Babe Hollingbery

Who was Babe Hollingbery?

Orin E. "Babe" Hollingbery was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at the State College of Washington, now Washington State University, from 1926 to 1942, compiling a record of 93–53–14. Hollingbery's 93 wins are the most by any coach in the history of the Washington State Cougars football program. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Hollingbery coached at Washington State during what is generally agreed as its greatest football era. The Cougars did not lose a home game from 1926 to 1935, and the 1930 teams advanced to the 1931 Rose Bowl game against Alabama. He coached some of the geatest names in Washington State history, including Turk Edwards, Mel Hein, Mel Dressel, Dale Gentry, Ed Goddard, Harold Ahlskog, Elmer Schwartz, Bob Kennedy, Nick Suseoff, Bill Sewell, John Bley and Herbert "Butch" Meeker. Hollingbery also was the creator of the East–West Shrine Game and the head coach of the West team in the first East–West Shrine Game in 1925 and coached in a total of 18 Shrine games. In the Shrine Game he coached players such as Harold Muller, Rags Matthews, and George Sauer.

Hollingbery Fieldhouse at Washington State University, a facility serving many different sports, was built in 1929 and renamed for the coach in 1963. When the football program at Washington State was suspended during World War II, Hollingbery moved to Yakima, Wash., and started a lucrative hop-growing business.