Lewis Henry Elverson (November 13, 1912 – May 1, 1997) was an American

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 ...

player and coach,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

from 1934 to 1936 and was the head football coach at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

for 32 seasons over three stints, starting in 1938 and ending in 1974.

Early years

Elverson attended Toms River High School in

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a Township (New Jersey), township and coastal town located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland United States, mainland portion is also a census-designated ...

, where he competed for the baseball, basketball, football, and track teams. He also attended the

Hun School of Princeton The Hun School of Princeton is a private, coeducational, secondary boarding school located in Princeton in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The school serves students from sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited ...

where competed for the football and rowing teams. Elverson moved on to the

, where he played college football at the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and halfback positions for the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

from 1934 to 1936 and was captain of the 1936 team that compiled a 7–1 record and was ranked No. 10 in the final AP Poll. He was a member of Penn's "Destiny Backfield" during those years.

Coaching career

Elverson was hired as the freshman football coach at

in August 1937. In May 1938, he was promoted to head football coach at Swarthmore. In 1939, he led Swarthmore to the first undefeated season in school history. His career at Swarthmore was interrupted by service as a lieutenant commander in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1942 to 1945. During the war, he coached the Atlantic City Naval Air Station football team in 1943 and 1944. Elverson returned to Swarthmore after the war and served as the school's head football coach for a total of 32 seasons, ending with the 1972 and 1974 seasons. He compiled a record of 96–130–7 as Swarthmore's head football coach. Elverson served as the coach of Swarthmore's track team from 1951 to 1978 and for several years as the school's athletic director. He was also a professor of physical education at the college.

Later years

Elverson died from congestive heart failure, on May 1, 1997, at Lankenau Hospital in

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, D ...

Head coaching record

Football

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elverson, Lew 1912 births 1997 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Atlantic City Naval Air Station Corsairs football coaches Penn Quakers football players Swarthmore Garnet athletic directors Swarthmore Garnet Tide football coaches College track and field coaches in Pennsylvania Hun School of Princeton alumni Toms River High School South alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II Players of American football from Philadelphia Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from Ocean County, New Jersey Military personnel from Ocean County, New Jersey