Ralph Hutchinson

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For the English clergyman and academic, see Ralph Hutchinson (academic). For the American academic, see Ralph Cooper Hutchison.
Ralph Hutchinson
Wickiup 1923, Idaho State yearbook
Biographical details
Born(1878-02-19)February 19, 1878
Elmira, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 30, 1935(1935-03-30) (aged 57)
Moscow, Idaho, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1898–1899Princeton
1900Greensburg A. A.
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1900Greensburg A. A.
1901Dickinson
1902Princeton (backs)
1903–1905Texas
1911–1916New Mexico
1918Washington & Jefferson
1919Idaho
1920–1927Idaho Technical / Idaho Southern Branch
Basketball
1910–1917New Mexico
1919–1920Idaho
1926–1927Idaho Technical
Baseball
1904–1906Texas
1910–1917New Mexico
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1911–1917New Mexico
1928–1929Idaho
Head coaching record
Overall62–55–6 (college football)
3–6–1 (pro football)
56–18 (college basketball)
69–44–2 (college baseball)

Ralph Fielding "Hutch" Hutchinson (February 19, 1878 – March 30, 1935) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player. He served as the head football coach at Dickinson College (1901), the University of Texas at Austin (1903–1905), the University of New Mexico (1911–1916), Washington & Jefferson College (1918), the University of Idaho (1919), and the Idaho Technical Institute (now Idaho State University) (1920–1927), compiling a career college football record of 62–55–6. Hutchinson was also the head basketball coach at New Mexico (1910–1917), Idaho (1919–1920), and Idaho Technical (1926–1927), amassing a career college basketball record of 56–18, and the head baseball coach at Texas from 1904 to 1906 and at New Mexico from 1910 to 1917, tallying a career college baseball mark of 69–44–2.

Playing career[edit]

Born in Elmira, New York, Hutchinson played varsity football and baseball and ran track at Princeton University.[1] In football, he was a quarterback and later played the position as a player-coach for the Greensburg Athletic Association, an early professional football team out of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1900.[2]

Hutchinson also played minor league baseball. He played for the 1902 Flandreau Indians of the Iowa-South Dakota League. There, his manager was Art Hillebrand, who played college football with Hutchinson at Princeton and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[3][4]

Coaching career[edit]

Dickinson[edit]

Hutchison was the third head football coach at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, serving for one season, in the 1901.[5][6][7]

Texas[edit]

From 1903 to 1905, Hutchinson coached at Texas, where he compiled a 16–7–2 record.

New Mexico[edit]

Hutchinson was the first basketball coach at the University of New Mexico, compiling a 32–8 record from 1910 to 1917. New Mexico played games only sporadically before the 1920s, with no regular schedule.

Washington & Jefferson[edit]

Hutchinson was hired in August 1918 as head coach at Washington & Jefferson, south of Pittsburgh.[8]

Idaho[edit]

Hutchinson was the head football coach at the University of Idaho for the 1919 season. A "shorter than normal" season, his team posted a 2–3 record. He also coached the basketball team for the 1919–20 season.

Idaho Technical Institute[edit]

In 1920, Hutchinson moved south to the Idaho Technical Institute in Pocatello. He coached through the 1927 season, tallying a 25–22–2 (.531) record at the two-year school, which was renamed the "University of Idaho–Southern Branch" in 1927. It was renamed "Idaho State College" in 1947 after gaining four-year status and became Idaho State University in 1963.

On November 4, 1922, the Idaho Tech football team played its first game on Hutchinson Field, named in his honor.[9][10] The field was used until partway through the 1936 season, when football games moved to the "Spud Bowl".[11][12] The former Hutchinson Field area continues to be known as the Hutchinson Memorial Quadrangle.[13]

After coaching[edit]

After eight years in Pocatello, Hutchinson returned to the University of Idaho in Moscow in 1928, where he was the athletic director for a year, as well as the head track coach and an assistant football coach.[14] After the hiring of Leo Calland in 1929, Hutchinson was the athletic trainer and a professor of physical education,[1] and the head coach of minor sports.[15] Following a brief illness, he died at the age of 57 on March 30, 1935, of a heart attack at his Moscow home.[16] In 1980, Hutchinson was inducted to Idaho State's athletic hall of fame.[17]

Head coaching record[edit]

1921 Idaho Technical Tigers team photo—Hutchinson is standing at far left of the back row

College football[edit]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Dickinson (Independent) (1901)
1901 Dickinson 4–6
Dickinson: 4–6
Texas Longhorns (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1903–1905)
1903 Texas 5–1–2 1–0–1 T–5th
1904 Texas 6–2 1–0 4th
1905 Texas 5–4 2–1 5th
Texas: 16–7–2 4–1–1
New Mexico (Independent) (1911–1916)
1911 New Mexico 1–3–1
1912 New Mexico 0–4
1913 New Mexico 3–2
1914 New Mexico 3–1–1
1915 New Mexico 3–1
1916 New Mexico 3–2
New Mexico: 13–13–2
Washington & Jefferson Red and Black (Independent) (1918)
1918 Washington & Jefferson 2–2
Washington & Jefferson: 2–2
Idaho Vandals (Independent) (1919)
1919 Idaho 2–3
Idaho: 2–3
Idaho Technical / Idaho Southern Branch Tigers (junior college) (1920–1927)
1920 Idaho Technical 3–3
1921 Idaho Technical 6–2
1922 Idaho Technical 4–3
1923 Idaho Technical 3–2–1
1924 Idaho Technical 5–2
1925 Idaho Technical 2–4
1926 Idaho Technical 1–4
1927 Idaho Southern Branch 1–4–1
Idaho Technical / Idaho Southern Branch: 25–24–2
Total: 62–55–6

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Ralph Hutchinson Summoned by Death". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 1, 1935. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  2. ^ Van Atta, Robert (1983). "The History of Pro Football At Greensburg, Pennsylvania (1894-1900)" (PDF). Coffin Corner (Annual). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2010.
  3. ^ "Register Team Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "Art "Doc" Hillebrand (1970) - Hall of Fame". National Football Foundation.
  5. ^ "Ralph Hutchinson to coach Dickinson". Pittsburgh Press. May 7, 1901. p. 8.
  6. ^ Centennial Conference Archived October 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine "2008 Centennial Conference Football Prospectus"
  7. ^ "Dickinson College Football Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2008.
  8. ^ "Ralph F. Hutchinson is eighteenth head coach..." Washington (PA) Reporter. August 21, 1918. p. 10.
  9. ^ "Dedicate Field Saturday". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. AP. November 3, 1922. p. 6. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Athletics: Field Dedication" (PDF). Wickiup. Idaho Technical Institute. 1923. pp. 58–60. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via ISU.edu.
  11. ^ "Workmen Speed up Job of Building Stadium". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. AP. November 9, 1936. p. 6. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Montana Wins from Branch". Idaho Statesman. Boise, Idaho. AP. November 12, 1936. p. 11. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "From Bantams to Tigers to Bengals". Idaho State Journal. Pocatello, Idaho. March 7, 1976. p. A-3. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Director of Athletics". Gem of the Mountains. 1929. p. 159.
  15. ^ "Minor sports". Gem of the Mountains. 1933. p. 230.
  16. ^ "Ralph F. Hutchinson" (PDF). The New York Times. Associated Press. April 1, 1935. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  17. ^ "Ralph Hutchinson". isubengals.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
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