John Wilce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Date of birth | May 12, 1888 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Rochester, New York | |
| Date of death | May 17, 1963 | |
| Sport | American football | |
| Coaching Stats | College Football DataWarehouse | |
| School as a player | ||
| 1907-1909 | University of Wisconsin | |
| Schools as a coach | ||
| 1911-1912 1913-1928 |
University of Wisconsin The Ohio State University |
|
| College Football Hall of Fame, 1954 | ||
John Woodworth Wilce (May 12, 1888 — May 17, 1963) was a coach of American football at the Ohio State University, a physician, and a university professor.
Wilce was born in Rochester, New York. He lettered in three sports while attending the University of Wisconsin, was an all-conference fullback and captain of the 1909 team. Following his graduation Wilce coached the La Crosse, Wisconsin, High School football team, then became both an assistant football coach and assistant professor of physical education at Wisconsin.
In 1913 Ohio State began play in the Western Conference (later the Big Ten Conference) and hired Wilce as its full-time head coach. He won Ohio State's first conference championship in 1916 with a 7-0 record, and repeated in 1917 (8-0-1), and in 1920 (7-1), a year which also saw Ohio State's first invitation to the Rose Bowl.
Wilce coached Ohio State football for sixteen seasons, the second longest tenure in Buckeye history after Woody Hayes, with an overall record of 78 wins, 33 losses, and 9 ties. In 1919 he received his medical degree and he retired from football after the 1928 season to practice medicine. Dr. Wilce was a professor of preventive medicine at the Ohio State College of Medicine, specializing in research and treatment of heart diseases, and also served as Director of Student Health Services from 1929 to 1958. The John W. Wilce Student Health Center, built in 1969, is named for Dr. Wilce.
In 1954 Dr. Wilce was selected for enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame and was elected a member of the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1977. His academic honors include the Ohio State Distinguished Service Award in 1956. He died on May 17, 1963, in the Columbus suburb of Westerville, Ohio.
Of his departure from coaching he was quoted: "Football was becoming too much of a business. The game was being taken away from the boys. I was a faculty-type coach who believed educational aspects were more important than winning games."
Dr. Wilce's grandson, Dr. James Maclynn Wilce, Jr., is a successful linguistic anthropologist (see linguistic anthropology), author, and professor at Northern Arizona University.
[edit] Sources
- Park, Jack; The Official OHIO STATE Football Encyclopedia (2002), Sports Publishing L.L.C., ISBN 1-58261-006-1
- College Football Hall of Fame
- Wilce Student Health Center
- Dr. James M. Wilce, Jr.
[edit] Links
| Preceded by: John R. Richards |
Ohio State Buckeyes Head Football Coaches 1913-1928 |
Succeeded by: Samuel S. Willaman |
| Ohio State Buckeyes Head Football Coaches |
|---|
| Lilley • Ryder • Hickey • Edwards • Eckstorm • Hale • Sweetland • Herrnstein • Jones • Vaughn • Richards • Wilce • Willaman • Schmidt • Brown • Widdoes • Bixler • Fesler • Hayes • Bruce • Cooper • Tressel |
