Sport(s) College football 1901–1904 Dickinson College 1905-1906 Dickinson | Team Dickinson College Position(s) team captain Name J. Williams | |
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Died May 10, 1908(1908-05-10) (aged 27)
Pueblo, Colorado | ||
John William Williams (September 12, 1880 – May 10, 1908) was an American football player and coach. His was one of the early deaths that was at least partially attributed to injuries incurred from a college football game.
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Playing history
Williams played college football at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania from 1901 until 1904, where he was team captain. In 1903, he and his teammates defeated Penn State by a score of 6-0 while completing their season at 7 wins and 5 losses under coach Charles Hutchins As of completion of the 2007 season, Williams still holds the school record for the most touchdowns in a game with 5 and has several other all-time top achievements, including a 90-yard touchdown return.
At the time, Dickinson was in the Eastern Independent Conference and played games against teams such as Princeton University, Navy, Penn State, and Notre Dame.
Coaching history
After a year of studying law in Virginia, Williams was named the sixth head football coach for his alma mater, the Dickinson College Red Devils and he held that position for two seasons, from 1905 until 1906. His coaching record at Dickinson was 7 wins, 6 losses, and 2 ties. This ranks him 15th at Dickinson in terms of total wins and tenth at Dickinson in terms of winning percentage.
By 1905, the conference had grown to 19 teams, which included adding Penn, Wabash, and Villanova. but had trimmed down to 13 teams by 1906.
Personal life
Williams's health deteriorated while coaching and he was forced to resign in the spring of 1907. He returned to his home state of Delaware that summer until the autumn of 1907 working at a local business. It became clear that he was suffering from tuberculosis, and he decided to move west to Pueblo, Colorado. In Colorado, Williams taught physics and chemistry in the local public school system until he died at age twenty seven on May 10, 1908.