Tommy Dwyer (American football)

Thomas Joe Dwyer (September 17, 1889 – July 29, 1959) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and civil engineer. He played football for Texas A&M University and was the first football coach at the Texas School of Mines (now known as the University of Texas at El Paso) coaching the team from 1914 to 1919 and compiling record of 9–11–1. He served in the United States Army during World War I and later worked for 29 years as a civil engineer for Gulf Oil.

Tommy Dwyer
Biographical details
Born(1889-09-17)September 17, 1889
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
DiedJuly 29, 1959(1959-07-29) (aged 69)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1908–1910Texas A&M
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1914–1919Texas Mines
Basketball
1914–1923Texas Mines
Head coaching record
Overall9–11–1 (football)
14–30 (basketball)

Early years

Dwyer was a native of El Paso, Texas. He attended Texas A&M College where he played football and graduated with a degree in engineering.[1][2]

Texas Mines and wartime service

In 1914, upon the creation of the Texas School of Mines (later renamed the University of Texas at El Paso), Dwyer joined the faculty and became the assistant to John W. "Cap" Kidd, the head of the engineering department.[1][3] He taught calculus at the school.[2]

Dwyer was also appointed as the school's first football coach. Under his leadership, the 1914 Texas Mines Miners football team became the school's first football team. The first intercollegiate game was a 19–0 loss to New Mexico A&M. The series with New Mexico A&M evolved into a rivalry (now known as the Battle of I-10) that has been played almost 100 times. In an era when eligibility rules were laxly enforced, Dwyer also occasionally played for the Texas Mines teams that he coached.[1] Dwyer continued as Texas Mines' head football coach from 1914 through 1917 and in 1919. He also coached the Texas Mines baseball team.

During World War I, Dwyer served in the United States Army as a captain with the 116th Engineer Regiment, which was part of the 41st "Rainbow" Division in France.[4][5] Texas Mines did not field a team during Dwyer's absence in 1918.

Family and later years

Dwyer later had a career as a civil engineer, working in the oil business. He was employed for 29 years by Gulf Oil. In 1928, he was assigned Gulf's new operation center in Odessa, Texas. He was transferred in 1946 to Gulf's Fort Worth offices. He became the chief engineer at the company's Fort Worth operation until his retirement in 1954.[6][7]

Dwyer married Agnes Wood in September 1923 in a ceremony in El Paso.[4] They had two children, Agnes Barbara (born 1930) and Tom Verne (born 1933).[6] Dwyer died in 1959 at Harris Hospital in Fort Worth. The primary cause of death was hepatoma.[8][2]

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Texas Mines Miners (Independent) (1914–1917)
1914 Texas Mines 2–3
1915 Texas Mines 3–2
1916 Texas Mines 2–3
1917 Texas Mines 0–0–1
1918 No team—World War I
1919 Texas Mines 2–4
Texas Mines: 9–11–1
Total:9–11–1

References
  1. "First TWC Coach Visits Campus: Coach Played With Team". El Paso Times. May 21, 1955. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Miners' First Grid Coach Dies". El Paso Herald-Post. July 29, 1959. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "The Story of the Growth and Development of Texas College of Mines". El Paso Times. April 29, 1956. p. 7F – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Marriage of Miss Agnes Wood and Tom Dwyer Takes Place in Chapel of St. Clement's Church". El Paso Times. September 6, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Application for Headstone or Marker, submitted for Thomas Joe Dwyer, born 9/17/89, died 7/29/59. Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 [database on-line]. Original data: Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941.
  6. "Former Odessa Resident Dies". The Odessa American. July 30, 1959. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Engineer Dies". Marshall News Messenger. p. 8A – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Death certificate for Tom J. Dwyer, born 9/17/89, died 7/29/59, petroleum engineer. Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA. Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line].
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