Gus Welch
Encyclopedia
Gustavius A. "Gus" Welch (1892–1970) was a American football
and lacrosse
coach and sports figure in the United States.
. He attended the Carlisle Indian School, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
and graduated in 1911. Gus was one of Carlisle's first honor students. While at Carlisle, Welch was the quarterback
for the schools football team, that featured Jim Thorpe
and was coached by Glenn "Pop" Warner
. He was a member of the USA Track and Field team during the 1912 Summer Olympics
, although an illness prevented him from competing. After 1912, Welch played professional football for the Canton Bulldogs
, coached by Thorpe. In 1917, Welch graduated from the Dickinson School of Law
.
during World War I as a Second Lieutenant, 808th Pioneer Infantry, under John J. Pershing
. During his time in the military he achieved the rank of captain. He left the service in 1919.
coach for the Washington State University Cougars
located in Pullman, Washington
and he held that position for four seasons, from 1919 until 1922.
His coaching record at Washington State was 16 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him tenth at Washington State in total wins and 13th at Washington State in winning percentage (0.611).
From 1923 to 1929, he was the athletic director and head football coach at Randolph Macon College. From 1930 to 1934, he served as the head lacrosse
coach at Virginia
. From 1937 to 1938, he served as head football coach at American University
where he compiled an overall record of two wins, ten losses and one tie. From 1938 until 1940, Welch served as the Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach at Haskell Indian Nations University
, located in Lawrence, Kansas
. Afterwards he served as the Head Coach at Georgetown Prep School.
During World War II was in charge of Physical Fitness at Georgetown University; and by 1947 taught physical education at Lyndon Hill Junior High School, located in Prince George County, Virginia
.
, which he operated during the next 30 summers as Camp Kewanzee for young people. In 1939, some of his land was condemned by the US Department of the Interior to extend the Blue Ridge National Park, a seizure Welch fought vigorously. He then purchased a farm near Bedford, Virginia
, and continued to work with young athletes. Gus finally served as Athletic Director at American University
in Washington, D.C. prior to his 1970 death.
College Football Hall of Fame
. In the late 1960s, Welch's help was sought by both the Jim Thorpe Project of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the Jim Thorpe Athletic Award Committee of Yale, Oklahoma
.
. A Chickasaw
, Carter descended from David Carter, a white man captured in Connecticut
and raised as an Indian who elected to remain with them as an adult, married an Indian woman, and for a time edited The Phoenix, an Indian newspaper. The Welchs had no children but adopted a niece, Serena, who became the model for the figure portrayed on the canning labels of Pocahontas Foods.
Carter's family was also close to Vinnie Ream
, after whom Vinita, Oklahoma
is named. Ream became a sculptor of several statues in Washington, D.C., including one of Abraham Lincoln
placed in the United States Capitol rotunda
.
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...
and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
coach and sports figure in the United States.
Early life
Welch was a full-blood Chippewa born in Spooner, WisconsinSpooner, Wisconsin
Spooner is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,653 at the 2000 census. The city is located mostly within the southwest corner of the Town of Spooner, with a small portion extending into the Town of Beaver Brook on the south, the Town of Bashaw on the southwest,...
. He attended the Carlisle Indian School, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
and graduated in 1911. Gus was one of Carlisle's first honor students. While at Carlisle, Welch was the 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...
for the schools football team, that featured Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
and was coached by Glenn "Pop" Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
. He was a member of the USA Track and Field team during the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
, although an illness prevented him from competing. After 1912, Welch played professional football for the Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
, coached by Thorpe. In 1917, Welch graduated from the Dickinson School of Law
Dickinson School of Law
Penn State University Dickinson School of Law is the law school of The Pennsylvania State University...
.
Military
In 1917, he entered the American Expeditionary ForceAmerican Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
during World War I as a Second Lieutenant, 808th Pioneer Infantry, under John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
. During his time in the military he achieved the rank of captain. He left the service in 1919.
Coaching history
Welch was the 15th head college footballCollege 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...
coach for the Washington State University Cougars
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University; the term applies to any of the school's varsity teams. Washington State University is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, which participates in the NCAA Division I...
located in Pullman, Washington
Pullman, Washington
Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census and 29,799 according to the 2010 census...
and he held that position for four seasons, from 1919 until 1922.
His coaching record at Washington State was 16 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him tenth at Washington State in total wins and 13th at Washington State in winning percentage (0.611).
From 1923 to 1929, he was the athletic director and head football coach at Randolph Macon College. From 1930 to 1934, he served as the head lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
coach at Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. From 1937 to 1938, he served as head football coach at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
where he compiled an overall record of two wins, ten losses and one tie. From 1938 until 1940, Welch served as the Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach at Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
, located in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. Afterwards he served as the Head Coach at Georgetown Prep School.
During World War II was in charge of Physical Fitness at Georgetown University; and by 1947 taught physical education at Lyndon Hill Junior High School, located in Prince George County, Virginia
Prince George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
.
Camps
In 1929, Welch purchased a boy's camp near the Peaks of the Otter in Bedford County, VirginiaBedford County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 60,371 people, 23,838 households, and 18,164 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile . There were 26,841 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile...
, which he operated during the next 30 summers as Camp Kewanzee for young people. In 1939, some of his land was condemned by the US Department of the Interior to extend the Blue Ridge National Park, a seizure Welch fought vigorously. He then purchased a farm near Bedford, Virginia
Bedford, Virginia
Bedford is an independent city located within the confines of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 6,222. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bedford with surrounding Bedford...
, and continued to work with young athletes. Gus finally served as Athletic Director at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in Washington, D.C. prior to his 1970 death.
Honors
In 1973, Welch was named to the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame and in 1975 to National Football Foundation'sNational Football Foundation
The National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...
College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. In the late 1960s, Welch's help was sought by both the Jim Thorpe Project of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the Jim Thorpe Athletic Award Committee of Yale, Oklahoma
Yale, Oklahoma
Yale is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,342 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Yale is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....
.
Family
In 1923, Welch married Julia Carter, daughter of Charles David Carter, Oklahoma Congressman from Boggy DepotBoggy Depot, Oklahoma
Boggy Depot is a ghost town and Oklahoma State Park that was formerly a significant city in the Indian Territory. It grew as a vibrant and thriving town in present day Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States and became a major trading center on the Texas Road and the Butterfield Overland Mail route...
. A Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, Carter descended from David Carter, a white man captured in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and raised as an Indian who elected to remain with them as an adult, married an Indian woman, and for a time edited The Phoenix, an Indian newspaper. The Welchs had no children but adopted a niece, Serena, who became the model for the figure portrayed on the canning labels of Pocahontas Foods.
Carter's family was also close to Vinnie Ream
Vinnie Ream
Lavinia Ellen Ream Hoxie was an American sculptor. Her most famous work was the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.-Early life:...
, after whom Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita is a city in south-central Craig County, Oklahoma. As of 2009, the population estimate was 6,057. It is the county seat of Craig County.-Geography:...
is named. Ream became a sculptor of several statues in Washington, D.C., including one of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
placed in the United States Capitol rotunda
United States Capitol Rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...
.