Sam Willaman

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Samuel S. Willaman (born Salem, Ohio, 1891 - died Cleveland, Ohio, 1935) was an American football player and coach. He was head coach for the Iowa State Cyclones, where he integrated the team by playing Jack Trice, and for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

[edit] Football playing career

In college, Willaman played for Ohio State at end, halfback, and fullback. He lettered in 1911 and 1913. In 1913 he was named All-Ohio. In 1921 he was selected to the Ohio State football all-time team at second-team halfback (behind Chic Harley and Pete Stinchcomb).

After graduating from Ohio State in 1915, Willaman became a high school football head coach. He had earlier coached at a high school in Alliance, Ohio, and in 1915 he was hired as head coach at Cleveland's East Technical High School. At this time he also began playing halfback for Peggy Parratt's Akron/Cleveland Indians football team. Playing professional football was not forbidden in Willaman's East Tech contract, but playing football for money was frowned upon at the time in academic circles. For this reason Willaman played professionally under the name Sam Williams.

In 1917 Willaman joined the Canton Bulldogs, where he played with Jim Thorpe. In Canton WIllaman moved to end, the position where he had started his college playing career. He was also Thorpe's backup at halfback. The 1917 Bulldogs finished the season 9-1 and were named champions of professional football.

[edit] Football coaching career

World War I disrupted professional football, and Willaman began focusing primarily on coaching. His success at East Tech caught the attention of colleges. In 1922 he took the head coaching position at Iowa State. At the time Willaman came to Iowa State, the school had not had much success in football; they had employed three head coaches in the prior three years. In his first season, Willaman's team finished with a 2-6 record, but posted a winning record in each of the three years that followed.

Willaman brought six of his East Tech players with him to Iowa State, including an African American named Jack Trice. Trice was the first African-American player at Iowa State, and one of the first to play college football in that region of the country. Trice suffered a severe injury during a game at the University of Minnesota in 1923, died from complications.

In 1926 Willaman's former coach at Ohio State, John Wilce, invited him to return to his alma mater as an assistant coach. Willaman designated Wilce as his successor. Following the 1928 season, Wilce resigned. Immediately following, Notre Dame's coach Knute Rockne informed Ohio State that he was interested in the position. Rockne was trying to get a better deal at Notre Dame and was using the open Ohio State job as leverage. Willaman waited while Ohio State and Rockne negotiated. Ultimately Rockne stayed at Notre Dame, and Ohio State hired Willaman.

Willaman posted a 26-10-4 record at Ohio State. Despite his success, Willaman's teams were accused of underperforming. Despite fielding many All-America players, including the legendary Wes Fesler, Ohio State never won a Big Ten Conference title under Willaman. Worse, he held a losing record (2-3) against the Buckeyes' arch rival, the University of Michigan. Yielding to pressure, Willaman resigned after the 1934 season to take the head coaching position at Western Reserve University. Willaman never took that job, dying unexpectedly, following an emergency operation, on August 18, 1935.

The Dunkel College Football Index named Willaman's 1933 Ohio State team as the best that season in the country.

Preceded by John W. Wilce

Ohio State Head Football Coaches 1929-1933

Succeeded by Francis A. Schmidt