Charles Wesley "Shifty"[1] Bolen (January 8, 1894 – December 28, 1953) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.

Charles Bolen
Bolen pictured in the 1917 Makio
Biographical details
Born(1894-01-08)January 8, 1894
Marion, Indiana, U.S.
DiedDecember 28, 1953(1953-12-28) (aged 59)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1915–1917Ohio State
Basketball
1915–1918Ohio State
Position(s)End (football)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1919–1921Ohio Northern
1923–1929Wilmington (OH)
Basketball
1919–1922Ohio Northern
1923–1929Wilmington (OH)
Baseball
1919–1920Ohio Northern
Head coaching record
Overall37–40–1 (football)
132–65 (basketball)
7–1 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

While attending Ohio State University, Bolen played three years for both the Ohio State Buckeyes football and Buckeyes basketball teams. In football, he developed a reputation as a "fierce, tigerish" player and "the premier defensive end in the West",[2] and he was selected as a consensus first-team end on the 1917 College Football All-America Team.[3][4] In basketball, he was captain of Ohio State's 1917–18 team.

Bolen served as the head football at Ohio Northern University from 1919 to 1921 and at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio from 1923 to 1929, compiling a career college football coaching record of 37–40–1. He was also the head coach of the men's basketball team at Ohio Northern from 1919 to 1922, tallying a mark of 37–19. He served for many years as an administrator in the Ohio Northern athletic department and was the founder of the university's intramural sports program.[5]

Bolen died in 1953 and was buried at the Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.[6]

Head coaching record

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Football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Ohio Northern (Ohio Athletic Conference) (1919–1921)
1919 Ohio Northern 1–8 0–6 15th
1920 Ohio Northern 3–4 2–3 11th
1921 Ohio Northern 5–4 4–3 T–7th
Ohio Northern: 9–16 6–12
Wilmington Quakers (Independent) (1923–1929)
1923 Wilmington 2–6
1924 Wilmington 4–3
1925 Wilmington 6–2
1926 Wilmington 3–4
1927 Wilmington 3–4
1928 Wilmington 6–3
1929 Wilmington 4–2–1
Wilmington: 28–24–1
Total: 37–40–1

References

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  1. ^ The 1918 Ohio State yearbook, the Makio, at page 139, contained a profile of Bolen, indicating he had been "aptly named" as "Shifty" by his teammates.
  2. ^ 1918 Makio, p. 139.
  3. ^ "2012 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2012. p. 4. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  4. ^ The Ohio State yearbook for 1917 (the Makio for 1917), at pages 155 and 176, confirms that "Charles W. Bolen" received varsity letters that year in both football and basketball.
  5. ^ Clarence Wesley Molitor (1956). "A History of Physical Education at Ohio Northern University" (PDF). Ohio Northern University. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  6. ^ "Burial record for Charles W. Bolen". Greenlawn Cemeter. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
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