Edward Moulton
Encyclopedia
Edward W. "Dad" Moulton (1849 – July 19, 1922) was an American sprinter, athletic trainer, and coach. He was a professional sprinter who won more than 300 races and was regarded as the American sprinting champion from 1872 to 1878. Moulton later worked as a trainer of sprinters, wrestlers, boxers, and bicyclists. He trained many well-known track and field athletes from the 1880s through the 1910s, including the original "world's fastest human," Al Tharnish
, and Olympic medalists Alvin Kraenzlein
(four gold medals in 1900), Charlie Paddock
(two gold medals and one silver in 1920), Morris Kirksey
(one gold and one silver in 1920), George Horine
(bronze medal in 1912), and Feg Murray (bronze medal in 1920).
In the 1890s, Moulton was also employed as a trainer and coach of American football
, including one year as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota
. Moulton also coached athletics and worked as a trainer at other schools, including the University of Michigan
, the University of Iowa
, and the University of Wisconsin
. He spent most of the last 22 years of his life working as a coach and trainer of track and field, football and baseball at Stanford University
.
, Minnesota
, now part of Minneapolis
. He was reported to be "the second white boy born in the place". During the American Civil War
, he enlisted in the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment
at age 14 or 15. He participated in Sherman's March to the Sea
and later became a scout and participated in "skirmishes" with the Indians during a mission blazing a trail to Helena, Montana
.
Moulton was considered the American sprinting champion from 1872 to 1878. According to one account, he won 303 consecutive races. According to another account, he lost only four of 306 contests in which he entered.
, who became known in the 1880s as the "world's fastest human." In 1971, Sports Illustrated
published a feature story on Tharnish. According to the article, Moulton discovered Tharnish performing in a circus and persuaded him to leave the circus. There were no open track-and-field events in the 1880s, and Tharnish ran in college meets, professional races and head-to-head challenges. According the 1971 Sports Illustrated story, "For four years Tharnish and Moulton were never in a town longer than two days, but during that time they managed to clean the local sports of money, medals and most of the simpler satisfactions of winning."
Over the next four decades, Moulton also trained other well-known track and field stars, including world champion sprinter Harry M. Johnson, Sheffield handicap champion James "Cuckoo" Collins, Olympic gold medalists Alvin Kraenzlein
and Charlie Paddock
, and University of Wisconsin sprinter James Maybury. He also performed on the vaudeville circuit with a trained dog act.
. The 1891 squad compiled a record of 3–1–1, including wins over Wisconsin
(26–12) and Iowa (42–4). From 1892 to 1893, Moulton was affiliated with the University of Iowa
. While at Iowa, he trained John V. Crum. In 1893, Moulton served as the trainer for the 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
that compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102. In 1894, he trained the University of Iowa football team. In 1895, Moulton returned to the University of Minnesota as the trainer for the football team during the 1895 and 1896 seasons. He also coached sprinter John V. Crum in 1895; Crum won the intercollegiate championship in the 100-yard and 220-yard sprints. In January 1897, Moulton was hired as the track and field coach at the University of Wisconsin. Moulton also reportedly worked as a trainer at the University of Missouri
, Vanderbilt University
, and Notre Dame University.
in approximately 1900. He also began training the track and baseball teams in approximately 1902. From 1903 to 1913 and again in 1916, Moulton was Stanford's track coach. In 1905, he rejected offers from Eastern universities, including Yale, to become a trainer at those institutions. He survived a bout with typhoid fever in 1910. Moulton transformed Stanford into one of the country's leading track and field programs. The track stars developed by Moulton at Stanford include Morris Kirksey
(silver medalist in the 100-meter dash at the 1920 Olympics), Norman Dole (set world record in the pole vault in 1904), George Horine
(bronze medalist in the high jump at the 1912 Olympics), Fred Crawford, Feg Murray (bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1920 Olympics), Leland Scott (pole vaulter), and the Templeton brothers (Rick and Dink).
In 1907, Moulton signed a four-year contract with Stanford at a salary of $1,800 per year. In 1911, he signed a three-year contract at a salary of $2,000 per year. When the 1911 contract was announced, the Los Angeles Times
reported, "Although Stanford did not have a successful year in athletics, from the standpoint of victories, 'Dad' is just as popular as ever among the students. He is a fixture at Stanford." However, by the summer of 1912, the Los Angeles Times reported that students had concluded that greater success could be achieved with a younger trainer, although Moulton would likely be permitted to remain at Stanford for as long as he wished. With the exception of a year in 1915 when Moulton worked on the Panama–Pacific International Exposition
, Moulton remained affiliated with Stanford until his death in 1922.
Moulton also won acclaim as a designer and builder of tracks. He built the tracks used for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition and managed the track during the exposition. He also built tracks at Stanford University, University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee, University of Wisconsin, Manchester, England, Notre Dame, Willamette College
, and Pacific University
.
The Stanford Archives maintains two scrapbooks maintained by Moulton. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, flyers and letters documenting Moulton's career as an athlete and coach and concerning his trained dog vaudeville act.
, with his wife Ida, a Minnesota native who was 26 years younger than Moulton, and their adopted son Edwin, who was born in approximately 1906. His occupation was listed as an athletic trainer. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Moulton was still living in Palo Alto with his wife Ida and son Edwin. His occupation at that time was listed as a custodian. Moulton died in July 1922 at his home in Palo Alto. He was survived by his wife and son. He was reportedly in good health up to the day of his death when an "attack of indigestion caused heart dilation".
Al Tharnish
Eli Albert Tharnish was an American runner known for foot racing and was the first to be called "The World's Fastest Man"....
, and Olympic medalists Alvin Kraenzlein
Alvin Kraenzlein
Alvin Christian Kraenzlein was an American athlete. He was the first sportsman to win four Olympic titles in a single Olympic Games...
(four gold medals in 1900), Charlie Paddock
Charlie Paddock
Charles "Charlie" William Paddock was an American athlete and twofold Olympic champion.After serving in World War I as a lieutenant of field artillery in the U.S. Marines, Paddock - a native of Gainesville, Texas - studied at the University of Southern California...
(two gold medals and one silver in 1920), Morris Kirksey
Morris Kirksey
Morris Marshall Kirksey was an American track and field athlete and rugby union footballer who won two gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics...
(one gold and one silver in 1920), George Horine
George Horine
George Leslie Horine was an American athlete who mainly competed in the high jump.He was born in Escondido, California and died in Modesto, California....
(bronze medal in 1912), and Feg Murray (bronze medal in 1920).
In the 1890s, Moulton was also employed as a trainer and coach of American football
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...
, including one year as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Moulton also coached athletics and worked as a trainer at other schools, including 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...
, the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, and the University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He spent most of the last 22 years of his life working as a coach and trainer of track and field, football and baseball at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Early years
Moulton was born in 1848 or 1849 at Saint Anthony FallsSaint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, now part of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. He was reported to be "the second white boy born in the place". During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he enlisted in the 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment
1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery Regiment
The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Heavy Artillery Regiment was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 1st Minnesota Heavy Artillery mustered in at St. Paul, and Rochester, Minnesota, between November 1864 and February 1865...
at age 14 or 15. He participated in Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
and later became a scout and participated in "skirmishes" with the Indians during a mission blazing a trail to Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
.
Professional sprinter
Moulton developed a reputation as a foot racer while living on the frontier, and later became a professional sprinter. It was while working in the west as a scout that Moulton's talent as a sprinter was discovered. One published story recounts the circumstance as follows:One morning ... a young buffalo was sighted and because the horses were all picketed, the plainsmen were forced to give chase on foot. Moulton outdistanced them all, gained two hundred yards on the buffalo, no doubt very tired from trailing its herd, and succeeded in shooting it down. Thereafter, his name was a by-word on the plains. He did not lose a race that year.
Moulton was considered the American sprinting champion from 1872 to 1878. According to one account, he won 303 consecutive races. According to another account, he lost only four of 306 contests in which he entered.
Early years as a trainer
After retiring as a sprinter, Moulton worked as a trainer of sprinters, wrestlers, boxers, and bicyclists. He trained 11 volunteer fireman's hose teams that won nine state championships. He first won acclaim as the trainer for Al TharnishAl Tharnish
Eli Albert Tharnish was an American runner known for foot racing and was the first to be called "The World's Fastest Man"....
, who became known in the 1880s as the "world's fastest human." In 1971, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
published a feature story on Tharnish. According to the article, Moulton discovered Tharnish performing in a circus and persuaded him to leave the circus. There were no open track-and-field events in the 1880s, and Tharnish ran in college meets, professional races and head-to-head challenges. According the 1971 Sports Illustrated story, "For four years Tharnish and Moulton were never in a town longer than two days, but during that time they managed to clean the local sports of money, medals and most of the simpler satisfactions of winning."
Over the next four decades, Moulton also trained other well-known track and field stars, including world champion sprinter Harry M. Johnson, Sheffield handicap champion James "Cuckoo" Collins, Olympic gold medalists Alvin Kraenzlein
Alvin Kraenzlein
Alvin Christian Kraenzlein was an American athlete. He was the first sportsman to win four Olympic titles in a single Olympic Games...
and Charlie Paddock
Charlie Paddock
Charles "Charlie" William Paddock was an American athlete and twofold Olympic champion.After serving in World War I as a lieutenant of field artillery in the U.S. Marines, Paddock - a native of Gainesville, Texas - studied at the University of Southern California...
, and University of Wisconsin sprinter James Maybury. He also performed on the vaudeville circuit with a trained dog act.
Midwestern universities
During the 1890s, Moulton became involved in training and coaching football teams. In 1891, Moulton was the trainer and head coach of the football team at the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. The 1891 squad compiled a record of 3–1–1, including wins over Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
(26–12) and Iowa (42–4). From 1892 to 1893, Moulton was affiliated with the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. While at Iowa, he trained John V. Crum. In 1893, Moulton served as the trainer for the 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1893 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102...
that compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102. In 1894, he trained the University of Iowa football team. In 1895, Moulton returned to the University of Minnesota as the trainer for the football team during the 1895 and 1896 seasons. He also coached sprinter John V. Crum in 1895; Crum won the intercollegiate championship in the 100-yard and 220-yard sprints. In January 1897, Moulton was hired as the track and field coach at the University of Wisconsin. Moulton also reportedly worked as a trainer at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, and Notre Dame University.
Stanford
Moulton was hired as the trainer of the Stanford football teamStanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
in approximately 1900. He also began training the track and baseball teams in approximately 1902. From 1903 to 1913 and again in 1916, Moulton was Stanford's track coach. In 1905, he rejected offers from Eastern universities, including Yale, to become a trainer at those institutions. He survived a bout with typhoid fever in 1910. Moulton transformed Stanford into one of the country's leading track and field programs. The track stars developed by Moulton at Stanford include Morris Kirksey
Morris Kirksey
Morris Marshall Kirksey was an American track and field athlete and rugby union footballer who won two gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics...
(silver medalist in the 100-meter dash at the 1920 Olympics), Norman Dole (set world record in the pole vault in 1904), George Horine
George Horine
George Leslie Horine was an American athlete who mainly competed in the high jump.He was born in Escondido, California and died in Modesto, California....
(bronze medalist in the high jump at the 1912 Olympics), Fred Crawford, Feg Murray (bronze medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1920 Olympics), Leland Scott (pole vaulter), and the Templeton brothers (Rick and Dink).
In 1907, Moulton signed a four-year contract with Stanford at a salary of $1,800 per year. In 1911, he signed a three-year contract at a salary of $2,000 per year. When the 1911 contract was announced, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported, "Although Stanford did not have a successful year in athletics, from the standpoint of victories, 'Dad' is just as popular as ever among the students. He is a fixture at Stanford." However, by the summer of 1912, the Los Angeles Times reported that students had concluded that greater success could be achieved with a younger trainer, although Moulton would likely be permitted to remain at Stanford for as long as he wished. With the exception of a year in 1915 when Moulton worked on the Panama–Pacific International Exposition
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
, Moulton remained affiliated with Stanford until his death in 1922.
Moulton also won acclaim as a designer and builder of tracks. He built the tracks used for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition and managed the track during the exposition. He also built tracks at Stanford University, University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee, University of Wisconsin, Manchester, England, Notre Dame, Willamette College
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
, and Pacific University
Pacific University
Pacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...
.
The Stanford Archives maintains two scrapbooks maintained by Moulton. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, flyers and letters documenting Moulton's career as an athlete and coach and concerning his trained dog vaudeville act.
Family and death
At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Moulton was living in Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, with his wife Ida, a Minnesota native who was 26 years younger than Moulton, and their adopted son Edwin, who was born in approximately 1906. His occupation was listed as an athletic trainer. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Moulton was still living in Palo Alto with his wife Ida and son Edwin. His occupation at that time was listed as a custodian. Moulton died in July 1922 at his home in Palo Alto. He was survived by his wife and son. He was reportedly in good health up to the day of his death when an "attack of indigestion caused heart dilation".