Dim Batterson
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George Wilder "Dim" Batterson (October 3, 1881 – December 3, 1935) was an
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 ...
coach for high school, college and professional teams. Batterson's ability to turn out players of All-American ability and knack of moulding Harvard Cup championship eleven at Masten Park high school in Buffalo, New York earned him the distinction of being one of the most astute scholastic coach in western New York state history.


Playing days

At the turn of the century, in 1899, 1900 and 1901, Batterson coached and played fullback for the Oakdales, a semi-pro football club from South Buffalo, New York. During that time, he was considered one of the greatest backfield men in upstate New York. Besides the Oakdales, he played with the Elmwoods, Manhattan Athletic club, Erie Athletic club, and the Pittsburgh, Detroit and Toledo professional teams. Around 1905, Batterson played for the Buffalo All-Stars, an early semi-pro football team, who would later evolve into the Buffalo All-Americans-Rangers-Bisons franchise.


Coaching career

Batterson started his coaching career at the high school level. He won four Buffalo City High School Championships (called Harvard Cups) while coaching at Masten Park High School including three consecutive in 1918, 1919 and 1920. Batterson left the high school ranks in 1922 to become the football coach at the
University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...
. He lasted one year at the University winning only one game. Batterson then coached with the Buffalo Bisons and Rangers of the early
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
. Batterson was first brought onto the team as an assistant coach by his former student at Masten Park High, Walter Koppisch, in 1925, and he stayed in that position in 1926. He was named the team's head coach at the start of the
1927 NFL season The 1927 NFL season was the eighth regular season of the National Football League. It was preceded by an April 1927 purge of the financially weakest franchises from the league roster, with the total number of NFL teams ultimately dropping from ...
and was the first head coach in the team's history not to be a
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 ...
. Unfortunately, the 1927 season was a disaster. Financial woes plagued the team from the start. The team lost 5 consecutive starts, bowing to Pottsville, 22 to 0; Providence, 5 to 0; New York Yankees, 19 to 8 and Frankford Yellowjackets twice, 54 to 0 and 23 to 0. After the 5th straight humiliating defeat, Batterson resigned and the team disbanded. Batterson never coached in the NFL again leaving his career coaching record at 0 won, five lost (0–5).


Later years and honors

After retiring from coaching, Batterson was in the real estate business in the Buffalo suburb of
Tonawanda, New York Tonawanda is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,129 at the 2020 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North Tonawanda, east of Grand Island, a ...
. He died at the age of 51 on December 5, 1935, in Buffalo General Hospital due to complications from a hernia surgery. He was elected to Harvard Cup Hall of Fame in 2002."Harvard Cup Hall Names First Class.," ''Buffalo News,'' Buffalo, NY - August 23, 2002.


Head coaching record


College


Professional


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batterson, Dim 1881 births 1935 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football fullbacks Buffalo Bisons (NFL) coaches Buffalo Bulls football coaches High school football coaches in New York (state) Coaches of American football from New York (state) Players of American football from Buffalo, New York Deaths from surgical complications