatness in 1967
By James C Delong – Team Historian
A return to the greatness that has characterized Massillon Washington football teams of the past is the immediate goal. of Coach Bob Seaman and his stall during the 1967 grid season.
After recording 34 consecutive winning football seasons for an all time Ohio scholastic record, 1966 saw the Tigers dip to a new “modern era” low with four wins, five losses and one tie.
In and effort to improve the Tiger grid machine, Coach Seaman has instituted the following changes. (1) Various adjustments in the offense including formation changes. (2) Basic play changes, and (3) Personal adjustments which will help the overall program.
The Tiger coaching stall has also undergone changes with the addition of four new assistants and the departure of three. The addition of an eighth assistant coach has given Coach Seaman the largest staff of assistants in Tiger grid history. The new assignments for staff assistants are as follows:
Blaine Morton (Fairmont State Teachers College) – Offensive coordinator.
Nick Vrotsos (Alabama) – Offensive line coach,
Chuck Bryant (Ohio State) – Wide Receiver coach,
Carl F. (Ducky) Schroeder (Wittenberg University) – End coach,
Bob Tucker (Wooster College) – Defensive coordinator
Gene Nara (Findlay College) – Defensive backfield coach,
Dale Walterhouse (Otterbein) – Sophomore coach,
Bruce Mays (Ohio Northern) – Sophomore line coach.
Eleven returning lettermen form the nucleus of the 1967 Tiger team. These veterans are Mike Snyder (end), Tom Houser and Bill Snowball (tackles), Ron Ertle and Hoyt Skelton (linebackers), Kevin Henderson (quarterback), mark McDew and Jim Smith (halfbacks), Bill Simon (fullback), Trevor Young (defensive halfback), and Russ Fenton (defensive end), McDew and Smith are juniors, while the remaining nine lettermen are seniors.
MASSILLON TIGERS USING T AND I FORMATIONS IN 1968
by James C. Delong, Team Historian
The emphasis will be on the offense during the 1968 football season as Coach Bob Seaman fields his third Massillon Washington eleven since succeeding Earle Bruce here in May, 1966. In Seaman’s first year in 1966, the Tigers ran out of the T-Formation and their inability to score was the main cause of Massillon’s first losing season since 1931. The Tigers averaged 14 points a game in 1966, or a reduction of 11 points per game from the previous year.
Last year, Coach Seaman carne back strong and fashioned a line 9-1 record, losing only a 7-6 decision to undefeated Upper Arlington, the eventual state champion. They operated from the power I-Formation in 1967 and increased the per game average to 20 points. This year the Tigers are running from both the straight T-Formation and the Power I, as Coach Seaman believes that his present backfield personnel is best adapted to this type of attack. Those individuals expected to provide the Tigers with all improved offense are experienced halfbacks Jim Smith and Mark Me Dew.
The Independent
By Mike Keating
In his three seasons as head football coach of the Massillon Tigers, Bob Seaman could not duplicate what predecessors Leo Strang and Earle Bruce accomplished – guiding the team to a state championship.
Seaman survived a 4-5-1 record in his rookie campaign in 1966 to post back-to-back winning seasons of 9-1 and 7-3 in his final two years on the job.
While several of his predecessors admitted they felt a pressure to bring home a state title to Massillon Seaman never did. “In my mind, the majority of kids who played in that era were handled as human beings,”
Seaman said. “That‟s all I cared about. “I never felt any pressure at Massillon from the community. Bob Seaman ran the program. I called it a democratic dictatorship. I consulted with the all of the players, but I made the final decision. That was my responsibility since I was head coach.”
Robert Seaman was born on March 28, 1932 in Sandusky. He was a three-sport athlete during his scholastic days, participating in football, basketball and track at Sandusky High. In football, he played linebacker.
Following high school graduation, he attended Kent State University, where he played all three sports until suffering a knee injury his freshman year. Seaman, whose father was the Sandusky superintendent of schools, turned his attention to his studies, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He later earned his master’s degree in the same course of study.
Numbers weren’t his only focus in college. Seaman became intrigued by X’s and O’s so he opted to pursue both a teaching and coaching career. He returned to his hometown and Sandusky High, where he began his teaching and coaching career. “I was hired at $2,700 to teach, and I earned $100 (apiece) to coach football, basketball and track,” Seaman recalled. “That $100 for each sport was like pennies from heaven.”
Seaman spent seven years as an assistant football coach at Sandusky, working one year for Jeff DeHaven – his high school coach, two years for Ben Wilson and the final four for Bruce, the man he eventually succeeded at both Sandusky and Massillon. When Bruce accepted the Massillon coaching job in 1964, Seaman got his first chance to run a football program.
The Blue Streaks, who were 40-3-3 during Bruce’s tenure, continued winning under Seaman, recording a 19-1 record in his two years on the job. It would have been easy for Seaman to stay at Sandusky. It was his hometown and the team was winning. Everything was running like
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Obituary
Joseph Robert “Bob” Seaman, 86
EATON – Joseph Robert “Bob” Seaman, 86, died early Monday morning, Aug. 13, 2018, at the Greenbriar Nursing Center in Eaton.
Bob was born in Sandusky, on March 28, 1932, the son of Joseph Theodore and Emma Jane Lohr Seaman. Growing up on Lake Erie, Bob spent his summers sailing and his winters ice boating. He learned to sail at an early age and owned his first boat in his early teens. He taught sailing lessons and sailed in races on all of the Great Lakes.
A 1949 graduate of Sandusky High School, Bob lettered in football and track. He continued his education at the General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich., for a year and then enrolled at Kent State University on a basketball scholarship and after an injury, a football scholarship, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Math Education and Industrial Education in 1954. At Kent State, he was a letterman in football and track and he won the MAC title in the high jump with a jump that qualified him for the Olympics. He later received his Master’s Degree in Education from Bowling Green State University. He continued to take classes at Oberlin College and The Ohio State University as he earned his principal certification in Ohio.
He married Marion Jean Wetzel on May 9, 1953. Both college students, they eloped to Angola, Ind., and then returned to Kent State University to finish their education. Over their 65 years of marriage, they raised four children and moved 17 times. Bob, along with his family, had quite a journey through life. His first teaching job was at Parma High School as a math teacher from September of 1954 until March of 1955, when he was called to active duty for the U.S. Army. He reported to Baltimore for additional training until August of 1955, when he was stationed in Tulsa, Okla., in counter intelligence for two years. He continued on inactive duty for four years to complete his ROTC requirement. In 1957, he returned to his alma mater, Sandusky High School, where he was a math teacher and coached football, basketball and track. In 1964, he became the head football coach and in his two years in that position the team had a 19-1 record and was named the 1965 State Champions. In 1966, he was named the head football coach at Massillon Washington High School, where he had a record of 20-9-3 over three seasons. From there, in 1969, he went with his friend, head coach, Ben Wilson, to Wichita State University to be the offensive coordinator.
On Oct. 2, 1970, the Wichita State football team was inflight to Logan, Utah, for a game against Utah State University when the first plane tragically crashed. On board were 37 passengers including head coach, Ben Wilson, football players, administrators and fans. 31 perished in the crash, including Ben. Bob was on the second flight that landed safely and he accepted the position as head coach of the Wichita State football team. In 1973, he led the team to a winning season, which was his last season there. It was an amazing group of young men that pulled together as a family after the devastating experience they all went through and Bob remained close with them over the years.
In 1974, Bob coached under Earle Bruce at Iowa State University as the offensive coordinator. In 1975, he returned to Wichita to work in private business until 1979, when he became the head football coach at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., for four seasons. He later returned to Ohio as a math teacher, summer school principal and head football coach at Worthington High School. While there, he reached his 100th high school football win. After 9 seasons at Worthington, Bob retired from coaching football in 1992.
Bob was a member and president his senior year of Phi Gamma Theta Fraternity at Kent State University. For four years at Kent State he was a member of ROTC and graduated with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He was a member of the American Legion Post 239 in Worthington and volunteered his time making pizzas to help with their fundraising efforts. In Cherokee Village, Ark., he was a member of the Elk’s Lodge No. 2539.
Bob was honored with several awards associated with his involvement with sports. He was inducted into the Sandusky High School Hall of Fame for coaching and into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in the early 2000’s. Bob held the honor of being the only coach to be head coach for both the north (1966) and south team (1986) in the Ohio North-South Classic All-Star football game. In 2011, Bob was recognized for his contributions to the Worthington High School football program.
Coaching was clearly a central focus of his life. It was the special relationships that he made with students, players, coaches, their families, and people in the community that made coaching more than a career. It was a life passion for him that had many rewards.
Bob with his wife, Jean, enjoyed retirement spending time with family and friends and making their home for the last years of their life in Cherokee Village, and later to Florida, Ohio, and Indiana.
Bob leaves his wife, Jean of Eaton; three daughters, Jo Ann Trede (Steve) of Richmond, Ind., Paty Asher of Poland, and Kay Sisko (Edward) of Pottstown, Pa.; seven grandchildren, Megan Wilmot (Chris), Bradley Trede, both of Richmond, Courtney Asher (Brandon Wrobel) of Pittsburgh, Drew Asher and Devon Asher of Poland, Jay Sisko and Ryan Sisko of Pottstown; four great-grandchildren, Ashley Trede of Columbus, Jakob Trede, Connor Trede and Abigail Trede of Kettering; one brother, Ted Seaman (Sarah) of Williamsburg, Va., and one sister, Ellen Wadge of Elyria.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, and one son, Robert E. Seaman.
A private family memorial service will be held at a later date.