Butch Cowell

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Butch Cowell
Cowell in The Granite yearbook, 1925 edition
Biographical details
Born(1887-07-21)July 21, 1887
Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedAugust 28, 1940(1940-08-28) (aged 53)
Dover, New Hampshire, U.S.
Playing career
1909–1910[1]Kansas
1911[1]Illinois
1913[1]Pittsburgh
Position(s)Tackle, end
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1914Haskell (assistant)
1915–1936[a]New Hampshire
Basketball
1916–1928New Hampshire
Baseball
1916New Hampshire
1919–1921New Hampshire
Head coaching record
Overall87–68–23 (football)
119–54 (basketball)
17–25–2 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1941)

William Harold "Butch" Cowell (July 21, 1887 – August 28, 1940) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats football team from 1915 to 1936.

Biography[edit]

Cowell was born on July 21, 1887, in Lynn, Massachusetts. His family moved to Clyde, Kansas, where he played high school football.[2] He later played college football at Kansas,[3] Illinois,[4] and Pittsburgh.[5]

Cowell served as the head coach of the University of New Hampshire's football team from 1915 to 1936,[b] except in 1918 when no varsity team was fielded. As a football coach, Cowell led his varsity teams to an overall record of 87 wins, 68 losses, and 23 ties, for a .553 winning percentage. In addition to coaching football, Cowell was also the head basketball coach, head baseball coach, and athletic director at New Hampshire. He was a founder of the American Football Coaches Association and served a term as the organization's president.[6]

New Hampshire's Wildcat Stadium was named Cowell Stadium in his honor from 1952 until 2016. He was a member of the inaugural class of the Wildcat athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.[7] He is also the "Cowell" in the name of the rivalry game with the Maine Black Bears, the Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket.

During World War I, he served as a second lieutenant in the Yankee Division (26th Infantry Division).[2] Cowell, who never married, died on August 28, 1940, in Dover, New Hampshire, at the age of 53 after a two-year illness.[6][8] He was interred at Maple Grove Cemetery in Randolph, Maine.[9] His brother, Roland Cowell, was also a coach and administrator in college athletics.[2][10][11]

Head coaching record[edit]

Note that New Hampshire did not adopt the Wildcats nickname until February 1926;[12] before then, they were generally referred to as "the blue and white".

Football[edit]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
New Hampshire (Independent) (1915–1922)
1915 New Hampshire 3–6–1
1916 New Hampshire 3–5–2
1917 New Hampshire 3–2–2
1918 No varsity team† —
1919 New Hampshire 7–2
1920 New Hampshire 5–2–1
1921 New Hampshire 8–1–1
1922 New Hampshire 3–5–1
New Hampshire Wildcats (New England Conference) (1923–1936)
1923 New Hampshire 4–4–1 1–1–1 T–2nd
1924 New Hampshire 7–2 2–1 2nd
1925 New Hampshire 4–1–2 2–0–1 1st
1926 New Hampshire 4–4 2–1 T–2nd
1927 New Hampshire 0–7–1 0–3 4th
1928 New Hampshire 3–2–3 1–1–1 3rd
1929 New Hampshire 7–2 2–0 1st
1930 New Hampshire 5–2–1 2–0 1st
1931 New Hampshire 7–2[c] 2–0 1st
1932 New Hampshire 3–4–1[d] 1–0–1 2nd
1933 New Hampshire 3–3–1 1–0 2nd
1934 New Hampshire 3–4–2 1–0 1st
1935 New Hampshire 2–5–1 0–1 4th
1936 New Hampshire 3–3–2 0–1 4th
New Hampshire: 87–68–23 17–9–4
Total: 87–68–23
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

† New Hampshire had an eight-game schedule planned for the 1918 season,[19] which was abandoned due to World War I.[20]
Source: [21]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Cowell was New Hampshire's football head coach for 21 seasons in 22 years, as the school did not field a varsity team in 1918 due to World War I.
  2. ^ Before 1923, the school was named New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.
  3. ^ New Hampshire's varsity record in 1931 was 7–2.[13][14] College Football Data Warehouse also lists a tied game, against Saint Anselm;[15] however, contemporary news reports are clear that it was New Hampshire's freshman team that played Saint Anselm.[16]
  4. ^ New Hampshire's varsity record in 1932 was 3–4–1.[13][17] College Football Data Warehouse lists an additional loss, to Saint Anselm;[15] however, contemporary news reports are clear that it was New Hampshire's freshman team that played Saint Anselm.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Who's Who in American Sports. National Biographical Society. 1928. p. 174. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ a b c "Well Known UNH Coach Dies at 52". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. August 29, 1940. p. 1. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Haskell Indians are in Demand". The Wichita Beacon. Wichita, Kansas. December 26, 1913. p. 7. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "K. U. Star at Illinois". The University Daily Kansan. Lawrence, Kansas. March 1, 1912. p. 4. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Sporting Notes Of Local Interest". The Portsmouth Herald. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. November 14, 1936. p. 6. Retrieved January 24, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "William H. Cowell, Athletic Director". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. AP. August 29, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Hall of Fame". unhwildcats.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  8. ^ "William H. Cowell; Athletic Director at University of New Hampshire 23 Years" (PDF). The New York Times. August 29, 1940. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "Application for Headstone or Marker". fold3.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "News from the World of Sports". The Daily Gazette. Lawrence, Kansas. November 4, 1913. p. 3. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "R. A. Cowell Visits His Brother in New York". The Des Moines Register. January 6, 1926. p. 8. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Wild E. and Gnarlz". unhwildcats.com. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Wildcat Football Media Guide". University of New Hampshire. 2019. pp. 54–55. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via issuu.com.
  14. ^ The Granite. Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire. 1933. pp. 191–193. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020 – via library.unh.edu.
  15. ^ a b "New Hampshire Game by Game Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2020 – via Wayback Machine.
  16. ^ "Murphy's 80-yard Run Gives St Anselm's Tie". The Boston Globe. October 31, 1931. p. 11. Retrieved January 26, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ The Granite. Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire. 1934. pp. 185–195. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020 – via library.unh.edu.
  18. ^ "St Anselm's Prep Wins From New Hampshire '36". The Boston Globe. October 29, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved January 26, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Announce Football Schedule for 1918". The New Hampshire. Vol. 7, no. 21. March 16, 1918. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via library.unh.edu.
  20. ^ "Contests on Gridiron On Card for Today". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. October 19, 1918. p. 9. Retrieved February 19, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "William H. "Butch" Cowell Records by Year". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.

External links[edit]

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