William W. Church
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 | December 17, 1874 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 1966 (aged 91) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| 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 |
He later resided in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he died in 1966.
Head coaching record
| Year | 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
- 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.