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George E. Pyle

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George E. Pyle
Head-and-shoulders photo of G. E. Pyle
G. E. Pyle from 1911 Seminole yearbook
Biographical details
Born(1885-08-27)August 27, 1885
Bristol, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 1949(1949-08-01) (aged 63)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1904Transylvania (assistant)
1906–1908VMI (assistant)
1909–1913Florida
1930Transylvania
Basketball
1914–1917West Virginia
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1914–1917West Virginia
1930Transylvania
Head coaching record
Overall27–12–5 (football)
29–25 (basketball)

George Edmundson Pyle (August 27, 1885 – August 23, 1949) was an American college football coach and college athletics administrator. He was the second head coach of the Florida Gators football team that represents the University of Florida. Pyle was the athletic director of West Virginia University from 1914 to 1917.

Early life

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Pyle was born on August 27, 1885, in Bristol, Tennessee.

Coaching career

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Pyle was director of physical culture of Transylvania University in 1904.[1]

Pyle replaced Jack Forsythe as the Florida head football coach and held that position for five seasons, from 1909 to 1913.[2][3] During that period, he accumulated a 26–7–3 record and a .764 winning percentage. In 1911, Pyle led Florida to its first and only undefeated season when the newly named Gators posted a 5–0–1 record.[4]

In 1912, Florida posted a 5–2–1 record.[2] After the season, the team participated in its first post-season game, the Bacardi Bowl held in Havana, Cuba. It was actually a two-game series against different Cuban athletic clubs. The first game was played on December 25 under the so-called "old rules" that existed before the American football reforms of 1906. In that game, Florida defeated the Vedado Tennis Club, 28–0.[5] On December 30, Florida played the Cuban Athletic Club of Havana under the "new rules". According to one source, the game's referee was a former coach for the Cuban team, and the officiating was blatantly biased. After two Florida touchdowns were nullified by questionable officiating, Pyle protested a fifteen-yard penalty. When the referee offered a five-yard penalty instead, Pyle and his team left the game in protest.[6] Another source states that the game ended late in the first quarter after a fight broke out between the teams; Florida accused the Cuban team of still playing under "the old rules".[6] Regardless of the reason for the forfeiture, Pyle was arrested by the Cuban authorities.[4] He was charged with violating a law that prohibited a game's suspension after money had been collected.[7] After his trial was delayed, Pyle and the Gators left Cuba.

Pyle left the University of Florida after the 1913 season and became the athletic director for West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.[8] Pyle served one season, in 1930, as the head football coach at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.[9]

Late life and death

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After leaving college athletics, Pyle worked as an insurance agent in Bristol, Tennessee.[10] He died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on August 23, 1949, at the age of 63.[11]

Head coaching record

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Football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Florida / Florida Gators[12] (Independent) (1909–1911)
1909 Florida 6–1–1
1910 Florida 6–1
1911 Florida 5–0–1
Florida Gators (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1912–1913)
1912 Florida 5–2–1 1–2 W Bacardi
1913 Florida 4–3 2–3
Florida: 26–7–3 3–5
Transylvania Pioneers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1930)
1930 Transylvania 1–5–2 1–4–1 T–24th
Transylvania: 1–5–2 1–4–1
Total: 27–12–5

References

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  1. ^ "History Of Football At Transylvania College" (PDF). homepages.transy.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "G.E. Pyle Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
  3. ^ 2012 Florida Football Media Guide (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. 2011. pp. 107, 115, 116. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Antonya English (August 27, 2006). "100 things about 100 years of Gator football". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
  5. ^ "1912 Game by Game Record". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Floyd Conner (2000). Football's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of the Great Game's Outrageous Characters, Fortunate Fumbles, and Other Oddities. Brassey's, Dulles, Virginia. pp. 191–192. ISBN 9781574883091. Retrieved March 1, 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "Football Row in Havana; Florida University Students Hooted for Breaking Up Game" (PDF). The New York Times. December 29, 1912. p. S1. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  8. ^ ""West Virginia Is Coming Along Well". The Pittsburg Press (Sporting Section). September 20, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "Football Work Starts Monday". The Courier-Journal. April 1, 1930. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Former Gator Coach Praises Florida Pilot". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. November 4, 1938. p. 8. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  11. ^ "G.E. Pyle Dies, Ex-Florida Coach". Miami Daily News. Associated Press. p. 2A. Retrieved March 23, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ The University of Florida football team adopted the nickname "Gators" in 1911.

Bibliography

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