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Dartmouth Big Green football under William Wurtenburg

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Between 1895 and 1899, William Wurtenburg coached the Dartmouth Big Green football program

From 1895 to 1899, William Wurtenburg served as the head coach of the Dartmouth Big Green football program, which represented Dartmouth College in collegiate football competitions. Dartmouth had adopted football as a school sport in 1881 when the team went 1–0–1. Prior to Wurtenburg's hiring, the team had won two consecutive Triangular Football League championships under coach Wallace Moyle. Wurtenburg had been a highly successful player at Yale, where he had played at quarterback on teams that went 46–1–1 in a four-year span. He had graduated from the school in 1893 and coached the Navy Midshipmen football program for a year before his hiring by Dartmouth.

During Wurtenburg's five year coaching tenure, Dartmouth went 8–2 in conference contests and won four consecutive Triangular Football League championships. The 1895 season was made up of thirteen games, a record-setting amount for a Dartmouth team. It included the closest loss to rival Harvard up to that point. The 1896 was the most successful season of Wurtenburg's, in terms of winning percentage; the squad went 5–2–1, the tenth-best record among major teams, for a .688 win percentage. The fewest games played in a season under Wurtenburg were seven in 1897. That team managed a 4–3 record, which included a three-game scoreless streak. The 1898 squad finished the season with a losing record, 5–6, but managed to outscore its opponents 205–137. Wurtenburg's final season as Dartmouth's head coach was his worst. The team had a 2–7 overall record and went 0–2 in conference play. The season was also marked by several of the largest blowouts of Dartmouth in years.

Overall, the Dartmouth football program went 23–23–2 in Wurtenburg's five years of coaching. The 1898 season was the final Triangular Football League championship the school would win; the conference would become defunct in 1901, two years later. Following Wurtenburg's departure, Frederick E. Jennings, a player under Wurtenburg, would take over the program, leading it to a 2–4–2 record in one year of coaching. Another former player, Walter McCornack would coach the program starting in 1901, and led the team to a 15-win record in two years. Wurtenburg's tenure as coach has occasionally been remarked as the beginning of Dartmouth's acceptance as a major team.

Prelude

Dartmouth College fielded its first football team in 1881, when the school challenged Amherst College to a two-game series. They won the first contest, one touchdown to none, and tied the second. The following year, the team played their first major opponent when they traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts and played the Harvard Crimson. Dartmouth was blown out 53–0, and a rivalry with Harvard formed. The Dartmouth football team developed through the 1880s, skipping the 1885 season but challenging several major opponents. Prior to Wurtenburg's arrival, the school had won four Triangular Football League championships in seven years. Wallace Moyle was the first coach hired by the program; he served in that position during the two years before Wurtenburg's appointment and led the school to a 9–7 record.[1][2]

William Wurtenburg was born and raised in Western New York by immigrant parents. He was introduced to football while a student at Phillips Exeter Academy, where, in his senior year, he played quarterback and served as team captain.[3][4] In 1886, Wurtenburg entered Yale University to study to become a doctor. He joined the school football team in his first year, playing as a backup halfback. He remained a backup halfback on the 1887 team, which went undefeated and was later recognized as a national champion.[5] Wurtenburg transitioned to the quarterback position in 1888 and took the starting spot. He finished playing with the team regularly in 1889.[6] During the time Wurtenburg played, Yale went 46–1–1.[7] Upon graduating from Yale in 1893, Wurtenburg accepted a position as head coach of the Naval Academy football team for the 1894 season. He guided the team to a 4–1–2 record.[8]

Seasons under Wurtenburg

1895

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Wurtenburg scheduled a thirteen-game season for 1895, a still-standing record at Dartmouth for most games played in a single year.[7] The team went 7–5–1, which included a 2–0 record against Triangular Football League opponents. The season began with a 50–0 shutout of Phillips Exeter Academy, which was followed by a close game with Harvard. The match was hard-fought; Harvard won by a slim 4–0 margin, the closest that a Dartmouth team had gotten to beating Harvard.[9] The squad then played three smaller colleges, winning two of the games and tying the other. The team then went back-and-forth between losing and winning, falling twice to Yale and once to West Point, but defeating MIT and Boston. Conference opponents Williams and Amherst were defeated by a combined score of 30–5, and the team was awarded its third straight Triangular Football League championship. The season ended on a negative note, however, with a close 10–4 loss to Brown.[10][11]

Schedule

September 25Phillips Exeter Academy*

W 50–0 September 28at Harvard*

L 0–4 October 4at South Berwick*

W 10–6 October 5at Bowdoin College*

T 10–10 October 13Bates College*

W 38–0 October 16at Yale*

L 0–26 October 19MIT*

W 30–0 October 26at West Point*

L 0–6 November 2Boston University*

W 12–0 November 6at Yale*

L 0–32 November 9Amherst

W 20–0 October 16at Williams

W 10–5 November 25at Brown*

L 4–10

Template:CFB Schedule End

1896

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The number of games played in 1896 was reduced from the previous season, down to a more normal level of eight. One notable absence from the 1896 schedule was a game against rival Harvard, the only time during Wurtenburg's tenure that the Crimson were not played.[9] The 1896 season was also the most successful, winning percentage-wise during Wurtenburg's time as coach; the team finished the year with a 5–2–1 record and a .688 win percentage, the tenth best record in the country out of the thirty major teams.[12] Following an initial win against the Worcester Athletic Association, the squad suffered back-to-back shutout losses to Yale and Penn. The remainder of the season, however, was highly successful for the team, and they went 4–0–1 in their final five games. This included defeating both Triangular Football League opponents by a combined score of 42–0 for a fourth consecutive championship, and a tie with the Brown team they had lost to the previous year.[11][13]

Schedule

October 3at Worcester A.A.*

W 30–0 October 10at Penn*

L 0–16 October 17vs. Yale*

L 0–42 October 28Bowdoin College*

W 28–10 November 3at Brown*

T 10–10 November 14at Amherst

W 32–0 November 21Williams

W 10–0 November 26Newton A.C.*

W 12–6

Template:CFB Schedule End

1897

{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]

Dartmouth played only seven games during the 1897 season, the fewest of any year under Wurtenburg. The squad completed the year with a mediocre 4–3 record. Despite going 2–0 in conference games, the team lost three consecutive games in major shutouts. The season began with a shutout of Phillips Exeter, but quickly turned for the worse. Harvard returned to Dartmouth's schedule and defeated them 13–0. The loss was followed by blowout defeats by Princeton and Penn, losing by combined score of 64–0. The squad took a week-long break, which allowed them to recover and defeat conference opponents Amherst and Williams by more than fifty points in each game to win a fifth consecutive championship. As with the previous year, the season concluded with a defeat of the Newton Athletic Club.[11][14]

Schedule

October 2Phillips Exeter Academy*

W 34–0 October 9at Harvard*

L 0–13 October 16at Penn*

L 0–34 October 30at Princeton*

L 0–30 November 13Amherst

W 54–0 November 20at Williams

W 52–0 November 25Newton A.C.*

W 24–0

Template:CFB Schedule End

1898

{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]

Despite finishing with a losing record, the 1898 Dartmouth team was regarded by some eastern sportswriters, most notably Outing, to be the best fielded by Wurtenburg.[15] Against an expanded schedule, the squad went only 5–6, but managed to outscore their opponents by a total of 205–137. The year began with a defeat of regular opponent Phillips Exeter, and was followed by a shutout loss to Harvard. After two consecutive wins over nearby schools, Dartmouth lost to former Triangular Football League opponent Wesleyan 23–5.[11][16] The following two contests were against Triangular Football League opponents Amherst and Williams. The latter game was regarded as Dartmouth's most significant game of the season by eastern sportswriters, since Williams had hired two new coaches and expanded practices in order to win the conference in 1898. Dartmouth outdid Williams, however, and defeated them 10–6 to claim a sixth straight conference championship.[11][15] The season ended on a sour note with four straight losses on the road, two of them coming against Midwestern teams.[16]

Schedule

September 30Phillips Exeter Academy*

W 23–5 October 8at Harvard*

L 0–21 October 15Bowdoin College*

W 35–6 October 22Vermont*

W 45–6 October 29Wesleyan*

L 5–23 November 5at Amherst

W 64–6 November 12at Williams

W 10–6 November 21at Brown*

L 0–12 November 24at Chicago A.C.*

L 5–17 November 26at Cincinnati*

L 12–17 Unknownat Carlisle Indian School*

L 6–17

Template:CFB Schedule End

1899

{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]

The 1899 season was the least successful under Wurtenburg. Of the nine games played during the year, only two were won. The team finished with the worst win percentage (.286) since the 1883 squad went winless, albeit against one team.[1] The season began with easy defeats of Phillips Exeter and Bowdoin College. That luck quickly changed and the team dropped seven straight games. After being shut out by Yale, they lost in a close match to Williams; it was Dartmouth's first Triangular Football League loss since 1892. Following another close loss, to West Point, Dartmouth was defeated by Wesleyan, their other conference opponent, to finish winless in TFL play.[11][17] The following game was the low point of the season, a 21–0 loss to Harvard. It was the worst defeat by the Crimson in nearly a decade.[9] The year concluded with lopsided defeats by Columbia and Brown.[17]

Schedule

September 30Philips Exeter Academy*

W 16–5 October 7Bowdoin College*

W 37–0 October 14vs. Yale*

L 0–16 October 21Williams

L 10–12 October 28at West Point*

L 2–6 November 4at Wesleyan

L 0–11 November 11at Harvard*

L 0–21 November 18vs. Columbia*

L 0–22 November 25at Brown*

L 5–16

Template:CFB Schedule End

Aftermath

After the 1899 season concluded, Wurtenburg declined to return the next year. Instead, he was replaced by one of his former players, Frederick E. Jennings.[18] During the time that Wurtenburg coached Dartmouth, the program went 23–23–2 and won four consecutive Triangular Football League championships. The team had also amassed an 8–2 conference record.[1][11] Jennings took the 1900 squad to a 2–4–2 record, and was replaced following that season by Walter McCornack. He found more success with the program and led it to a 15–3–1 record over two years.[18] The Big Green would never win another Triangular Football League championship; the conference folded after the 1901 season.[11] Following his coaching career, Wurtenburg became an occasional referee for Yale,[19] and later established himself as a respected surgeon.[20] Fred Crolius, captain of the 1898 team, would reflect on Wurtenburg's coaching career at Dartmouth for William "Big Bill" Edwards' book Football Days, stating that:

One man, whose influence more than any other one thing, succeeded in laying a foundation for Dartmouth's wonderful results, but whose name is seldom mentioned in that connection is Doctor Wurtenberg, who was brought up in the early Yale football school. He had the keenest sense of fundamental football and the greatest intensity of spirit in transmitting his hard earned knowledge. Four critical years he worked with us filling every one with his enthusiasm and those four years Dartmouth football gained such headway that nothing could stop its growth.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c Staff (August 30, 2006). "Season by Season Results: 1881-99". Dartmouth Big Green Football. Dartmouth College. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  2. ^ Bartlett, John Henry; Gifford, John Pearl (1893). "Foot-Ball At Dartmouth". Dartmouth Athletics: A Complete History Of All Kinds Of Sports At The College. Concord, NH: Republican Press Association. pp. 194–265. OCLC 3407713.
  3. ^ White, James Terry, ed. (1967). "Wurtenburg, William Charles". The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 48. New York City: James Terry White. p. 105. OCLC 1759175.
  4. ^ Watson, F.E.L., ed. (November 21, 1885). "Exeter, 29 ; Andover, 11" (PDF). The Phillipian. VIII (10). Phillips Academy: 1–2. OCLC 48940321. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Staff writer (November 13, 1913). ""Pa" Corbin's Team Dines; Famous Yale Eleven of 1888 Celebrates Silver Anniversary". The New York Times. New York City. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522.
  6. ^ Davis, Parke H. (December 1913). "The Field-Goal Art". St. Nicholas Magazine. XLI (2): 141–147. OCLC 1764817.
  7. ^ a b Staff (July 21, 2010). "Dartmouth Football Timeline". Dartmouth Big Green Football. Dartmouth College. 1895. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  8. ^ Bealle, Morris Allson (1951). "1895". Gangway for Navy: The Story of Football At United States Naval Academy, 1879-1950. Washington, D.C.: Columbia Publishing Company. p. 43. OCLC 1667386.
  9. ^ a b c Staff writer (November 13, 1908). "At The Adams House: Harvard-Dartmouth Series". The Dartmouth. XXX (15): 184–185. OCLC 6311027.
  10. ^ Staff (2013). "William Wurtenburg coaching record–1895". William C. "Bill" Wurtenburg Records by Year. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Staff (2013). "Triangular Football League–Conference Championships". Conference Championships Index. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Staff (2014). "Schedule & Results–8 Games". 1896 Dartmouth Big Green Schedule and Results. College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  13. ^ Staff (2013). "William Wurtenburg coaching record–1896". William C. "Bill" Wurtenburg Records by Year. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Staff (2013). "William Wurtenburg coaching record–1897". William C. "Bill" Wurtenburg Records by Year. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b Camp, Walter (November 1898). "Football of 1898: Prospects of the Season". Outing, an Illustrated Monthly Magazine of Recreation. XXXIII (2). Sampson Low, Marston & Company: 189–196. OCLC 228719114.
  16. ^ a b Staff (2013). "William Wurtenburg coaching record–1898". William C. "Bill" Wurtenburg Records by Year. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b Staff (2013). "William Wurtenburg coaching record–1899". William C. "Bill" Wurtenburg Records by Year. College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ a b Staff (August 30, 2006). "Season by Season Results: 1900-19". Dartmouth Big Green Football. Dartmouth College. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  19. ^ Staff writer (October 2, 1904). "Yale, 42; Trinity, 0". The New York Times. New York City. p. 10. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved December 8, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  20. ^ Pettigrew, Richard Richardson (1904). "State of Connecticut: Members of the Connecticut State Medical Society". Pettigrew's New England Professional Directory 1904: Containing a Directory of Physicians, and Information Regarding the Hospitals, Societies, Dispensaries, and Training Schools of New England. Boston: The Garden Press. p. 56. OCLC 11984216.
  21. ^ Edwards, William Hanford (1916). "XIX: Men Who Coached". Football Days Memories of the Game and of the Men Behind the Ball. New York City: Moffat, Yard and Company. p. 376. OCLC 2047234.

External links

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