Byrd Douglas (August 28, 1894 – August 11, 1965) was an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

and football coach as well as a judge.

Early years

Douglas was born on August 28, 1894, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

to William "Byrd" Douglas and Adelaide "Addie" Wharton Gaines. He attended Wallace University School of

and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Douglas attended Vanderbilt in 1911 and 1912. He then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and was a star

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

on the baseball team.

Coaching career

Douglas coached the 1921 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) champion

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

baseball team. The Vanderbilt yearbook claimed the season's success was "due almost entirely to one man," namely Douglas. Douglas was

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

and football and baseball coach at

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...

in Lebanon, Tennessee the year after. That same year he wrote ''The Science of Baseball''. He was inducted into the Cumberland Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.

Legal and writing career

Douglas was also a judge. Upon retirement he was designated Chairman Emeritus of the Conference of Trial Judges of Davidson County, Tennessee. Douglas wrote the book ''Steamboatin' On The Cumberland'' in December 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Byrd 1894 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American judges Baseball catchers Cumberland Phoenix athletic directors Cumberland Phoenix baseball coaches Cumberland Phoenix football coaches Princeton Tigers baseball coaches Princeton Tigers baseball players Vanderbilt Commodores baseball coaches Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee