William John Laub (August 9, 1878 – January 1, 1963) was the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, 1916–17, and an early professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. Laub was the first head coach of the Canton Bulldogs (known then as the Canton Athletic Club) and a

for the

Akron East Ends The Akron East Ends was an amateur American Football team that played in the Ohio League, a forerunner to the National Football League. They played in Akron, Ohio, from 1894 until at least 1904. Its primary rivals were the amateur Canton Athletic ...

Early life

After graduating high school in

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

in 1895, Laub attended both the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

school and law school at Western Reserve in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, known today as Case Western Reserve University. Laub graduated with his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1900 and law degree in 1903.

Football career

Laub played college football for three seasons from 1897–1900 for the Western Reserve football team and served as captain for two seasons. Laub later became their head coach for one season during 1901. In 1902 Laub helped guide the

to the Ohio Independent Championship; the East Ends were an early powerhouse in Ohio football. During next two seasons, the East Ends finished in second place, losing both years to the

Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships i ...

in the championship games by scores of 11–0 and 6–5. During the dismantling of the Akron East Ends, Laub became the first head coach of the Canton Bulldogs. To bolster its new team in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...

, Canton hired seven players away from the Akron East Ends, including Laub who would serve as the team's coach and tackle. On November 18, 1905, Canton traveled to

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ri ...

to play the

Latrobe Athletic Association The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. A member of the unofficial Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit, the team is best known for being the first f ...

. The game ended in a 6–0 Canton loss. However during the game, Laub was severely hurt when he tore a muscle in his leg, ending his career. He was then replaced by

Blondy Wallace Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early professional football player and later convicted criminal during the Prohibition Era. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University ...

as the team's tackle and coach.

Political career

Laub was the

from 1916 to 1917.

Legacy

Laub died in 1963 and is buried at Rose Hill Burial Park in Fairlawn,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He resided at 929 West Market St. in

, and the house is today used by the Junior League of Akron, donated by the Laub family in 1968.

References

Additional sources

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External links

Summit County Sports Hall of Fame bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laub, Bill 1878 births 1963 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football tackles Player-coaches Akron East Ends players Canton Athletic Club players Canton Bulldogs head coaches Case Western Spartans football coaches Case Western Spartans football players Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni Mayors of Akron, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio