Harry Fouts Hazlett (April 17, 1884 – September 27, 1960) was a career officer in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. Prior to that he was an

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 ...

coach for the Canton Professionals-Bulldogs of the "

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...

", which was the direct predecessor to the modern

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, as well as the head football and basketball coach at Canton McKinley High School. He was fired as the head coach of the Canton Bulldogs, by manager Jack Cusack, after he benched Canton rookie

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...

for the first game of the 1915 league title game. The first game in the two-game series resulted in a 16–0 victory over the Bulldogs by their rivals, 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 ...

. It is unknown why Hazlett benched Thorpe. Some historians feel it was due to Thorpe not having time to practice with the team, while others feel that he was resentful of Thorpe's high salary. After Hazlett was fired, the Bulldogs'

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, Don Hamilton, left the team in protest. Thorpe was later named the team's new head coach and led the Bulldogs to the 1915 championship, which was split between Canton and Massillon.

Biography

Hazlett joined the Ohio

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

as a captain in 1916 and participated in the

Mexican Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a machine gun officer and was cited for bravery. After the war, he taught at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

and the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

as a Professor of Military Science and Tactics. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Hazlett attended the Army War College and published a paper, ''Procurement and Processing during the Voluntary Enlistment Period of Initial Mobilization'', in 1933. Then Lt. Colonel Hazlett served as an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff School at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

from 1935 to 1936. During 1945, Hazlett served as Commanding General of the

Replacement and School Command The United States Replacement and School Command was a training and receiving formation of the United States Army during World War II. History It was established as part of the Army Ground Forces in March 1942, after it was noted that divis ...

. In June 1946, he succeeded

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Paul J. Mueller as commander of the 86th Infantry Division. He commanded the division until it was deactivated in December 1946 on

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, Philippines. After commanding the 86th, he was the Post Commander at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, Japan until 1947. In retirement Hazlett lived in California. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

References

*''The Field Artillery Journal'' issue 8, August 1945, pg. 501 * * *

External links

Field Artillery Journal, August 1945

Remarkable Ohio

Annual Report of the Army Command and General Staff College 1935–1936

Canton-McKinley Football Coaching Recording

Canton-McKinley Basketball Coaching Recording
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazlett, Harry F. 1884 births 1960 deaths Military personnel from Ohio United States Army personnel of World War I University of Akron faculty University of Dayton faculty Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Canton Bulldogs coaches Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Harrison County, Ohio United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals United States Army War College alumni