Marvin Bass is a native of Petersburg, Virginia and was a member of William & Mary’s winningest football team in history. Bass captained the 1942 Indians, which compiled a 9-1-1 record. He later was an assistant coach at William & Mary when the 1947 Indians were 9-1. Bass was an assistant football coach for Birmingham in 1974 with the World Football League. He became head coach the next year when the league was formed in the early 70s to rival the National Football League. The League lured such NFL name players as Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Jim Klick, and many others. It lasted 18 months losing $30,000,000. Bass coached in more football leagues than most coaches in the business during his time. Thse include the Southern Conference, Coast Conference, the Continental League, and the Canadian League for a total of 37 years of coaching. Bass was also assistant coach with Calgary of the Canadian League. While at William & Mary, Bass was All-State and All-Southern Conference helping the Indians to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 14-7 in the final 1942 game. He served as head football coach at William & Mary as well as South Carolina and helped bring American Football to Canada when he coached the Montreal Beavers in the Continental League. Bass passed away in December of 2010.
