William Julius Champion Jr
Encyclopedia
William "Willie" Julius Champion Jr., was born on June 15, 1880, in Trinidad, Colorado
, and is best known for inventing Kalah
, a game in the Mancala
family.
to US Civil War veteran William Julius Champion Sr. and Elvira Hellen Gammons, a descendant of Mayflower
passenger Thomas Rogers
. Willie married Alice Viola Brown on June 15, 1908 in Boston, Massachusetts. He died on February 12, 1972.
in the class of 1905 after walking from his childhood home in White Cloud, Michigan
to Yale's campus in New Haven, Connecticut
(over 850 miles), and "earning all of his expenses" as he put it. His major was Geology
. The jobs he worked to pay for school included a sales agent for the Saturday Evening Post and a summer on the road with the Barnum and Bailey Circus (which later became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
and the Champion Lead
Mine in Niranda, Ontario Canada
. A local newspaper obituary called him a "radio pioneer" saying that after graduating from Yale William moved to the Boston area and went to work with Lee DeForest, inventor of the vacuum tube
and goes on to say that he "helped setup and operate Boston's first radio transmitters".
and worked for years to popularize the game in the United States. He long held that the game has intrisic educational value and held other benefits as well. Family history has it that in 1910 Willie first read about ancient games like Kalah. He started manufacturing Kalah game sets in Mystic, Connecticut
about 1940 and later in Salem, Massachusetts
, Brockton, Massachusetts
and finally Holbrook, Massachusetts
, in around 1960.
Trinidad, Colorado
The historic City of Trinidad is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States...
, and is best known for inventing Kalah
Kalah
Kalah, also called Kalaha or Mancala, is a game in the mancala family invented by William Julius Champion Jr in 1940. This game heavily favors the starting player, who will always win the three-seed to six-seed versions with perfect play...
, a game in the Mancala
Mancala
Mancala is a family of board games played around the world, sometimes called "sowing" games, or "count-and-capture" games, which describes the game-play. Mancala games play a role in many African and some Asian societies comparable to that of chess in the West, or the game of Go in Eastern Asia...
family.
Early Life and Family
William Julius Champion Jr. was born on June 15, 1880 in Trinidad, ColoradoTrinidad, Colorado
The historic City of Trinidad is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States...
to US Civil War veteran William Julius Champion Sr. and Elvira Hellen Gammons, a descendant of Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
passenger Thomas Rogers
Thomas Rogers (Mayflower Pilgrim)
Thomas Rogers, a Mayflower Pilgrim and one of forty-one signatories of the Mayflower Compact, was among those who did not survive that first harsh Plymouth, Massachusetts winter of 1620-1621....
. Willie married Alice Viola Brown on June 15, 1908 in Boston, Massachusetts. He died on February 12, 1972.
Education
Champion graduated Cum Laude from Yale UniversityYale 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...
in the class of 1905 after walking from his childhood home in White Cloud, Michigan
White Cloud, Michigan
White Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,408. It is the county seat of Newaygo County.-Geography:...
to Yale's campus in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
(over 850 miles), and "earning all of his expenses" as he put it. His major was Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. The jobs he worked to pay for school included a sales agent for the Saturday Evening Post and a summer on the road with the Barnum and Bailey Circus (which later became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
Professional life
Willie experienced wild swings in fortune throughout his long life. In addition to various business ventures and investments he held full or partial interest in a gold mine in ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and the Champion Lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
Mine in Niranda, Ontario Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. A local newspaper obituary called him a "radio pioneer" saying that after graduating from Yale William moved to the Boston area and went to work with Lee DeForest, inventor of the vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
and goes on to say that he "helped setup and operate Boston's first radio transmitters".
Kalah
Champion truly loved the ancient board game of KalahKalah
Kalah, also called Kalaha or Mancala, is a game in the mancala family invented by William Julius Champion Jr in 1940. This game heavily favors the starting player, who will always win the three-seed to six-seed versions with perfect play...
and worked for years to popularize the game in the United States. He long held that the game has intrisic educational value and held other benefits as well. Family history has it that in 1910 Willie first read about ancient games like Kalah. He started manufacturing Kalah game sets in Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
about 1940 and later in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...
and finally Holbrook, Massachusetts
Holbrook, Massachusetts
Holbrook is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2010 census, the town population was 10,791.- History :Before European settlement, the area now known as Holbrook, Massachusetts, like all of New England, had long been inhabited by Algonquian-speaking peoples.Holbrook was...
, in around 1960.