Leigh Cilley "Old Head" Turner (February 11, 1879 – January 1971) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Hamilton College for one season in 1904 and at Purdue University for one season in 1907, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 5–8. Turner played football at Dartmouth College and worked as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan under

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

in 1905. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1906.

Undergraduate student and athlete

Turner was born on February 11, 1879, in Ross, Ohio. Nicknamed "Old Head", he attended Miami University, where he was a member of the football team. He lettered in football in 1901. That year, he played tackle and was team captain and under coach Thomas Hazzard. The team went 1–3–1 with the only victory being a 23–6 victory over Antioch. He later transferred to Dartmouth College, where he lettered in football in 1903. He helped the 1903 Big Green football team, coached by Fred Folsom, to a 9–1 record including the school's first-ever win over

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Turner scored both touchdowns in the 11–0 victory over Harvard. After the 1903 season he was named 2nd team All-American by Caspar Whitney in Outing magazine and 3rd team All-American by Walter Camp in '' Collier's Weekly''. Included on the 1903 All-American Team were several other Big Green teammates including

Henry Hooper Henry Judson Hooper (January 13, 1883February 28, 1904) was an American football player. Biography Hooper was born on January 13, 1883, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He played college football for the Dartmouth Big Green football and was selected a ...

at center, Joseph Gilman at guard and Kyron Witham at quarterback.

Law school

Turner attended the University of Michigan Law School where he graduated in 1906. He was active student including being a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and played

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

and catcher on the Michigan baseball team. Turner helped the 1904 Wolverines to a 10–5 record finishing 4–5 in the conference.

College coach

After graduating from Dartmouth, Turner became head football coach of Hamilton College for the 1904 season. That season, he completed a 5–3 record. The following year, while he was attending law school, he became an assistant football coach at the University of Michigan under

. As part of his duties he was in charge of the freshman team. In 1906, after he graduated from Michigan Law School, he moved to

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, to practice law. In the fall of that year he became an assistant football coach at Syracuse University under Hall of Fame coach

Frank "Buck" O'Neill Frank J. "Buck" O'Neill (March 6, 1875 – April 21, 1958) was an American football player and coach. He served as head football coach at Colgate University (1902, 1904–1905), Williams College (1903), Syracuse University (1906–1907, 1913–1 ...

. In 1906 he became head football coach at Purdue University, where he completed a 0–5 record in his only year coaching the Boilermakers. His team only scored 10 points the entire season and he was replaced by

Frederick A. Speik Frederick Adolph Speik (January 26, 1882 – June 30, 1940) was an American college football player and coach. He played for the University of Chicago from 1901 to 1904 and was selected as a first-team 1904 College Football All-America Team, All-A ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Leigh C. 1879 births 1971 deaths American football tackles Baseball catchers Baseball outfielders Miami RedHawks football players Dartmouth Big Green football players Hamilton Continentals football coaches Michigan Wolverines baseball players Michigan Wolverines football coaches Syracuse Orange football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Ross, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Baseball players from Ohio