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 corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, 1916–17, and an early professional

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

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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

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

for the Akron East Ends.

Early life

After graduating high school in Akron in 1895, Laub attended both the

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

school and law school at Western Reserve in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, known today as

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

. Laub graduated with his

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

in 1900 and

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

in 1903.

Football career

Laub played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 Akron East Ends 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 championshi ...

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, 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 to play the Latrobe Athletic Association. 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 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 U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He resided at 929 West Market St. in Akron, 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 Reserve Spartans football coaches Case Western Reserve 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