Parke H. Davis Coaches the 1893 Wisconsin Badgers

Jul 20, 2025

Parke H. Davis is best known today for his 1911 book, Football, The American Intercollegiate Game, the first history of American football. Widely recognized in his day as a coach, statistician, historian, and overall football guy, he served on the NCAA Rules Committee from 1909 to 1915.

Davis was many things, but after substituting in the line for Princeton during the 1890-1892 seasons, he signed on as a reporter for the Philadelphia Press upon graduation. The engagement did not last long, however, since a few months later, Davis was found coaching football at Wisconsin.

1892 Princeton football team. Davis sits at the lower right. (1895 Princeton Bric A Brac)

Like many schools in flyover country before anyone overflew them, Wisconsin hired former Ivy Leaguers to teach their yokels the intricacies of the most glorious of games. Six of eight who coached Wisconsin before the forward pass came to Madison from the East:

1889 Alvin Kletsch | Unknown
1890 Ted Mestre | Yale
1891 Herb Alward | Harvard
1892 Billy Crawford | Yale
1893 Parke H. Davis | Princeton
1894-1895 Hiram O. Stickney | Harvard
1896-1902, 1905 Philip King | Princeton
1903-1904 Arthur Curtis | Wisconsin

The role of coaches was different back, varying by school, year, and personality. Eastern football teams were run by their captains, with heavy assists from alums who stayed on campus for a few days or weeks to instruct the squad. In the West, the captain and hired coach pecking order were sometimes mixed. Sometimes the coach ran things, especially as the years rolled on. Other times the coach was a technical advisor to the captain, who chose his roster and made the team's strategic decisions. In addition, those hired from the East often acted as player-coaches, a model Amos Alonzo Stagg followed at Springfield and Chicago. Likewise, Davis started every game for Wisconsin in 1893, mostly at right tackle but playing right halfback at times due to injuries in the backfield.

In 1893, Wisconsin was a member of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest, a forerunner of the Big Ten, which included Minnesota, Michigan, and Northwestern. Northwestern was not part of the Badgers’ six-game schedule that year.

Optimism abounded during the preseason as the team worked under captain T. N. Lyman, and Davis. The reports on Davis were positive, with one reporter claiming Davis was the best coach in the school's short football history. In their preview of the Badgers' first game with the strong Chicago Athletic Club team, another paper reported:

Under [Davis'] direction the men have developed strength and are playing together better than in previous years.
Capt. T. N. Lyman, the oldest player on the team, having played quarterback in the Grinnell, Iowa, team several years, has put the men through a thorough course of training on the field and off and the results are evident in the general playing.
'The Badger Men,' Minneapolis Journal, October 14, 1893.

Unfortunately for the Badgers, the Chicago Athletic Club was too strong and experienced, delivering a 22-0 loss to the Cardinal and White. The next two games came at home against Lake Forest and Beloit, both of which the Badgers won easily.

1893 Wisconsin football team. Davis sits to the captain’s left.

Next up was a league game in Ann Arbor against the typically strong Wolverines, but the Badgers had the better of the day, winning 34-18. Playing in Minneapolis a week later, the Badgers were trounced 40-0 by the Gophers. A home victory over Purdue the following week left them at 4-2 on the season, and second in the league at 1-1.

Davis did not stick around long in Madison. He coached Amherst in 1894 and Lafayette from 1895 to 1898. Davis entered law practice in Easton around that time, spending years supporting Lafayette and Princeton athletics. Thankfully, in his spare time, he joined Walter Camp as one of the primary documentarians of early football history. Having been on the field or in the stands for many great games of the era, he offered a rich perspective on the early days of the game.