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Talk:George Petrie (American football)

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"(American football)"?

[edit]

Does anyone else have doubts about the title George Petrie (American football)? At first blush it seems to suggest that George Petrie was the name of an American football -- a brand name, perhaps, like Wilson or Spalding. (Remember our global audience.) On seeing the portrait, one speculates that maybe he was a notable athlete. But no, he did not play in the football games he is remembered for. A sports promoter, then? Well, no, keep guessing.....

In short, the title of this article is vague at best, misleading at worst. The parenthesis ought to say what he was. What about George Petrie (educator) or George Petrie (professor) -- which is what he was paid for. Another option is George Petrie (Auburn University) because all his notable associations are with that institution. But that would only be a good choice if "educator" were not enough to distinguish him from some other George Petrie.

Any comments, concerns before I choose a new title and move it? -- Rob C. alias Alarob 19:30, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Looking at it from the football prospective, there doesn't seem to be any real consistency (Tom O'Brien (football coach), Paul Johnson (American football coach), Dan Hawkins (American football), Bill Stewart (football coach), Brian Kelly (coach)) and Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people) doesn't help much. I'd go with George Petrie (educator), as you suggested above, since he was more than just a professor (department head, dean, coach). - auburnpilot talk 18:39, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'd suggest George Petrie (Alabama) to parallel George Petrie (New York) but with his Auburn ties I'm not sure how well that would go over, no how innocent the intent. Does he have a middle name? That sure would be convenient. - Dravecky (talk) 11:25, 23 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]