William Odlin

William Odlin (April 5, 1865 – May 1929) was an American lawyer and college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Brown University in 1893.

William Odlin
Biographical details
Born(1865-04-05)April 5, 1865
Laconia, New Hampshire
DiedMay 1929 (aged 54)
Playing career
1886–1889Dartmouth
Position(s)Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1893Brown
Head coaching record
Overall6–3

Odlin was born on April 5, 1865 in Laconia, New Hampshire.[1] He attended boarding school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[2] He continued his education at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1890.[3] Odlin is credited with reviving interest in football at the college. As John Henry Bartlett put it in his book, Dartmouth Athletics:

The Rugby game, started and grown moderately popular under Clarence Howland, had become almost obsolete at Dartmouth by '86, when Odlin entered college, and his laborious efforts to place it on a firm footing entitle him to a foremost place in the history of athletics at Dartmouth. He labored against the general sentiment of the college, the frowns of the faculty and a lack of experienced material, but the fruition of his labors was seen in the great championship team of '89, of which he was captain."[3]

Odlin played on the football team as a fullback,[4] and served as its captain for four years, from 1886 to 1889.[5] Upon graduation, he continued on to study law, which he practiced in Boston with the firm Odlin & Ruggles.[3]

In 1893, he took over as the head coach of the Brown University football team. He served in that position for one season and amassed a 6–3 record.[6]

Odlin died in May 1929.[7]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Brown Bears (Independent) (1893)
1893 Brown 6–3
Brown: 6–3
Total:6–3

References
  1. Emerson, Charles Franklin (1911). General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1910. Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Press. p. 378. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  2. Notable Alumni: Long List: 1800s, Phillips Academy, retrieved June 20, 2010.
  3. John Henry Bartlett, Dartmouth Athletics: A Complete History of All Kinds of Sports at the College, p. 307, Republican Press Association, 1893.
  4. Bartlett, p. 214
  5. Season by Season Results, Dartmouth College, retrieved June 20, 2010.
  6. All-Time Coaching Records: William Odlin, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 20, 2010.
  7. Obituary, The New York Times, May 12, 1929.
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