George Schollenberger

Schollenberger was born on September 10, 1904, in Easton, Pennsylvania.^[1] He attended Olean High School in Olean, New York.^[2] He played one season of college football for the St. Bonaventure Brown and White of St. Bonaventure University, before transferring to Temple University where he played three years as a lineman for the Temple Owls.^[3] The team's starting center as a senior, Schollenberger was named Temple's most valuable lineman.^[2] He also played baseball at the school and was prominent in social affairs, being a member of the Blue Key Honor Society and an officer for the Theta Upsilon Omega fraternity.^[2] He graduated from Temple following the 1929 season.^[4]

Schollenberger moved to Delaware in 1930 and became a coach and teacher at Laurel High School in Laurel.^[4] He went on to serve as a coach at the school for 36 seasons – from 1930 to 1965 – and served as head coach in four different sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball), and another (track and field) on an "informal basis".^[3] He was best known as football coach and became known as a "coaching legend" – he was a well-known figure in the area and was considered one of the top coaches in the Atlantic Coast region.^[4][5] He was often offered better coaching positions at other schools but declined them due to wanting to stay at Laurel; The Daily Times noted that he was so well-known that teams in the National Football League sometimes asked of his opinions.^[4]

In Schollenberger's time as men's basketball coach, he won over 80 percent of his games, including a five-year span where they lost just three games; as women's coach, he led the team to a state championship.^[6][7] As the coach of the football team, Schollenberger became one of the winningest coaches in state history, compiling an overall record of 140–109–21, which included five undefeated seasons.^[8] He was named the Delaware Coach of the Year in 1957, after having led Laurel to an undefeated 7–0 record while outscoring opposition 222–12.^[9] Among players he coached, best known were Carlton Elliott and Ron Waller, both of whom played in the NFL.^[8] He retired from coaching in 1966 to become Laurel's athletic director, a position he held until 1973.^[3][10]

Schollenberger was married and had two children.^[5] He was a freemason and was a president of the Laurel Lions Club and Delaware Retired Teachers Association.^[5] He was also a member of the Chorus of the Nanticoke and St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Laurel.^[5] He died on August 17, 1982, in Salisbury, Maryland, of a heart ailment, at the age of 77.^[5]

Schollenberger was inducted in to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 1979.^[7] Sports Illustrated placed him 28th on their 1999 list of the "50 Greatest Sports Figures From Delaware"; The News Journal ranked him 118th on their 2023 list of the "125 Greatest Coaches in Delaware History".^[11][12] A book on his life was written by his son, and an athletic training facility in Laurel was built and named in his honor in 1985.^[13][14][15]