Today's Tidbit: Eastern Coaches Of 1903

Through football's first 50 or more years, Eastern teams dominated the sport and Eastern players dominated the game's coaching ranks. Eastern schools would not have considered hiring as a coach someone who had been trained outside the East, and schools further west and south hired Easterners as well. Many or most of the top coaches responsible for the rise of Western (aka Midwestern) and Southern football, such as Stagg, Williams, and Heisman, played at Eastern schools. The next generation of top coaches in the other regions often played for coaches who were Easterners.

So, when I came across the composite picture of the Eastern coaches of 1903 shown below, I thought it would be fun to see what became of each of them. They are listed below by row and left to right. The schools they played for are in parentheses.

('Men Behind The Football Teams,' Boston Globe, November 1, 1903. )

Williams: J. F. O'Neill (Williams)

Frank "Buck' O'Neill served as head coach at Colgate, Williams, Syracuse, and Columbia until 1922. Also coached the Syracuse Athletic Club in the 1902 World Series of football.