Raymond Vincent "Nig" Borleske (January 8, 1887 – January 2, 1957) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

player,

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, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

from 1915 to 1946. Borleske was born in

Albert Lea, Minnesota Albert Lea ( ) is a city in Freeborn County, Minnesota, Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is at the junction of Interstates Intersta ...

. He played football and baseball at Whitman from 1907 to 1909. He played in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

from 1910 to 1912, pitching for two teams in the

Western Canada League The Western Canada League was the name of three different baseball circuits in Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with ...

. Borleske began his coaching career in 1910, when he was hired as the football,

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 ...

coach at Broadway High School in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. In 1912, he was appointed coach at Lincoln High School in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. Three years later, in 1915, he returned to Whitman, succeeding

Archie Hahn Archie Hahn may refer to: * Archie Hahn (actor) (born 1941), American actor * Archie Hahn (athlete) Charles Archibald Hahn (September 14, 1880 – January 21, 1955) was an American track athlete and is widely regarded as one of the best sprin ...

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

and coach. Borleske also coached basketball and baseball at Whitman before leaving the school in 1947. Borleske was the mayor of Walla Walla from 1948 to 1954. He died in Walla Walla on January 2, 1957, of a heart attack. He was the manager of the Marcus Whitman Hotel there at the time of his death. Borleske's brother,

Stanley Borleske Stanley Evans Borleske (August 20, 1888 – January 3, 1967) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College—now North Dakota State University (1919 ...

, was also a college athlete and coach. Borleske was one of a number of American athletes in the first half of the 20th century to be nicknamed "Nig", being referred to as such in newspaper reports as early as September 1907.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borleske, Vincent 1887 births 1957 deaths American football halfbacks Baseball pitchers Brandon Angels players Edmonton Gray Birds players Whitman Blues athletic directors Whitman Blues baseball coaches Whitman Blues baseball players Whitman Blues men's basketball coaches Whitman Fighting Missionaries football coaches Whitman Fighting Missionaries football players High school athletic directors in the United States High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Oregon High school basketball coaches in Washington (state) High school football coaches in Oregon High school football coaches in Washington (state) Mayors of places in Washington (state) Politicians from Walla Walla, Washington Sportspeople from Albert Lea, Minnesota Players of American football from Spokane, Washington Baseball players from Spokane, Washington Coaches of American football from Washington (state) Baseball coaches from Washington (state) Basketball coaches from Washington (state) 20th-century American sportsmen