While gathering data to update and edit the book that Don and Martha (Davis) Stewart put together for the first Coaches Table, the listing for the name "Bob Cummings" brings up some questions.

The book says -
Bob Cummings, captain first football team 1912: Robert E. Cummings was in the Rice class of 1916 and received a BA degree

Rooting around with Google to find more, the first basketball coach at Rice was also named Bob Cummings.
Robert Cummings
Years 1914–1917
Record 30–11
Percentage .732

Well well...
That's the same person.
He was the basketball coach while still an undergrad, and has the highest cumulative winning percentage of all of the coaches at Rice.
Davis and Brannon each had one stint with a higher percentage, but each also had a later stint with a much lower percentage, and cumulatively come out lower than Cummings.

Here is his senior listing in the first Campanile.
Assistant coach of what in '14-'15, '15-'16?
It doesn't say, relying on the format of the other titles.
Who was the head coach of whatever sport?
Was he his own assistant in basketball during '15 and '16?
The listing for basketball coach has a comma, not a hyphen, between the years.

Reading the 1916 Campanile it appears that Cummings was Assistant Coach of the 1914 & 1915 football teams. (Philip Arbuckle was coach of the football & baseball teams ... as well as Director of Athletics and an instructor in Physical Education.)

The 1914 team (page 118):



and the 1915 team (page 122):



And he also played, too, as he was a member of the 1912 & 1913 teams (page 120):



In 1915 was made head basketball coach:

Page 119:

Quote:BASKETBALL was the last of the sports to be officially adopted at the Institute, and it was not until 1915 that a team was put into the field.

This branch of athletics was put under the supervision of Assistant Coach Cummings, who took in hand the task of building up a team of new men, to compete with the veterans of the other Texas universities.

A fairly good schedule was arranged, as giving a good teat of basketball material in the school. With a squad of about twelve men Coach Cummings went to work and built up a combination which at once took its place beside older teams of the Rice Institute in advancing the glory of the school.

Of the nine games of the season, eight were won by large scores, this giving the school the undisputed ranking of second in the T.I.A.A. Considering that this was the first year of basketball at Rice, and the first experience in collegiate competition for coach and players, the record of the team was remarkable.

With practically a veteran team returning for the 1916 season prospects for the state championship in this sport were very promising.

Rice 64 - Galveston Y.M.C.A. 16.
Rice 64 - Houston High 9.
Rice 18 - Southwestern 8.
Rice 27 - Galveston 18.
Rice 40 - Baylor 20.
Rice 45 - Baylor 10.
Rice 27 - Texas A.&M. 15.
Rice 14 - Texas 28.
Rice 39 - Southwestern 7.

The 1916 basketball team was shown on page 136, and their season reviewed on pages 139-140:

Page 136:

Quote:REVIEW OF THE SEASON

THE 1916 season was the second year of Basketball at Rice Institute. In 1915 a green team had defeated A. & M. and secured second place in the State. With a veteran team returning, a championship was hoped for this year.

However, two of the regulars. Hurd and Hargrove, failed to return to school, and Brown was in poor condition, due to football injuries. Coach Cummings had also evolved a new system of play, which had to be mastered by the men and made the team development extremely uncertain. For these reasons the outcome of the season was doubtful, to say the least.

The remaining old men went to work with a determination to have at least as good a team as that of the year before. Some good new material was unearthed, which seemed capable of filling the holes in the team, and the problem was to shape this material into a good team for the big games.

It was realized that the new style of play would retard the progress of the team, and the schedule was so arranged that the big games came as a climax to the season.
...

Quote:...
The first A.&M. game was hard-fought and featured by fine defensive playing. The Owls were behind until the second half, when they started their spurt and decisively outplayed the Farmers, winning by a score of 16-9.

The second game was a thriller, as each team knew that it meant a chance at the state title. The first half was extremely fast and hard-fought with neither team having an advantage. At the beginning of the second half, A. & M. gradually began to draw away to a lead. In spite of their best efforts, the Owls seemed defeated when time-out was called with seven minutes to play and the score 21-12 in favor of A. & M. However the old Rice fighting spirit awoke during the two-minute rest and the team came back with a rush. Playing the best game of the season, the men were all over the floor and gradually overcame the nine-point lead. Then, with thirty seconds to play the winning basket was thrown and the game game ended with the Owls on the long end of a 24-22 score. The two defeats of A. & M. now put the championship issue up to the final game with Texas. The game was played before the largest crowd of the year and was a fitting climax to the season. It was a splendid exhibition of basketball and was in doubt until the last minute of play. The Owls led throughout the first half, which ended in their favor 8-6. As the team usually spurted in the latter part of the game Rice rooters were confident of victory. But in the second half the Owl five barely held its own and the expected spurt did not come. Finally with twenty seconds to play, Texas threw a foul which gave them the game and the championship. 17-16. The hard games with A. & M. had told on the team and with no time to recover from their efforts, the men were unable to keep up the pace in the second half.

Still further worn out after the Texas game, the Owls started on the Louisiana trip. Somewhat discouraged and in poor condition the men played L. S. U. and were beaten in two games by close scores. Had the men been in shape, the results would doubtless have been different, as they played good ball in spurts but were unable to hold the pace. At Tulane the two games were won and the season thus brought to a successful close. Although the championship had been lost, a splendid fight had been made and the men had given the best in them. The season must be accounted a very successful one and no regrets expressed for the record made. With the loss of only one man and the acquisition of some splendid freshman material, all hopes are turned to the next year for the winning of the first State Basketball Championship.

(01-16-2024 02:16 PM)Grungy Wrote:  While gathering data to update and edit the book that Don and Martha (Davis) Stewart put together for the first Coaches Table, the listing for the name "Bob Cummings" brings up some questions.

The book says -
Bob Cummings, captain first football team 1912: Robert E. Cummings was in the Rice class of 1916 and received a BA degree

Rooting around with Google to find more, the first basketball coach at Rice was also named Bob Cummings.
Robert Cummings
Years 1914–1917
Record 30–11
Percentage .732

Well well...
That's the same person.
He was the basketball coach while still an undergrad, and has the highest cumulative winning percentage of all of the coaches at Rice.
Davis and Brannon each had one stint with a higher percentage, but each also had a later stint with a much lower percentage, and cumulatively come out lower than Cummings.

Here is his senior listing in the first Campanile.
Assistant coach of what in '14-'15, '15-'16?
It doesn't say, relying on the format of the other titles.
Who was the head coach of whatever sport?
Was he his own assistant in basketball during '15 and '16?
The listing for basketball coach has a comma, not a hyphen, between the years.

Well, having read what you and Almaden posted, I’d say he was probably an assistant of more than just football in his Sophomore and Junior years. Perhaps assisted with Baseball coaching, too, one or both of those years since he played Baseball as a freshman.

But since he was also an Associate Editor of the Campanile, we must squarely blame him for the ambiguity!

(Did modesty prevent him from listing too many sports in his student/coaching bio? As a school newspaper editor in high school, myself, I always felt accuracy and completeness was more important than modesty!!!!)

All we need now is Melissa Kean to tell us about truly obscure things like his founding of the Rice Institute Bee Keeper Club.