Charles Summerville Roller Jr. (September 8, 1879 – March 16, 1963) 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 wit ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It beca ...

from 1901 to 1902 and at the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

(VMI) from 1907 to 1908, compiling a career college football coaching record of 14–10–5. Roller's 1902 Furman Purple Hurricane football team had wins over North Carolina A&M and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

. From 1903 until 1913 Furman did not field a football team. Roller played at VMI, where he was an All-Southern

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 ...

. He worked as an assistant football coach at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

in 1908. Roller attended the Augusta Military Academy in

Fort Defiance, Virginia Fort Defiance is an unincorporated community in Augusta County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Staunton– Waynesboro Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Augusta Stone Church was established in the area now known as Fort ...

, where his father, Charles Summerville Roller, was a founder of the school and commandant. The younger Roller served as commandant and principal of that school later in his life. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he served as a major with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in Europe. Roller died in Fort Defiance on March 16, 1963.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* 1879 births 1963 deaths American football quarterbacks Furman Paladins football coaches VMI Keydets football coaches VMI Keydets football players Washington and Lee Generals football coaches All-Southern college football players American military personnel of World War I People from Augusta County, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia {{1900s-collegefootball-coach-stub