William Glenn Killinger (September 13, 1898 – July 25, 1988) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated Harrisburg Technical High School and then lettered in three sports at Pennsylvania State University, where he was an All-American in football in 1921. Killinger then played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Canton Bulldogs and the New York Giants and for Philadelphia Quakers of the first American Football League in 1926. Killinger served as the head football coach at Dickinson College (1922), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1927–1931), Moravian College (1933), West Chester University (1934–1941, 1945–1959), and with the North Carolina Pre-Flight School (1944),[1] compiling a career college football head coaching record of 176–72–16. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1971.

Glenn Killinger
Killinger in 1922
Biographical details
Born(1898-09-13)September 13, 1898
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 1988(1988-07-25) (aged 89)
Stanton, Delaware, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1918–1921Penn State
1921Canton Bulldogs
1926New York Giants
1926Philadelphia Quakers
Basketball
1919–1921Penn State
Baseball
1919–1921Penn State
1922Jersey City Skeeters
1923Atlanta Crackers
1924Harrisburg Senators
1926Shamokin Indians
1927–1928Harrisburg Senators
1929–1932Williamsport Grays
Position(s)Quarterback, halfback (football)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1922Dickinson
1923–1926Penn State (assistant)
1927–1931RPI
1933Moravian
1934–1941West Chester
1944North Carolina Pre-Flight
1945–1959West Chester
Basketball
1935–1940West Chester
1945–1946West Chester
Baseball
1924Harrisburg Senators
1926Shamokin Indians
1930Williamsport Grays
1932Wilkes-Barre Barons
1932Allentown Buffaloes
1967–1970West Chester
Head coaching record
Overall176–72–16 (college football)
66–40 (college basketball)
59–29–2 (college baseball)
Bowls3–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
7 PSTCC (1941, 1950, 1952–1954, 1956, 1959)
Awards
Football
Consensus All-American (1921)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1971 (profile)

Killinger was also a minor league baseball player from 1922 until 1932. During that time, he played for the Jersey City Skeeters (1922), Atlanta Crackers (1923), Harrisburg Senators (1924, 1927–1928), Shamokin Indians (1926) and the Williamsport Grays (1929–1932). He served as a manager for the Indians and the Senators, managing the latter to the Eastern League pennant in 1928.[2]

Head coaching record

edit

College football

edit
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs UPI#
Dickinson Red and White (Independent) (1922)
1922 Dickinson 6–3
Dickinson: 6–3
RPI Engineers (Independent) (1927–1931)
1927 RPI 1–7
1928 RPI 4–3–1
1929 RPI 3–5
1930 RPI 4–2–2
1931 RPI 2–7
RPI: 14–24–3
Moravian Greyhounds (Independent) (1933)
1933 Moravian 3–2
Moravian: 3–2
West Chester Golden Rams (Pennsylvania State Teachers Conference / Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference) (1934–1941)
1934 West Chester 4–4 2–0 2nd
1935 West Chester 7–3 1–0 2nd
1936 West Chester 4–4–1 1–1 T–6th
1937 West Chester 6–3–1 2–1 T–5th
1938 West Chester 4–2–3 1–0–2 3rd
1939 West Chester 3–3–3 3–0 2nd
1940 West Chester 5–2–1 2–0 3rd
1941 West Chester 5–1–2 3–0 T–1st
North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters (Independent) (1944)
1944 North Carolina Pre-Flight 6–2–1
North Carolina Pre-Flight: 6–2–1
West Chester Golden Rams (Independent) (1945)
1945 West Chester 3–0–1
West Chester Golden Rams (Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference) (1946–1959)
1946 West Chester 9–1 2–1 T–3rd
1947 West Chester 10–1 3–0 1st[n 1] W Burley, L Cigar
1948 West Chester 7–1 3–0 3rd W Burley
1949 West Chester 8–1 3–0 3rd
1950 West Chester 7–2 4–0 1st
1951 West Chester 8–2 3–1 4th W Pretzel Bowl
1952 West Chester 7–0 5–0 1st
1953 West Chester 7–1 4–0 1st
1954 West Chester 5–4 3–1 T–1st
1955 West Chester 6–3 3–1 2nd
1956 West Chester 7–1 4–0 1st
1957 West Chester 9–0 4–0 3rd
1958 West Chester 9–1 6–0 2nd T–16
1959 West Chester 7–1 5–1 1st 10
West Chester: 147–41–11 67–7–2
Total: 176–72–16
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
  • #Rankings from final UPI small college poll.

Notes

edit
  1. ^ West Chester finished the 1947 season tied with Slippery Rock for the best record in the conference, but neither team was eligible for the conference title as neither has played the required four conference games. Mansfield won the conference title.[3]

Further reading

edit

Mealy, Todd M. (2018). Glenn Killinger, All-American: Penn State's World War I Era Sports Hero. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.) ISBN 978-1476670515 Retrieved April 22, 2018

References

edit
  1. ^ Jones, Wilbur D. (2009). "Football! Navy! War!": How Military "Lend-Lease" Players Saved the College Game and Helped Win World War II. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. pp. 124–126. ISBN 978-0-7864-4219-5. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  2. ^ Beers, Paul (2011). City contented, city discontented : a history of modern Harrisburg. Midtown Scholar Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-9839571-0-2. OCLC 761221337.
  3. ^ Altschull, Herb (November 18, 1947). "Mansfield Wins Teachers Title Despite Loss". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 17. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
edit