A History of College Football in South Carolina by Fritz P. Hamer

Author:Fritz P. Hamer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2011-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

REX ENRIGHT: SOUTH CAROLINA’S GENTLEMAN COACH

After an illustrious career as a fullback at Notre Dame and a two-year stint with the Green Bay Packers, Rex Edward Enright embarked on a collegiate coaching career that would include stops at the University of North Carolina, the University of Georgia and finally at the University of South Carolina. While at Notre Dame, Enright had two quality seasons. In 1923, he was a reserve fullback who scored touchdowns in victories over Kalamazoo College and Purdue. An injury forced him to miss the entire 1924 season, which was the year of the famed “Four Horsemen” and the “Seven Mules.” Enright returned to action in 1925 as the starting fullback for the 7-2-1 Irish. He and quarterback Christy Flanagan led the charge against such powerhouses as Minnesota and Georgia Tech, utilizing Enright’s power thrusts and Flanagan’s speed. His best day at fullback was against Carnegie Tech when he carried twenty-eight times for 125 yards and two touchdowns. In the Northwestern game, he carried the ball eight out of fourteen consecutive plays to net the Irish two touchdowns in eight minutes. Capping off his stellar season, Enright was named to Walter Eckersall’s All-Western Eleven for 1925. Headlining that year’s best in the west were such legends as Red Grange, Benny Friedman, Bennie Oosterbaan and La Vern Dilweg to go along with Enright, who was cited by Eckersall as the most valuable player on Knute Rockne’s eleven.

Following his graduation in 1926, Enright spent the next two seasons with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Playing in nineteen games over a two-year span, Enright is credited by NFL record-keepers with scoring five rushing touchdowns for the Packers. Curly Lambeau, the founder/head coach/best player, led the Packers along with future hall of famers Verne Lewellen and Dilweg during this era. In December 1927, Enright and teammate Pid Purdy were persuaded to join the Portsmouth Shoe-Steels for a game against Ashland. Portsmouth was headed by player/coach Jim Thorpe and was constantly signing “ringers” for each game. Unfortunately, Enright and Purdy were involved in an automobile accident en route to Portsmouth and never played again in the NFL. Enright’s playing career ended that day in December, and his coaching career was about to commence full time.

Chuck Collins, a former teammate at Notre Dame and then head football coach at the University of North Carolina, hired Enright as a football assistant in the spring of 1928. Enright had previously served as an assistant coach at the American College of Physical Education in Chicago while playing with the Packers. After serving for four seasons in Chapel Hill as the freshman coach, Enright was lured to the University of Georgia by another Notre Dame teammate, Harry Mehre, as an assistant football and head basketball coach. In something of an irony, it was Mehre who interviewed with the athletic committee at South Carolina in late December 1937, with Enright accompanying him to Columbia. After being named to the post in Columbia, Enright was still the Georgia basketball

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