Everett Sweeley

Everett Marlin Sweeley (March 4, 1880 – September 2, 1957)[1] was an American football player and coach. He played fullback, halfback and end for the University of Michigan from 1899 to 1902 and was a member of Fielding H. Yost's 1901 and 1902 "Point-a-Minute" teams. He then served as the head football coach at Morningside College in 1903 and at Washington State University in 1904 and 1905. He also coached basketball and baseball at Washington State. After retiring from football, Sweeley became a lawyer and judge in Idaho.

Everett Sweeley
Sweeley cropped from 1900 Michigan Wolverines team photograph
Biographical details
Born(1880-03-04)March 4, 1880
Adel, Iowa, U.S.
DiedSeptember 2, 1957(1957-09-02) (aged 77)
Twin Falls, Idaho, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1899–1902Michigan
Position(s)Fullback, halfback, end, punter, kicker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1903Morningside
1904–1905Washington Agricultural / State
Basketball
1905–1907Washington State
Baseball
1905–1906Washington Agricultural / State
Head coaching record
Overall11–9 (football)
10–9 (basketball)
20–12 (baseball)

Biography

Early years

Sweeley was born in Adel, Iowa in 1880.[2] At the time of the 1885 Iowa State Census, Sweeley was living in Storm Lake, Iowa.[3] He attended high school at Sioux City, Iowa.

University of Michigan

Sweeley enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1899. He played four years of football at Michigan from 1899 to 1902 at the end, fullback, and halfback positions, but he was best known as one of the game's premier punters and placekickers.

Before enrolling at Michigan, Sweeley said he had never seen a college football game.[4] In four seasons, he missed only one game, the result of what Sweeley called "a little row with a math professor."[4]

While playing for Michigan, Sweeley set the college football record for the longest kick on record. In 1902, he kicked the football 86 yards before touching the ground.[5] Sweeley also held "an enviable distinction unboasted by any other hero of the gridiron." In four years punting for Michigan, he never had a single punt blocked.[5] Sweeley was known for punts that were both high and long. He would reportedly tell his ends accurately where each punt was to go, "and by this concerted action Michigan gained many yards."[5] Sweeley was also "an expert place kicker," scoring over 100 points for Michigan in this manner.[5] A 1906 newspaper feature reported that his greatest talent was "the running punt trick," a play in which Sweeley would run a ball "until he was hard pressed and then kick, often thus adding many yards to the ground gained."[5]

In the 1902 Rose Bowl, Sweeley kicked four field goals and punted 21 times for a 38.9-yard average.[6] A newspaper story in 1950 reported on Sweeley's kicking ability: "Sweeley, a truly great kicker in the days when the ball resembled a pumpkin rather than the tapered oblate spheroid now in use, introduced the spiral pant to Coast fans that memorable day [in the 1902 Rose Bowl]. His towering punts outdistanced the end-over-end kicks of the Indians by 20 yards."[7]

Coach

After graduating from Michigan, Sweeley went into coaching. He served as the head football coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa for a season in 1903 and then moved to Washington State University in Pullman, Washington for the 1904 and 1905 seasons.[8][9][10] His record at Washington State was 6–6.[11]

Later years

After retiring from coaching, Sweeley moved to Twin Falls, Idaho where he worked as a lawyer. In September 1907, he married Hazel Jury Brown (1886–1972) at Spokane, Washington. According to the 1920 United States Census, Sweeley and his wife had two children at that time, Jean B Sweeley (age 9) and Anna L. Sweeley (age 6).[12]

Sweeley also became an expert trap shooter and ballistics expert. In 1916, he won the interstate trapshooting championship.[13] He was elected prosecutor in 1938.[14]

In his draft registration card signed in April 1942, Sweeley listed his residence as Twin Falls, his employer as the County of Twin Falls, and his place of employment as the County Courthouse in Twin Falls.[2]

In 1952, Sweeley attended a reunion in California of the 1902 Rose Bowl team. At the time, Sweeley was a practicing attorney living in Twin Falls, and was recalled as "a great punter back at the turn of the century."[15] He served as a probate judge in the mid-1950s.[16][17]

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Morningside (Independent) (1903)
1903 Morningside 5–3
Morningside: 5–3
Washington Agricultural / Washington State (Independent) (1904–1905)
1904 Washington Agricultural 2–2
1905 Washington State 4–4
Washington Agricultural / State: 6–6
Total:11–9

References
  1. Beal, M.D.; Wells, M.W. (1959). History of Idaho. Vol. 3. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  2. United States Draft Registration Card signed by Everett Marlin Sweeley, April 1942. The National Archives Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle); Seattle, Washington; Fourth Registration Draft Cards (WWII); State Headquarters: Idaho; Record Group Name: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Archive Number: 563870; Box Number: 49.
  3. Quigg, Gary, comp. Iowa State Census 1885 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com
  4. "Kicked Four Years Without A Block". News-Palladium. 1943-11-18.
  5. "OLD-TIME FOOTBALL PLAYERS". Elyria Reporter. 1906-11-13.
  6. Dan O’Sullivan (2002-12-13). "1902-Michigan 49, Stanford 0". espn.com.
  7. "Art Redner Played With Wolverines, 1902 Rose Bowl 11". Bessemer Herald. 1950-12-28.
  8. John Kryk. Natural enemies, p. 293.
  9. College Football Reference Archived June 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Washington State University Football Records
  10. Miami Herald Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Washington State University all-time football records
  11. "Washington State Coaching Records". cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  12. 1920 Census. Census Place: Twin Talls Ward 2, Twin Falls, Idaho; Roll: T625_295; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 253; Image: 505.
  13. "TWIN FALLS EXPERT TAKES TRAP TITLE: Everett Sweeley Wins Interstate Championship; High Scores Are Rule". Salt Lake Tribune. 1916-06-14.
  14. "J. W. Taylor May Aid in Johnston Trial". Salt Lake Tribune. 1938-11-28.
  15. "Wolverine Reunion at Palo Alto". Lima News. 1952-10-03.
  16. "Filer Killing Hearing Delayed". The Post-Register, Idaho Falls. 1955-07-22.
  17. "Teen Drivers Before Court". The Post-Register, Idaho Falls. 1957-07-22.
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