William H. Spaulding (May 4, 1880 – October 12, 1966) 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 of 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 ...

. Spaulding coached at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

from 1925 to 1938. He had a successful tenure, compiling a 72–51–8 () record. He also served as the head football coach at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

from 1922 to 1924. His record there was 11–7–4 (). He succeeded the legendary football coach Henry L. Williams. Prior to coaching at Minnesota he coached Western State Normal School (now known as Western Michigan University) from 1907 to 1921. Spaulding was the head football, basketball and baseball at Western State Normal. Spaulding attended Wabash College, where he played college football. In 1984, he was inducted into the Wabash College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Early years

Spaulding was born in Melrose, Wisconsin, in 1880. He attended Wabash College in

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville () is a city in Montgomery County, Indiana, Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The c ...

, where he played halfback for the football team and ran sprints for the track team. He was a member of the 1905 Wabash Little Giants football team that defeated Notre Dame. In 1906, Spaulding briefly played professional football on Willie Heston's All Stars.

Coaching and administrative career

Western State

In 1907, Spaulding was hired as the first coach and physical training director at Western State Normal School (later renamed

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

). He was the head coach of the school's football team for 15 years from 1907 to 1921, compiling a 62–25–3 () record. He is still the winningest coach in school history, though he is presently tied on the Broncos' all-time wins list with Al Molde. His players at Western State included Frank Thomas who went on to be the head coach of the

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Crimson Tide competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the Nat ...

team from 1931 to 1946. He was the head coach for the Western State Normal School men's basketball program from 1913 through 1922, compiling a 77–43 () record, and finishing .500 or higher in each of his nine seasons. He was also the head coach for Western State's baseball program from 1911 through 1921, compiling a 63–18–4 () record.

Minnesota

In January 1922, Spaulding was hired by the University of Minnesota to replace Henry L. Williams as the school's head football coach. He was hired at a salary of $5,500 per year. In 1924, Spaulding's Golden Gophers stopped

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American professional American football, football Halfback (American football), halfback who played for the Chicag ...

and handed

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

its only defeat of the 1924 season.

UCLA

In May 1925, Spaulding was hired by the University of California Southern Branch (later renamed UCLA) as its head football coach and athletic director. He signed a five-year contract with Southern Branch at a salary of $10,000 per year. Spaulding's 1935 UCLA team was a Pacific Coast Conference co-champion and handed

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

's " Vow Boys" team its only defeat of the 1935 season. Spaulding later described the 1935 victory over Stanford as the greatest thrill of his career. His players at UCLA included Kenny Washington and

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

. In 11 years as UCLA's head football coach, his teams compiled a record of 72–51–8 In February 1938, Spaulding announced that he would resign as UCLA's head football coach after the 1938 season. He had also assumed the role as UCLA's athletic director and stated that he would thereafter confine himself to those duties. Spaulding remained at UCLA as athletic director from 1938 to 1947. After 22 years at UCLA, Spaulding resigned in March 1947, indicating that he intended to go into business.

Later years

Spaulding and his wife, Jess, had a son, William E. Spaulding, and three daughters, Jane, Frances, and Barbara. His wife died in 1953. He later remarried to a second wife, Eleanor. Spaulding died in 1966 at age 86 at the Elizabeth Manor Sanitarium in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He had been ill and in "a virtual coma" for several years before his death.

Head coaching record

Football

Basketball

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, William H. 1880 births 1966 deaths American football halfbacks American male sprinters Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches UCLA Bruins athletic directors UCLA Bruins football coaches Wabash Little Giants football players Wabash Little Giants men's track and field athletes Western Michigan Broncos baseball coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball coaches People from Jackson County, Wisconsin