Red Conkright

William Frank "Red" Conkright (April 17, 1914 – October 1, 1980) was the third head coach of the American Football League's Oakland Raiders. He took over the team on October 16, 1962, following the firing of Marty Feldman. Under Conkright, the Raiders posted a 1-8 record. He was replaced in 1963 by Al Davis.

He was born on April 17, 1914, in Beggs, Creek County, Oklahoma. He died on October 1, 1980, in Houston, Texas. He was the son of William M. Conkright and Emie Helena Clay (Arnold).

William's 4th cousin, Allen Howard Conkwright, played professional baseball. They were both nicknamed "Red". When William died in Houston in 1980, the Baseball Encyclopedia listed Allen Conkwright as being deceased because the editor confused the two cousins.

Although Mr. [Allen] Conkwright had made a mark in the baseball world, there was an error - he was listed as "deceased" in the Baseball Encyclopedia. The book said he [Allen] died in 1980 in Houston, Texas. "My great-grandfather had a great sense of humor", said Brian Baydo, a great-grandson who lives in San Diego. "When he was told, he just laughed and laughed. He said that if he had ever been in Houston he might have wished he was dead." Baydo said the family learned of the [sic] of the report several years ago but made no effort to correct it. When contacted ..., the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N. Y., which provides statistics for the encyclopedia, said the error had been corrected and future editions would be updated.

(Some of the Conkrights used the "W" in their name, some didn't). His family came from Kentucky prior to moving to Oklahoma.

William "Red" Conkright played football at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK., in the school years, 1934-35 (as a sophomore), 1935–36, and 1936–37, where he was the captain of the Oklahoma varsity eleven and also won awards for his wrestling ability. In 1936, "W. F." Conkright, was an all-Big Six Lineman at OU (Daily Oklahoman, 1/19/1989).

After leaving OU, he played Football for the Chicago Bears for one season in 1937-1938 (http://www.drafthistory.com/alphabetical/c.html).

In 1945, assistant coach William "Red" Conkright, for the Cleveland Rams, commented on the new rule in college football to allow forward passes from behind the line of scrimmage. Many college coaches doubted that this new rule would have a "far-reaching" effect. Conkright thought otherwise (and wisely so). He was an assistant football coach at Mississippi State in 1950-51.

He became the Head Football coach at Stephen F. Austin State (College) in 1959.

He resigned this position on about Nov. 30, 1961 (Daily Oklahoman: Austin Grid Coach Ex-Sooner, Resigns).

He was an assistant coach for the Oakland Raiders in 1962, and was made head interim coach that same year when Marty Feldman was let go on October 14 after his 5th straight loss that year (the Raider's 3rd coach). Feldman's record was 2 and 15, and Conkright's was not an improvement, at 1 and 8.