William Wells Church (December 17, 1874 – March 28, 1966) was an American football player and coach. A native of Chicago,[1] he played college football at Princeton University, where he was selected as an All-American at tackle in 1896.[2] He served as the head football coach at Purdue University for one season, in 1897, and at Georgetown University for two seasons, in 1899 and 1901, compiling a career college football record of 5–3–1. Church participated in early professional football: He played tackle for the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in 1898[3] and the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in 1900, also coaching the latter team.[4] He married Mary Myrtle Brock in 1902.[5]
![]() Church cropped from 1897 Purdue team photo | |
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | December 17, 1874
Died | March 28, 1966 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | (aged 91)
Alma mater | Princeton University (1897) |
Playing career | |
1896 | Princeton |
1898 | Duquesne Country and Athletic Club |
1900 | Homestead Library & Athletic Club |
Position(s) | Tackle |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1897 | Purdue |
1899, 1901 | Georgetown |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 13–8–4 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
| |
He later resided in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he died in 1966.
Head coaching record
editYear | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Purdue Boilermakers (Western Conference) (1897) | |||||||||
1897 | Purdue | 5–3–1 | 1–2 | 5th | |||||
Purdue: | 5–3–1 | 1–2 | |||||||
Georgetown Blue and Gray (Independent) (1899) | |||||||||
1899 | Georgetown | 5–2–1 | |||||||
Georgetown Blue and Gray (Independent) (1901) | |||||||||
1901 | Georgetown | 3–3–2 | |||||||
Georgetown: | 8–5–3 | ||||||||
Total: | 13–8–4 |
References
edit- ^ Hughes, T.P.; Munsell, F. (1898). American Ancestry: Embracing lineages from the whole of the United States. 1888[-1898. Ed. by Frank Munsell. J. Munsell's sons. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
- ^ Leitch, Alexander (1978). A Princeton Companion. Princeton University Press. p. 196. ISBN 9781400870011.
- ^ PFRA Research. "The Worst Season Ever: Pittsburgh Pro Teams Find Hard Times: 1900" (PDF). Professional Football Researchers Association. p. 1. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ PFRA Research. "Stars Over All-Stars: An All-Star Team: 1898" (PDF). Professional Football Researchers Association. p. 2. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ "Duodecennial record of the class of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven ... number four, 1909 ..." Retrieved December 14, 2014.
External links
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