George W. Gregory
Encyclopedia
George W. "Dad" Gregory (April 19, 1879 – September 6, 1946) was an American football
player, coach and lawyer. He was the starting center
for the University of Michigan
's "Point-a-Minute" football teams of 1901, 1902 and 1903. He was the only player to start all 22 games for the 1901
and 1902 teams
that compiled a record of 22-0 and outscored opponents 1,194 to 12. Michigan's football team was recognized as national champions
for each of the three years in which Gregory was the starting center. After receiving his law degree from Michigan, Gregory moved to Seattle, Washington
, where he was one of the founders of the Karr & Gregory law firm. He also served as the head football coach at Kenyon College
during the 1905 football season.
, Placer County, California
with his parents and three older sisters, Alameda, Cora and Louise.
In 1900, Gregory was living in Redding, California
with his uncle, George Groves, who was a hotel-keeper. Gregory worked as a clerk in his uncle's hotel.
In 1900, Gregory enrolled at Stanford University
as a law student. While at Stanford, he played football under head coach Fielding H. Yost in the fall of 1900. In 1901, Coach Yost accepted the position as head football coach at the University of Michigan
. Pressure was placed on Gregory to remain at Stanford, but he opted to move east with Coach Yost.
, receiving his law degree in 1904. While attending law school, he played college football
as the starting center
for Yost"s "Point-a-Minute" football teams. During Gregory's three years as the starting center, the team compiled a record of 33-0-1, outscored opponents 1,759 to 18, and has been recognized as a national championship team all three years. Gregory started 32 games at center for Michigan as follows:
During a 128–0 victory over Buffalo in 1901, Gregory reportedly asked for an opportunity to run the ball for a touchdown. In his history of the Michigan football program, Jim Cnockaert described the incident as follows:
A profile of Gregory in the 1903 University of Michigan yearbook noted:
Prior to the start of the 1903 season, press reports indicated that Gregory and halfback Willie Heston
, both of whom had come to Michigan from California with Coach Yost in 1901, might not return to the team. The Detroit Free Press
reported in early September 1903 that there was "a business chance beckoning rather strongly to both" and that the players were rumored to be in Detroit to meet with Coach Yost. In 1903, Gregory was identified as the distributor of "Hurry Up Yost Cigars" in advertising published in various University of Michigan publications.
Gregory was also a member of the Delta Chi
fraternity at Michigan.
in Ohio. One publication noted: "The College has secured as football coach 'Dad' Gregory, of the University of Michigan. He is a pupil of Yost's and teaches the latter's system here. A squad consisting of much better material and more of it than for years past is what Gregory has to work with. His tactics, though strict, are very well liked by the team, and the best possible work from all the men is the result." In his one season as the head coach at Kenyon, Gregory led the team to a 5-5 record. Highlights of the season included a 30-0 victory over Mt. Union and a 20-0 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.
wrote a letter to Sydney Peixotto, president of the Pacific Athletic Association, criticizing Coach Yost, who left Stanford for Michigan in 1901 and returned to the West Coast to defeat Stanford 49-0 in the 1902 Rose Bowl
. Jordan focused some of his attacks on Gregory, who had been a Stanford student and football player in 1900. Jordan's letter was published in the Los Angeles Times
under the headline, "Jordan's Information Peddled Second-Hand," and in The New York Times
under the headline, "Dr. Jordan Picks a New Victim." In the letter, Jordan accused Gregory of having accepted money to play football at Michigan and of having flunked out of Stanford. Jordan stated:
In a public response, Gregory angrily denied Jordan's allegations. Gregory stated:
Gregory also noted that Jordan was wrong in stating that he had not been allowed to play in intercollegiate football games at Stanford, noting that he had played in a game against Nevada. With respect to the claim of having been pressured to enter Michigan, Gregory added: "More pressure was brought to bear on me to re-enter Stanford than was ever used to make me enter Michigan."
At the time of the 1910, 1920, and 1930 United States Censuses, Gregory was living in Seattle with his wife, Kate. His occupation was listed as a lawyer in general practice. They had a son, George W. Gregory, Jr., in approximately 1912. In a draft registration card completed during World War I
, Gregory identified himself as a lawyer in business for himself with an office at 911 American Bank Building in Seattle. He was one of the founders of the Seattle law firm of Karr & Gregory.
In 1929, Gregory ran for a seat in the Washington State Senate from the 37th District.
Gregory died at Pierce County, Washington
, in September 1946.
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, coach and lawyer. He was the starting center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for 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...
's "Point-a-Minute" football teams of 1901, 1902 and 1903. He was the only player to start all 22 games for the 1901
1901 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1901 college football season. In their first year under new head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by the unprecedented total of 550...
and 1902 teams
1902 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1902 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1902 college football season. In their second year under head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by a combined score of 644 to...
that compiled a record of 22-0 and outscored opponents 1,194 to 12. Michigan's football team was recognized as national champions
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
for each of the three years in which Gregory was the starting center. After receiving his law degree from Michigan, Gregory moved to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, where he was one of the founders of the Karr & Gregory law firm. He also served as the head football coach at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
during the 1905 football season.
Early years
Gregory was born in California in May 1879. His father, Nathan Gregory, was an Indiana native and an engineer. His mother, Marietta Gregory, was also an Indiana native. At the time of the 1880 United States Census, Gregory at age one was living in LincolnLincoln, California
Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, United States located in the metropolitan area of Sacramento. The population was 42,819 at the 2010 census, with a growth rate of 282.1 percent since 2000 , making it the fastest growing city in the U.S...
, Placer County, California
Placer County, California
Placer County is a county located in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions of the U.S. state of California, in what is known as the Gold Country. It stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada border. Because of the expansion of the Greater Sacramento,...
with his parents and three older sisters, Alameda, Cora and Louise.
In 1900, Gregory was living in Redding, California
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
with his uncle, George Groves, who was a hotel-keeper. Gregory worked as a clerk in his uncle's hotel.
In 1900, Gregory enrolled 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...
as a law student. While at Stanford, he played football under head coach Fielding H. Yost in the fall of 1900. In 1901, Coach Yost accepted the position as head football coach at 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...
. Pressure was placed on Gregory to remain at Stanford, but he opted to move east with Coach Yost.
University of Michigan
In 1901, Gregory enrolled in law school at the University of MichiganUniversity 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...
, receiving his law degree in 1904. While attending law school, he played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
as the starting center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for Yost"s "Point-a-Minute" football teams. During Gregory's three years as the starting center, the team compiled a record of 33-0-1, outscored opponents 1,759 to 18, and has been recognized as a national championship team all three years. Gregory started 32 games at center for Michigan as follows:
- Gregory started all 11 games for the 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team1901 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1901 college football season. In their first year under new head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by the unprecedented total of 550...
that finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by a combined total of 550 to 0 and defeated StanfordStanford Cardinal footballThe 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...
, 49–0, in the 1902 Rose Bowl1902 Rose BowlOriginally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was first played on January 1, 1902 in Pasadena, California, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games.The inaugural game featured Fielding H...
, the first college football bowl gameBowl gameIn North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
ever played. The team has been recognized as national championsNCAA Division I FBS National Football ChampionshipA college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
by the Helms Athletic FoundationHelms Athletic FoundationThe Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
, the Houlgate System, and the National Championship Foundation. - Gregory also started all 11 games for the 1902 Michigan Wolverines football team1902 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 1902 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1902 college football season. In their second year under head coach Fielding H. Yost, Michigan finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by a combined score of 644 to...
that finished the season undefeated with an 11–0 record, outscored opponents by a combined 644 to 12, and became known as the second of Yost's famed "Point-a-Minute" teams. The 1902 team has been recognized as national champions by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic FoundationHelms Athletic FoundationThe Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation and Parke H. DavisParke H. DavisParke 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...
. Gregory was the only player to start all 22 games for Michigan's 1901 and 1902 national championship teams. - Gregory started 10 of the 12 games played by the 1903 Michigan Wolverines football team1903 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 1903 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1903 college football season. The team's head football coach was Fielding H. Yost...
that compiled a record of 11–0–1 and outscored its opponents 565–6. The 1903 team has been recognized as national champions by the National Championship Foundation.
During a 128–0 victory over Buffalo in 1901, Gregory reportedly asked for an opportunity to run the ball for a touchdown. In his history of the Michigan football program, Jim Cnockaert described the incident as follows:
"Dad Gregory, the team's center, complained at one point that everyone on the team had scored a touchdown in the game except him. Later, as the Wolverines closed in again on the goal line, [Boss] Weeks signaled for Gregory to line up in the backfield and promised to hand him the ball. Gregory plowed through the line and dove into the end zone, yelling, 'I'm over! I'm over!' However, Weeks played a trick on the play, pulling the ball away at the last second so that Gregory was not awarded the touchdown."
A profile of Gregory in the 1903 University of Michigan yearbook noted:
"While not an exceptionally heavy man, his build attracted early in the fall of 1901 ... Yost tried him at center and he developed rapidly. His weight is low down, giving him stability for that position. ... In nearly all the games of the past two seasons he has played against men who have outweighed him, but he has never failed to hold his own. He is aggressive from the start of the game to the call of time, but his aggressiveness never occasions any undue roughness. ... He is hard and muscular and his build is well adapted to any kind of heavy athletic work. Perhaps the greatest thing about Gregory is his accuracy in passing the ball. He keeps his head well and never allows anxiety or excitement to cause a bad pass. Whether it is the short pass to the quarterback or the long one to the fullback he is absolutely sure. ... Gregory and Ellsworth of Chicago divided honors for the All-Western eleven this year, but there is a disposition among Michigan students, however, to consider Gregory as the superior of any Western center."
Prior to the start of the 1903 season, press reports indicated that Gregory and halfback Willie Heston
Willie Heston
William Martin "Willie" Heston was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University in 1905 and North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now North...
, both of whom had come to Michigan from California with Coach Yost in 1901, might not return to the team. The Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
reported in early September 1903 that there was "a business chance beckoning rather strongly to both" and that the players were rumored to be in Detroit to meet with Coach Yost. In 1903, Gregory was identified as the distributor of "Hurry Up Yost Cigars" in advertising published in various University of Michigan publications.
Gregory was also a member of the Delta Chi
Delta Chi
Delta Chi or D-Chi is an international Greek letter college social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890,at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 29, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership social fraternity, eliminating the requirement for men...
fraternity at Michigan.
Football coach
In 1905, Gregory served as the head football coach at Kenyon CollegeKenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
in Ohio. One publication noted: "The College has secured as football coach 'Dad' Gregory, of the University of Michigan. He is a pupil of Yost's and teaches the latter's system here. A squad consisting of much better material and more of it than for years past is what Gregory has to work with. His tactics, though strict, are very well liked by the team, and the best possible work from all the men is the result." In his one season as the head coach at Kenyon, Gregory led the team to a 5-5 record. Highlights of the season included a 30-0 victory over Mt. Union and a 20-0 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.
David Starr Jordan controversy
On December 25, 1907, Stanford president David Starr JordanDavid Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
wrote a letter to Sydney Peixotto, president of the Pacific Athletic Association, criticizing Coach Yost, who left Stanford for Michigan in 1901 and returned to the West Coast to defeat Stanford 49-0 in the 1902 Rose Bowl
1902 Rose Bowl
Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was first played on January 1, 1902 in Pasadena, California, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games.The inaugural game featured Fielding H...
. Jordan focused some of his attacks on Gregory, who had been a Stanford student and football player in 1900. Jordan's letter was published in 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....
under the headline, "Jordan's Information Peddled Second-Hand," and in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
under the headline, "Dr. Jordan Picks a New Victim." In the letter, Jordan accused Gregory of having accepted money to play football at Michigan and of having flunked out of Stanford. Jordan stated:
"I referred to [Ralph] RoseRalph RoseRalph Waldo Rose was an American track and field athlete.He was born in Healdsburg, California....
's career at Michigan with that of Gregory and [Willie] HestonWillie HestonWilliam Martin "Willie" Heston was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University in 1905 and North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now North...
as illustrating the irregularities which were among the evils of football. Gregory, for example, was a special student – that is, one who had not passed the entrance examinations at Stanford. He was not allowed to play in any of the intercollegiate games, and, failing in his work, was dropped at Christmas. He went to Washburn School to make good his entrance requirements. While there an offer of $1,500 a year to begin with came from Yost through a local agent. Gregory accepted and went to Michigan, played a dozen or more games a year, and was graduated with his class – a singular fact in connection with his failure at Stanford. In going to Michigan he took with him no credits and no honorable dismissal."
In a public response, Gregory angrily denied Jordan's allegations. Gregory stated:
"I am tired of having David Starr Jordan ... brand me as a tramp athlete. I shall have to give him the lie when he says that I was offered $1500 by an agent of Coach Yost to enter Michigan. I neither received an offer direct or indirect from Yost nor any agent. I went to Michigan because several lawyers in my native town were graduates of that university and I always liked the place. I do not regret my choice. If President Jordan will talk facts rather than trash, he will change his attitude on my standing in college, so far as Michigan is concerned. At Stanford I was only a special and I do not deny that my work was not of a high order. At Michigan I never flunked during my entire course, and what the conditions were against me when I entered I made up by working hard in summer school. ... I owe it to Michigan and athletics in general to state definitely that I did not receive one cent in connection with athletics while I was in Michigan."
Gregory also noted that Jordan was wrong in stating that he had not been allowed to play in intercollegiate football games at Stanford, noting that he had played in a game against Nevada. With respect to the claim of having been pressured to enter Michigan, Gregory added: "More pressure was brought to bear on me to re-enter Stanford than was ever used to make me enter Michigan."
Law practice in Seattle
After graduating from Michigan, Gregory moved to Seattle where he began a law practice. In 1905, he also served as the coach of a football team in Seattle.At the time of the 1910, 1920, and 1930 United States Censuses, Gregory was living in Seattle with his wife, Kate. His occupation was listed as a lawyer in general practice. They had a son, George W. Gregory, Jr., in approximately 1912. In a draft registration card completed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Gregory identified himself as a lawyer in business for himself with an office at 911 American Bank Building in Seattle. He was one of the founders of the Seattle law firm of Karr & Gregory.
In 1929, Gregory ran for a seat in the Washington State Senate from the 37th District.
Gregory died at Pierce County, Washington
Pierce County, Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
, in September 1946.