Samuel Alexander Boyle Jr. (November 28, 1876 – October 30, 1923)[1] was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the Virginia Military Institute (1898–1899), Pennsylvania State University (1899), and Dickinson College (1900), compiling a career coaching record of 14–12–1.

Sam Boyle
Boyle in 1895
Biographical details
Born(1876-11-28)November 28, 1876
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedOctober 30, 1923(1923-10-30) (aged 46)
Rydal, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Playing career
1894–1897Penn
Position(s)End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1898–1899VMI
1899Penn State
1900Dickinson
Head coaching record
Overall14–12–1
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Playing career edit

Boyle played end for the University of Pennsylvania[2] and was declared a first-team All-American in 1897.[3]

Coaching career edit

Penn State edit

Boyle was the head coach at Pennsylvania State University in 1899.[4] His record at Penn State was 4–6–1.[5] His squad was outscored 104 to 176 that season.[6]

Dickinson edit

After one year at Penn State, Boyle became the second head football coach (or at least, the second coach on record) for the Dickinson College Red Devils in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and he held that position for the 1900 season.[7] His overall coaching record at Dickinson was 5 wins, 4 losses, and 0 ties.[8] This ranks him 20th at Dickinson in terms of total wins and eighth at Dickinson in terms of winning percentage.[9]

In his one year as head coach, Boyle oversaw the largest defeat in college football history when Dickinson College defeated Haverford Grammar School 227 to 0 (it was common for college teams to play other organized teams outside of the collegiate ranks at the time).[10]

Other athletic work edit

Boyle continued to work around sports as an athletic official.[11][12] He also worked as a player-coach for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.[13]

Death edit

Boyle died on October 30, 1923, at his home in Rydal, Pennsylvania, after suffering from tuberculosis for more than five years.[14][15]

Head coaching record edit

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
VMI Keydets (Independent) (1898–1899)
1898 VMI 4–2
1899 VMI 1–0
VMI: 5–2
Penn State (Independent) (1899)
1899 Penn State 4–6–1
Penn State: 4–6–1
Dickinson (Independent) (1900)
1900 Dickinson 5–4
Dickinson: 5–4
Total: 14–12–1

References edit

  1. ^ Alumni File at the University of Pennsylvania Archives
  2. ^ Penn Athletics Archived July 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine "All-Time Penn Football Honorees"
  3. ^ Ivy League Sports Archived February 27, 2005, at the Wayback Machine "University of Pennsylvania Honorees"
  4. ^ College Football Reference Archived March 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine "Pennsylvania State University - 1899 football records"
  5. ^ "Sam B. Boyle Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  6. ^ PlotIT Scientific Programming Archived January 13, 1998, at the Wayback Machine "PSU Game History for 1887 - 1900"
  7. ^ Centennial Conference Archived October 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine "2008 Centennial Conference Football Prospectus"
  8. ^ "The History of Football at Dickinson College, 1885-1969." Gobrecht, Wilbur J., Chambersburg, PA: Kerr Printing Co., 1971.
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ Football's Unforgettable Games "A Gridiron Massacre" by Harold Classen, 1963
  11. ^ "Decisive Defeat for Haverford" (PDF). The New York Times. October 7, 1901. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "Pennsylvania, 22; Gettysburg, 0" (PDF). The New York Times. October 24, 1901. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  13. ^ The Lafayette Weekly "Football Notes" September 23, 1898
  14. ^ "Tuberculosis Kills Samuel A. Boyle, Jr". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 31, 1923. p. 24. Retrieved March 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com  .
  15. ^ "Obituary Notes". The Pennsylvania Gazette. 22 (6): 135. November 9, 1923. Retrieved March 25, 2019 – via Google Books.

External links edit