Herman G. Steiner (December 8, 1897 – April 29, 1982) 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 ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and track coach, athletic trainer, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach of the

Duke Blue Devils football The Duke Blue Devils football team represents Duke University in the sport of American football. The Blue Devils compete in the Division I (NCAA)#Division I-Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic As ...

program during the

1922 college football season The 1922 college football season had a number of unbeaten and untied teams, and no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing 1922 California Golden Bears football team, California, 1922 Cornell Big R ...

. Between 1921 and 1927, he was also the Assistant Director of Physical Education at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and served stints as the school's head baseball coach, head track coach, trainer, and director of intramural athletics.

Early years

Steiner was born in 1897 in Massachusetts. His father, Albert Steiner, was a German immigrant and a carpenter. By the time of the 1910 U.S. Census, Steiner was living with his parents in Brooklyn. In September 1918, Steiner was living in

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

.Draft registration card dated September 1918 for Herman Steiner born December 8, 1897. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 atabase on-line Registration State: Massachusetts; Registration County: Hampden; Roll: 1685153; Draft Board: 1. He studied for a year at Syracuse University where he was captain of the freshman football team. He then enrolled as a student at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (later known as

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

) in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

from 1918 to 1919. After serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Steiner studied for two years at the Normal College of Physical Education in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. He was captain of the basketball team and a member of the track team at the Normal College. While in Indianapolis, Steiner also coached the track teams of

Butler College Lee D. Butler College is one of the seven residential colleges of Princeton University, founded in 1983. It houses about 500 freshmen and sophomores, 100 juniors and seniors, 10 Resident Graduate Students, a faculty member in residence, as wel ...

and the Athenaeum Athletic Club, a German-American athletic society in Indianapolis. He also played minor league baseball.

Duke University

After completing his studies in Indianapolis in June 1921, Steiner was hired as the Assistant Director of Physical Training and track coach at Trinity College (now known as

) in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. During the 1921–22 academic year, he was also the assistant football coach for Trinity. He stepped in as the acting coach for Trinity's 1921 game against

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for ...

. The college yearbook noted: " Coach Baldwin was out of town, and Steiner handled the team. We don't know what he told them, but it must have been a 'mess', for when all the Guilford team had been assisted off the field, we read the score: Trinity 28-Guilford 0. It was then our biggest score! ... Needless to say, we were feeling good." Steiner also served as the head track coach and head baseball coach at Trinity during the 1921–22 academic year. In February 1922, Steiner was selected as the head coach of the Trinity College football team for the 1922 season. During the 1922 football season, Steiner coached the Trinity football team to a 7–2–1 record as the team outscored its opponents 156 to 57. Steiner served only one season as Trinity's head football coach, but he remained as the Assistant Director of Physical Education, assistant football coach, and trainer at Duke through at least the 1926–27 academic year. He was also responsible for overseeing intramural sports at the school.

Family and later years

Steiner married Carolyn M. C. Tapscott at Indianapolis in 1922. At the time of the 1930 U.S. Census, he was living with his wife, Carolyn, and their son Francis in Holyoke. His occupation was listed in the census record as an "athletic coach" at a college. At the time of the 1940 U.S. Census, Steiner was living with his parents in Holyoke. His occupation was listed in the census record as a "recreation instructor" at a " W.P.A. Recreation Project." Steiner died in April 1982 at

Oxford, Massachusetts Oxford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,347 as of the 2020 United States Census. It was the birthplace of Clara Barton, the first president and founder of the American Red Cross. History Pre-Co ...

.Death record for Herman G. Steiner, born 8 Dec 1897, died 29 April 1982. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts Death Index, 1970-2003 atabase on-line

Head coaching record

Football

Baseball

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Herman 1897 births 1982 deaths Butler Bulldogs coaches College track and field coaches in Indiana Duke Blue Devils baseball coaches Duke Blue Devils football coaches Springfield College alumni Syracuse University alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Sportspeople from Holyoke, Massachusetts Baseball coaches from Massachusetts Coaches of American football from Massachusetts American people of German descent Athletic trainers