William Alexander (coach)

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William Alexander
Sport(s) Football, basketball
Biographical details
Born June 6, 1889(1889-06-06)
Mud River, Kentucky
Died April 23, 1950(1950-04-23) (aged 60)
Atlanta, Georgia
Playing career
1911–1912 Georgia Tech
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1920–1944

Basketball
1919–1924

Georgia Tech


Georgia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall 134–95–15 (football)
36–38 (basketball)
Bowls 3–2
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 National (1928)
2 SIAA (1920–1921)
3 SoCon (1922, 1927–1928)
3 SEC (1939, 1943–1944)
Awards
AFCA Coach of the Year (1942)
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1947)
SEC Coach of the Year (1939)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1951 (profile)

William Anderson Alexander (June 6, 1889 – April 23, 1950) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1920 to 1944, compiling a record of 134–95–15. Alexander's 1928 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have been recognized as national champions by a number of selectors. Alexander was also the head basketball coach at Georgia Tech for four seasons from 1919 to 1924. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1951.

Alexander graduated from Georgia Tech in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering. Valedictorian of his class, he was also a brother of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.[1][2] Alexander succeeded John Heisman as the head coach at Georgia Tech in April 1920.[2] The Technique said of him:[2]

Since Coach Alex has taken charge has taken charge there is a change in the team. The youngest coach in major football, he is probably the most popular, and bids fair to prove himself the peer of them all. Not only is Coach the idol of members of the team, but of the student body as well.

As a new coach, he led Georgia Tech to three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles (1920, 1921, 1922) and its second national championship in 1928. In 1944 he retired and was succeeded by one of his assistants, Bobby Dodd.

The Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the home arena of Georgia Tech's basketball teams, is named after him.

Contents

[edit] Head coaching record

[edit] Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs AP#
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1920–1921)
1920 Georgia Tech 8–1 T–1st
1921 Georgia Tech 8–1 T–1st
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Southern Conference) (1922–1932)
1922 Georgia Tech 7–2 4–0 1st
1923 Georgia Tech 3–2–4 0–0–4 T–11th
1924 Georgia Tech 5–3–1 3–2–1 10th
1925 Georgia Tech 6–2–1 4–1–1 T–5th
1926 Georgia Tech 4–5 4–3 9th
1927 Georgia Tech 8–1–1 7–0–1 T–1st
1928 Georgia Tech 10–0 7–0 1st W Rose
1929 Georgia Tech 3–6 3–5 14th
1930 Georgia Tech 2–6–1 2–4–1 15th
1931 Georgia Tech 2–7–1 2–4–1 16th
1932 Georgia Tech 4–5–1 4–4–1 T–10th
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Southeastern Conference) (1933–1944)
1933 Georgia Tech 5–5 2–5 10th
1934 Georgia Tech 1–9 0–6 12th
1935 Georgia Tech 5–5 3–4 8th
1936 Georgia Tech 5–5–1 3–3–1 T–6th
1937 Georgia Tech 6–3–1 3–2–1 6th
1938 Georgia Tech 3–4–3 2–1–3 5th
1939 Georgia Tech 8–2 6–0 T–1st W Orange 16
1940 Georgia Tech 3–7 1–5 11th
1941 Georgia Tech 3–6 2–4 9th
1942 Georgia Tech 9–2 4–1 T–2nd L Cotton 5
1943 Georgia Tech 8–3 3–0 1st W Sugar 13
1944 Georgia Tech 8–3 4–0 1st L Orange 13
Georgia Tech: 134–95–15
Total: 134–95–15
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title
#Rankings from final AP Poll.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Georgia Institute of Technology, "1912 Blue Print"
  2. ^ a b c McMath, Robert C.; Ronald H. Bayor, James E. Britain, Lawrence Foster, August W. Giebelhaus, and Germaine M. Reed. Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885-1985. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. 

[edit] External links

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