Branch Bocock

Branch Bocock
Bocock pictured in Yackety Yack 1912, North Carolina yearbook
Sport(s)	Football, basketball, baseball
Biographical details
Born	c. 1884
Died	May 25, 1946 (aged 62)
Place of death	Blackstone, Virginia
Playing career
Football 1903–1906	Georgetown
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football 1908 1909–1910 1911 1912–1915 1920–1921 1925–1926 1928–1930 1936–1938 Basketball 1909–1911 1913–1915 1920–1921 1924–1927 Baseball 1910–1911 1914 1922–1923 1925–1927	Georgia Virginia Tech North Carolina Virginia Tech LSU South Carolina William & Mary William & Mary Virginia Tech Virginia Tech LSU South Carolina Virginia Tech Virginia Tech LSU South Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall	98–55–9 (football) 109–33 (basketball) 70–54–2 (baseball)
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse

Branch Bocock (c. 1884 – May 25, 1946) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Georgia (1908), Virginia Tech (1909–1910, 1912–1915), the University of North Carolina (1911), Louisiana State University (1920–1921), the University of South Carolina (1925–1926), and The College of William & Mary (1928–1930, 1936–1938), compiling a career college football record of 98–55–9. Bocock was also the head basketball coach at Virginia Tech (1909–1911, 1913–1915), LSU (1920–1921), and South Carolina (1924–1927), tallying a career college basketball mark of 109–33, and the head baseball coach at Virginia Tech (1910–1911, 1914), LSU (1922–1923), and South Carolina (1925–1927), amassing a career college baseball record of 70–54–2.

Coaching career

Although official records give Bocock credit only for coaching the Georgia Bulldogs football team in 1908, he also coached the last three games of Georgia's 1907 season. In 1907, Georgia head football coach Bull Whitney was caught in a controversy over the revelation that there were at least four paid professionals on the Georgia and Georgia Tech teams during the game played that year. As a result, Georgia removed all known ringers from its team and Whitney was forced to resign, handing the coaching duties over to Bocock for the last three games. Georgia was 2–1 in those three games.

At Virginia Tech, Bocock was the team's first true professional coach and the first head football coach to receive a full-time salary.

Later life

Bocock died at the age of 62 on May 25, 1946 at his home in Blackstone, Virginia.

Head coaching record

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Georgia Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1908)
1908	Georgia	5–2–1
Georgia:		5–2–1
Virginia Tech Hokies (South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1909–1910)
1909	Virginia Tech	6–1
1910	Virginia Tech	6–2
North Carolina Tar Heels (South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1911)
1911	North Carolina	6–1–1
North Carolina:		6–1–1
Virginia Tech Hokies (South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1912–1915)
1912	Virginia Tech	5–4
1913	Virginia Tech	7–1–1
1914	Virginia Tech	6–2–1
1915	Virginia Tech	4–4
Virginia Tech:		34–14–2
LSU Tigers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1920–1921)
1920	LSU	5–3–1	0–3
1921	LSU	6–1–1	2–1–1
LSU:		11–4–2	2–4–1
South Carolina Gamecocks (Southern Conference) (1925–1926)
1925	South Carolina	7–3	2–2	T–10th
1926	South Carolina	6–4	4–2	T–4th
South Carolina:		13–7	6–4
William & Mary Indians (Independent) (1928–1930)
1928	William & Mary	6–3–2
1929	William & Mary	8–2
1930	William & Mary	7–2–1
William & Mary Indians (Southern Conference) (1936–1938)
1936	William & Mary	1–8	0–5	16th
1937	William & Mary	4–5	1–3	T–13th
1938	William & Mary	3–7	0–4	15th
William & Mary:		29–27–3	1–12
Total:		98–55–9

References

Additional sources

• Reed, Thomas Walter (1949). Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. History of the University of Georgia; Chapter XVII: Athletics at the University from the Beginning Through 1947 imprint pages 3493

External links

• Branch Bocock at the College Football Data Warehouse
• Branch Bocock at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com