William G. Kline
Encyclopedia
William Gordon Kline was an American college football
, baseball
and basketball
coach. At different times, Kline served as the head coach
of the Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
, basketball and football
teams, as well as the Florida Gators baseball
, basketball
and football
teams.
in 1882, and graduated from Amboy High School in Amboy, Illinois
. He attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he played halfback
for the Illinois Fighting Illini football
team and was also a hurdler for the Illini track & field team. He graduated with a bachelor of arts
degree in literature and arts in 1906.
at the former Hedding College
in Abingdon, Illinois
from 1908 to 1911. From 1911 to 1918, he was the athletic director
at Nebraska Wesleyan University
in Lincoln, Nebraska
. He attended law school
at the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
in 1917, and earned a bachelor of laws
degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
In 1918, Kline was a professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and he became the head coach
of the war-time depleted Nebraska Cornhuskers football
team. Because of World War I
and the 1918 influenza pandemic, the 1918 Huskers did not play their usual Missouri Valley Conference
schedule, and, in fact, played the teams from two military training installations. Kline's Huskers posted a 2–3–1 record. The highlight of his season coaching Nebraska came when the Huskers played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
team to a scoreless tie.
From 1919 to 1923, Kline was a law professor at the University of Florida
College of Law
in Gainesville, Florida
, while also serving as the head coach of the Florida Gators football
team in 1920, 1921 and 1922. While teaching U.S. Constitutional Law, Federal Procedure and Bankruptcy, and several other commercial law classes, he compiled a 19–8–2 record in three seasons as the Gators football coach. During his time at Florida, he also coached the Gators baseball
team for one 4–10 season in 1921, and the Gators basketball
team from 1920 to 1922, tallying an overall record in two seasons of 10–11.
In 1923, he returned to the University of Nebraska, where he became the Cornhuskers basketball
coach and compiled a 23–12 record in his two seasons there, finishing third and second in the conference standings. In 1924 and 1925, he also coached the Cornhuskers baseball
team, and posted an 18–15 record.
Kline wrote several sports-related books, including The All-American Football Coaching Course (1929), The Varsity Football Play Set (1933), The All-America Basketball Coaching Course (1933), and Football for Fans (1934).
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...
, baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
and basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach. At different times, Kline served as the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team is a member of the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA, and is currently coached by Darin Erstad. The program started in 1889....
, basketball and football
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
teams, as well as the Florida Gators baseball
Florida Gators baseball
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. The Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association , and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . They play their home games in Alfred A...
, basketball
Florida Gators men's basketball
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Southeastern Conference...
and football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
teams.
Early life
Kline was born in Salem, IllinoisSalem, Illinois
Salem is a city located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Marion County. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census.Salem is the birthplace of William Jennings Bryan and his brother vice presidential candidate Charles W. Bryan, the G. I. Bill of Rights, and Miracle Whip salad...
in 1882, and graduated from Amboy High School in Amboy, Illinois
Amboy, Illinois
Amboy is a city in Lee County, Illinois, along the Green River. The population was 2,561 at the 2000 census. The chain of Carson Pirie Scott & Co. began in Amboy when Samuel Carson opened his first dry goods store there in 1854...
. He attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
for the Illinois Fighting Illini football
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
team and was also a hurdler for the Illini track & field team. He graduated with a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in literature and arts in 1906.
Professor, coach and author
Kline was a professorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the former Hedding College
Hedding College
Hedding College was a college in Abingdon, Illinois from 1855-1927.The school was named after Methodist Bishop Elizah Hedding. Merged with Illinois Wesleyan University in 1930. The campus was used by the Roosevelt Military Academy for a while....
in Abingdon, Illinois
Abingdon, Illinois
Abingdon is a city in Knox County, Illinois, 50 miles west of Peoria. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city was first settled in 1828 and was incorporated in 1857. In 1894, the patent for the common spring-loaded mousetrap was given to William Hooker of Abingdon,...
from 1908 to 1911. From 1911 to 1918, he was the athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education....
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. He attended law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
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...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
in 1917, and earned a bachelor of laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
In 1918, Kline was a professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and he became the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the war-time depleted Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
team. Because of 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...
and the 1918 influenza pandemic, the 1918 Huskers did not play their usual Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...
schedule, and, in fact, played the teams from two military training installations. Kline's Huskers posted a 2–3–1 record. The highlight of his season coaching Nebraska came when the Huskers played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
team to a scoreless tie.
From 1919 to 1923, Kline was a law professor at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
College of Law
Levin College of Law
The Fredric G. Levin College of Law is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida.-History:The College of Law was founded in 1909. It was first housed in Thomas Hall, and then in Bryan Hall from 1914 to 1969...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, while also serving as the head coach of the Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team in 1920, 1921 and 1922. While teaching U.S. Constitutional Law, Federal Procedure and Bankruptcy, and several other commercial law classes, he compiled a 19–8–2 record in three seasons as the Gators football coach. During his time at Florida, he also coached the Gators baseball
Florida Gators baseball
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. The Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association , and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . They play their home games in Alfred A...
team for one 4–10 season in 1921, and the Gators basketball
Florida Gators men's basketball
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1920 to 1922, tallying an overall record in two seasons of 10–11.
In 1923, he returned to the University of Nebraska, where he became the Cornhuskers basketball
Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college basketball. The program saw its first game in 1896 playing 7-on-7 basketball. The first collegiate game was against Nebraska Wesleyan University...
coach and compiled a 23–12 record in his two seasons there, finishing third and second in the conference standings. In 1924 and 1925, he also coached the Cornhuskers baseball
Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball
The Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team is a member of the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA, and is currently coached by Darin Erstad. The program started in 1889....
team, and posted an 18–15 record.
Kline wrote several sports-related books, including The All-American Football Coaching Course (1929), The Varsity Football Play Set (1933), The All-America Basketball Coaching Course (1933), and Football for Fans (1934).
Football
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1920–1929
- History of the University of FloridaHistory of the University of FloridaThe history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...
- List of Florida Gators head football coaches
- List of University of Florida faculty and administrators
- List of University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign people
- Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska CornhuskersThe Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...
- University Athletic AssociationUniversity of Florida Athletic AssociationThe University Athletic Association, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for maintaining the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports program of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...