William Henry Dietz

William Henry Dietz
Dietz, as a member of the Carlisle football team between 1909 and 1912
Sport(s)	Football, baseball
Biographical details
Born	August 17, 1884(1884-08-17) Rice Lake, Wisconsin
Died	July 20, 1964(1964-07-20) (aged 79) Reading, Pennsylvania
Playing career
Football 1909–1912	Carlisle Indian
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football 1915–1917 1921 1922–1923 1924–1926 1933–1934 1936 1937–1942 Baseball 1923	Washington State Purdue Louisiana Tech Wyoming Boston Redskins Ole Miss (assistant) Albright Louisiana Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	70–47–6 (college football) 16–6 (college baseball) 11–11–2 (NFL)
Bowls	1–0
Statistics College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships Football 1 PCC (1917)

William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz (August 17, 1884 – July 20, 1964) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Washington State University (1915–1917), Purdue University (1921), Louisiana Tech University (1922–1923), University of Wyoming (1924–1926), and Albright College (1937–1942) compiling a career college football record of 70–47–6. From 1933 to 1934, Dietz was the head coach of the National Football League's Boston Redskins, where he tallied a mark of 11–11–2.

Playing career

Dietz played at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a teammate of Jim Thorpe, under famed coach Pop Warner.

Coaching career

Dietz was the 14th head college football coach for the Washington State University Cougars located in Pullman, Washington, a position he held for three seasons, from 1915 until 1917. His coaching record at Washington State was 17 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him eighth at Washington State in total wins and third at Washington State in winning percentage (.875). He also led Washington State to its only Rose Bowl win in 1916. Dietz also coached at Purdue University, the University of Wyoming, Louisiana Tech University, and Albright College. He coached professional football for the Boston Redskins.

George Preston Marshall, owner and founder of the Boston Braves in 1932, sought to rename the franchise in 1933 after leaving the stadium they shared with the baseball team of the same name. He chose the name Redskins in "honor" of Dietz, who is of the Sioux Nation, although Dietz only coached two seasons. Owner Marshall also made Dietz put on war paint and dance for games.

Contested heritage

Dietz's Indian heritage was first contested in 1918 by a draft agent for the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I when Dietz registered himself as a "Non-Citizen Indian," as the U.S. Government had not yet acknowledged Native Americans as U.S. citizens at that time.

Head coaching record

College football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Washington State Cougars (Independent) (1915–1916)
1915	Washington State	7–0			W Rose
1916	Washington State	4–2
Washington State Cougars (Pacific Coast Conference) (1917)
1917	Washington State	6–0–1	3–0	1st
Washington State:		17–2–1	3–0
Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten Conference) (1921)
1921	Purdue	1–6	1–4	T–8th
Purdue:		1–6	1–4
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1922–1923)
1922	Louisiana Tech	5–1–1	1–1–1	3rd
1923	Louisiana Tech	6–2	2–1	T–2nd
Louisiana Tech:		11–3–1
Wyoming Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (1924–1926)
1924	Wyoming	2–6	2–6	10th
1925	Wyoming	6–3	4–3	5th
1926	Wyoming	2–4–2	1–2–2	8th
Wyoming:		10–13–2	7–11–2
Albright Lions () (1937–1942)
1937	Albright	7–0–1
1938	Albright	4–5–1
1939	Albright	5–4
1940	Albright	5–5
1941	Albright	6–4
1942	Albright	4–5
Albright:		31–23–2
Total:		70–47–6

NFL

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Boston Redskins (Eastern) (1933–1934)
1933	Boston Redskins	5–5–2		3rd
1934	Boston Redskins	6–6		2nd
Boston Redskins:		11–11–2
Total:		11–11–2

College baseball

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs () (1923)
1923	Louisiana Tech	16–6
Louisiana Tech:		16–6
Total:		16–6

Further reading

• Keep A-goin': the life of Lone Star Dietz (2006) ISBN 0-9774486-1-4, hardback; ISBN 0-9774486-0-6, softcover (2006)
• Doctors, Lawyers, Indian Chiefs (2008) ISBN 978-0-9774486-7-8 softcover devotes a chapter to Lone Star Dietz

External links

• William Henry Dietz at the College Football Data Warehouse
• Biography at PA Sports Hall of Fame
• Tribute site
• Associated Press article on Dietz