Robert Kent Gooch (September 26, 1893 – May 22, 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 ...

player and political scientist. Gooch was a

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 ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers football The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia (UVA) in the sport of American football. Established in 1887, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the ...

team of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He was named a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, but the

First World War 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 ...

interrupted his studies. During the war, Gooch served with the American Ambulance Corps with the French forces on the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

front, and was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. He is the namesake of the Robert Kent Gooch Scholarship, for second and third-year college students who have a record of outstanding academic achievement and a record of outstanding service to others. For many years Gooch was a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

professor at UVA, writing several books. He is buried at the

University of Virginia Cemetery The University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium is a cemetery on the grounds of the University of Virginia, located at the intersection of McCormick Road and Alderman Road. In operation since 1828, during the earliest days of the university, ...

. A named professorship of political science, the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics, was established in his honor at the university, with

Larry Sabato Larry Joseph Sabato (; born August 7, 1952) is an American political scientist and political analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, where he is also the founder and director of the Center for ...

the incumbent as of 2018.

Early years

Gooch was born on September 26, 1893, in Roanoke to William Stapleton Gooch, a lawyer, and Mary Stuart Anderson. His ancestry was English and French; a descendant of

Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (21 October 1681 – 17 December 1751) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Technically, Gooch only held the title of Royal Lieutenant Gove ...

. In 1895, the family moved to Louisa Court House, VA.

University of Virginia

Gooch played quarterback for Virginia from

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

. He led the Cavaliers to an 8–1 record in 1914, when he was teammates with the likes of Buck Mayer and James L. White. One fellow said, "When Gooch took the ball he moved so fast that he seemed to be in four places at one time, and the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

tried to penalize Virginia for having 15 men on the field." Professor W. A. Lambeth of Virginia selected Gooch for his All-Southern team in 1914.Spalding's Official Football Guide. NCAA. 1915. He later returned as an assistant coach at his alma mater.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gooch, Robert Kent 1893 births 1982 deaths Virginia Cavaliers football players American football quarterbacks All-Southern college football players University of Virginia faculty Players of American football from Virginia Political science educators Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery French military personnel of World War I