Peter Willis Cawthon (March 24, 1898 – December 31, 1962) 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 ...

player and coach. In addition to his football career, he also coached

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

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 ...

. He served as the head football coach at

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

—from 1930 to 1940, compiling a career

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 ...

coaching record of 99–52–10. Cawthon was the head coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers of the

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 ...

(NFL) from 1942 to 1943. He served as the athletic director at Texas Tech from 1930 to 1941 and the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

from 1952 to 1953.

Playing career

Cawthon graduated from Houston Central High School in 1917 and went on to attend

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...

Georgetown, Texas Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census, and according to 2024 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 101,344. It is no ...

. He lettered in

, football, and

during his freshman year. When the baseball coach left to fight in

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 ...

, Cawthon took over the position. Cawthon earned four letters his sophomore year and was selected as an All-State halfback.

Coaching career

In 1919, Cawthon took his first regular coaching job at Beaumont High School before becoming the baseball and basketball coach at Rice Institute—now

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

—in 1920. In 1921, he moved to Dallas and was the head football coach at Terrill Prep for two years. In 1923, he moved on to coach at Austin College in

Sherman, Texas Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan area, Sherman–Denison metropolitan statist ...

, where he established the Cawthon Trophy, given annually to an outstanding individual at the school on the basis of athletic participation, leadership, and sportsmanship. His record at Austin College was 23–18–4 from 1923 to 1927. Austin won the

Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) was a college sports association that operated from 1909 to 1932. All of its members were located in the US state of Texas. History Founded in 1909 by Southwestern University, Austin Colle ...

title in 1923. In 1930, Cawthon was hired by Texas Technological College—now Texas Tech University. By 1932, the Matadors—now the Red Raiders—became the highest-scoring team in the nation. He coached at the school through the 1940 season. During his tenure, he compiled a record of 76–32–6. Cawthon served as line coach in football with the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

during the 1942 season. From 1943 to 1944, Cawthon coached in the

for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers. He posted a 2–18 record during his time in the NFL. From 1952 to 1953, Cawthon served as athletic director at the

Death

Cawthon died after a heart attack on December 31, 1962, in Sherman, Texas.

Head coaching record

Football

Basketball

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cawthon, Pete 1898 births 1962 deaths American football halfbacks Alabama Crimson Tide athletic directors Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Austin Kangaroos football coaches Austin Kangaroos men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Texas Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) coaches Brooklyn Tigers coaches Detroit Lions coaches Rice Owls baseball coaches Rice Owls men's basketball coaches Southwestern Pirates football players Texas Tech Red Raiders athletic directors Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches High school football coaches in Texas Players of American football from Houston Basketball players from Houston