Glen Gray (American football)
 Gray during the 1907 season at Oberlin | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1888 Charlotteville, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | June 7, 1921 (aged 32) Duchesne, Utah, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1907–1909 | Oberlin |
| Basketball | |
| 1907–1910 | Oberlin |
| Position(s) | Halfback (football) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1910 | Oberlin (assistant) |
| 1911–1912 | Oberlin |
| 1913–1915 | Washburn |
| Basketball | |
| 1910–1911 | Oberlin |
| 1912–1913 | Oberlin |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1913–1916 | Washburn |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 23–13–4 (football) 17–7 (basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 OAC (1911) 1 KCAC (1914) | |
Glen Carlton Gray (December 27, 1888 – June 7, 1921) was an American college football and college basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College from 1911 to 1912 and at Washburn College—now known as Washburn University—from 1913 to 1915, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 23–13–4. Gray was also the head basketball coach at Oberlin in 1910–11 and 1912–13, tallying a mark of 17–7.
Gray was born in Charlotteville, Ontario, Canada, and attended North Tonawanda High School in North Tonawanda, New York, from which he graduated in 1906. He was a quarterback and placekicker on the football team coached Ben Hinkey. "Glen Gray as I remember him was not the agile, hip-swiveling runner many people might imagine," Hinkey recalled. "He had, I believe, a wonderful change of pace and an ability to stop short when travelling at top speed, and then sidestepping a tackler quickly. He was an awfully hard man to tackle, because his speed and stopping ability were so hard to judge."[1]
Gray attended Oberlin, where played football as a halfback, and was a member of the basketball and baseball teams.[2] He also starred on the track team as a long jumper before graduating in 1911. He was inducted in the Oberlin College Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.[3]
Gray was the head football coach at Oberlin 1911 and 1912, lead his teams to a record of 13–2–1 in two seasons.[4] He was the 13th head football coach at Washburn, serving for three seasons, from 1913 to 1915, and compiling a record of 11–10–3.[5] Gray resigned from his post at Washburn in 1916.[6]
After leaving coaching, Gray worked in banking as well as film, newspaper, and oil businesses.[7] He was accidentally shot to death on June 7, 1921, in Duchesne, Utah, when he was mistaken for a bear during an assessment work party.[8] His demise was described in 1947 by The News of the Towandas: "Clad in a brown khaki shirt and trousers, Glen had gone into the brush to inspect one of his outlying oil lands. An itinerant hunter who was stalking games in the nearby desert country mistook Gray's moving shape for game and shot him. The great Glen Gray fell dead."[1]
Head coaching record
[edit]Football
[edit]| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin Yeomen (Ohio Athletic Conference) (1911–1912) | |||||||||
| 1911 | Oberlin | 6–1–1 | 4–0–1 | 1st | |||||
| 1912 | Oberlin | 7–1 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| Oberlin: | 13–2–1 | 9–1–1 | |||||||
| Washburn Ichabods (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1913–1915) | |||||||||
| 1913 | Washburn | 3–3–2 | 2–0–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1914 | Washburn | 5–3 | 1st | ||||||
| 1915 | Washburn | 2–5–1 | 1–2–1 | T–10th | |||||
| Washburn: | 10–11–3 | ||||||||
| Total: | 23–13–4 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Glen C. Gray (continued)" (PDF). The News of the Towandas. North Tonawanda, New York. February 20, 1847. p. 8. Retrieved October 15, 2024 – via Fultonhistory.com.
- ^ "Washburn's New Coach". The Topeka Daily Capital. Topeka, Kansas. April 6, 1913. p. 2. Retrieved October 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Glen C. Gray (1986) - Hall of Fame". Oberlin College. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Yeomen Football Record Book Throught 2023" (PDF). Oberlin College. p. 4. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Ichabod Football Media Guide" (PDF). Washburn Athletics. p. 186. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Coach Glen Gray Has Resigned". Washburn Review. Topeka, Kansas. April 5, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved October 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Glenn Gray, Former Football Star, Dies At Duchesne, Utah". Buffalo Courier. Buffalo, New York. June 7, 1921. p. 9. Retrieved October 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Oberlin Star Was Mistaken For Bear". Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio. June 14, 1921. p. 11. Retrieved October 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "NCAA Statistics; Coach; Glen Gray; Football". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1888 births
- 1921 deaths
- American businesspeople in the oil industry
- American football halfbacks
- American male long jumpers
- American men's basketball players
- Oberlin Yeomen baseball coaches
- Oberlin Yeomen basketball coaches
- Oberlin Yeomen basketball players
- Oberlin Yeomen football coaches
- Oberlin Yeomen football players
- Washburn Ichabods athletic directors
- Washburn Ichabods football coaches
- College men's track and field athletes in the United States
- People from North Tonawanda, New York
- Sportspeople from Norfolk County, Ontario
- Coaches of American football from New York (state)
- Players of American football from New York (state)
- Baseball players from New York (state)
- Basketball players from New York (state)
- Basketball coaches from New York (state)
- Track and field athletes from New York (state)
- Accidental deaths in Utah
- Deaths by firearm in Utah
- Firearm accident victims in the United States
- Hunting accident deaths