Carl Sheldon Williams
Encyclopedia
Carl Sheldon "Cap" Williams was an American football
player and coach. A Wellington, Ohio
native, Williams graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894 with a bachelor of Science and a medical degree in 1897. Williams played both at Oberlin
and University of Pennsylvania and coached at the University of Pennsylvania
.
. The Yeoman finished the season undefeated including a season opening victory over Ohio State University
. Williams scored the first touchdown
early in the game which would become a 40-0 route of the Buckeyes. During that season the Yoeman also claimed a second victory over the Buckeyes and a victory over the University of Michigan
but both schools dispute this.
. At the time Williams played quarterback
under Woodruff, the forward pass
was illegal. To advance the ball down the field, Woodruff coached his quarterback to “pass the ball with his foot.” The rules at the time were that anybody that kicked the ball or anybody behind the kicker was allowed to recover the ball and retain possession. Williams was able to place his kicks with great accuracy allow Penn to recover for a first down.
, Yale
and Princeton
. At the time Penn rarely beat these three schools. All of the games were close and in losing the game 14-6 to Yale, Penn was able to score a moral victory by scoring. Yale had been un-scored on for 35 straight games stretching from 1890, successively scoring 1,355 unanswered points.
though Yale and Princeton was also retroactively named National Championship by other organizations. The highlight of the season was a 12-0 victory over Princeton (only the second in 30 meetings) and an 18-4 victory over Harvard. The 1894 squad featured a very talented backfield that consisted of Williams, Author Knipe
(halfback), George Brooke
(fullback
) and Winchester Osgood
(halfback
).
a graduate manager for the Auburn
football team wrote to Williams at the asking the University of Pennsylvania captain to suggest a suitable coach. He recommended his former coach at Oberlin who at the time was a tomato farmer in Texas. Auburn hired Heisman who would go on to Hall of Fame career.
In 1902 Williams succeeded his former coach George W. Woodruff at the University of Pennsylvania. When Williams first arrived he had to deal with a team and athletic department recovering from an undergraduate and dental student revolt that led to Coach Woodruff to resign. The students were dissatisfied with the team’s performance in the 1901 season and demanded more undergraduate say in athletic department and coaching. At the time the Athletic Association's Board of Directors was controlled by graduate and professional students. To protest Woodruff resignation all of Penn's graduate coaches resigned. Williams introduced a coaching system in which he served as head coach while being aided by a group of other alumni who served as assistant coaches. This system reduced the damage any one coach or assistant coach had to leave the team. He quickly rebuilt the Quakers and led them to two retroactive national titles in 1904 and 1907. In just his third season as head coach, Williams and Penn posted a 12-0 record and the program’s fourth National Crown. This Quakers squad has a dominating Defense that only allowed 0.3 points a game with Swarthmore the only school to scorn on them that season. The next year Williams led Penn to the second-straight undefeated season posting a 12-0-1 mark. Once again defense dominated with seven shutouts. Penn’s fifth and Williams second (as a coach) retroactive National Title came after an 11-1 campaign in his last year at the helm of the Quakers. He was replaced the season by Sol Metzger
for the 1908 season, He finished his coaching career 60-10-4 record.
1907 poll results = Penn: Billingsley and Yale: Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis
1904 poll results = Penn: Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis and Michigan: Billingsley, National Championship Foundation
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. A Wellington, Ohio
Wellington, Ohio
Wellington is a village in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,511 at the 2000 census.-History:Wellington was settled in 1818 by Ephraim Wilcox, Charles Sweet, William T. Welling, John Clifford, and Joseph Wilson from the states of Massachusetts and New York...
native, Williams graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1894 with a bachelor of Science and a medical degree in 1897. Williams played both at Oberlin
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and University of Pennsylvania and coached at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
Oberlin
He played at Oberlin in 1891 and 1892. The 1891 Yeoman played without a paid coach and went 2-2. The next year Williams was named captain. This team was coached by legendary coach John HeismanJohn Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
. The Yeoman finished the season undefeated including a season opening victory over Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. Williams scored the first touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
early in the game which would become a 40-0 route of the Buckeyes. During that season the Yoeman also claimed a second victory over the Buckeyes and a victory over the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
but both schools dispute this.
University of Pennsylvania
On Heisman’s advise, he transferred to his coach’s former school, the University of Pennsylvania. He lettered three seasons at quarterback for the Red and Blue under renowned coach George Washington WoodruffGeorge Washington Woodruff
Note: Before 1936, national champions were determined by historical research and retroactive ratings and polls. 1894 Poll Results = Penn: Parke H. Davis, Princeton: Houlgate, Yale: Billingsley, Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis1895 Poll Results = Penn: Billingsley, Helms,...
. At the time Williams played quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
under Woodruff, the forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
was illegal. To advance the ball down the field, Woodruff coached his quarterback to “pass the ball with his foot.” The rules at the time were that anybody that kicked the ball or anybody behind the kicker was allowed to recover the ball and retain possession. Williams was able to place his kicks with great accuracy allow Penn to recover for a first down.
1893 Season
In his first year as quarterback, he helped the 1893 Quakers to a 12 – 3 record. The team started strong by winning the first 11 game. In those 11 games the defense only gave up 18 points while the offence scored 305 points. The season collapsed in last four games when Penn lost three out of the last four games to HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. At the time Penn rarely beat these three schools. All of the games were close and in losing the game 14-6 to Yale, Penn was able to score a moral victory by scoring. Yale had been un-scored on for 35 straight games stretching from 1890, successively scoring 1,355 unanswered points.
1894 Season
In 1894 Williams helped Penn to its first undefeated season. The 1894 team was retroactively named National Championship by Parke H. DavisParke H. Davis
Parke Hill Davis was an American football player, coach and historian who retroactively named the national championship teams in American college football from the 1869 through the 1932 seasons. He also named co-national champions at the conclusion of the 1933 season...
though Yale and Princeton was also retroactively named National Championship by other organizations. The highlight of the season was a 12-0 victory over Princeton (only the second in 30 meetings) and an 18-4 victory over Harvard. The 1894 squad featured a very talented backfield that consisted of Williams, Author Knipe
Alden Knipe
Alden Arthur Knipe was an American football player and coach. He served as the sixth head football coach at the University of Iowa from 1892–1894, compiling a record of 30–11–4. Knipe was also the first head head baseball coach at Iowa, coaching two seasons from 1900 to 1901...
(halfback), George Brooke
George Brooke
George Brooke may refer to:*George Brook , English cricketer*George H. Brooke , American football player and coach...
(fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
) and Winchester Osgood
Winchester Osgood
Winchester Dana Osgood was a prominent American college athlete in the late 19th century at both Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania. He played halfback on the football teams at both schools and served as the head football coach at Indiana University for one season in 1895,...
(halfback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
).
1895 Season
Williams was elected captain of the Penn’s 1895 team and was named an All American that year. As captain, he led Penn to another undefeated (14-0) seasons and a second-consecutive retroactive National Title.Helping Heisman
Other than the two undefeated seasons, Williams may is best known for being instrumental in getting John Heisman back into coaching. Before the 1895 season, Walter RiggsWalter Riggs
Walter Merritt Riggs was the president of Clemson University from 1910 to 1924 and the "father of Clemson football" coaching the first football team for what was then Clemson College. Riggs graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's of science in engineering in 1892 and was a member of...
a graduate manager for the Auburn
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
football team wrote to Williams at the asking the University of Pennsylvania captain to suggest a suitable coach. He recommended his former coach at Oberlin who at the time was a tomato farmer in Texas. Auburn hired Heisman who would go on to Hall of Fame career.
Coaching career
Sol Metzger
Sol S. Metzger was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, college athletics administrator, and sports journalist...
for the 1908 season, He finished his coaching career 60-10-4 record.
Coaching record
Note: Before 1936, national champions were determined by historical research and retroactive ratings and polls.1907 poll results = Penn: Billingsley and Yale: Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis
Parke H. Davis
Parke Hill Davis was an American football player, coach and historian who retroactively named the national championship teams in American college football from the 1869 through the 1932 seasons. He also named co-national champions at the conclusion of the 1933 season...
1904 poll results = Penn: Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis and Michigan: Billingsley, National Championship Foundation