H. T. Summersgill

H. T. Summersgill
Summersgill at Tulane in 1902
Sport(s) Football and baseball
Biographical details
Place of birth Vermont
Died June 16, 1931
Place of death Queens, New York
Playing career
1896
1898–1899		 Brown
Virginia
Position(s) End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1900–1901

Baseball
1902
Tulane


Tulane
Head coaching record
Overall 9–2* (football)
8–5 (baseball)

* Tulane records: 10–1
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse

Harry Travis Summersgill, M.D., (year of birth unknown – June 16, 1931) was an American physician and college football and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach of Tulane University from 1900 to 1901 and the head baseball coach in 1902.

College and coaching career

A native of Vermont,[1] Summersgill originally attended Brown University, where he played on the football team in 1896,[2] but transferred to the University of Virginia in 1898.[3] He played football at Virginia as an end from 1898 to 1899,[4][5] and was elected the team captain for the 1899 season.[6] He was a member of Beta Theta Pi.[7]

Summersgill then attended medical school at Tulane University. He took over as the part-time head football coach from H. T. "Pop" Collier for the 1900 season.[8][9] In his first season, Tulane finished undefeated and unscored upon with a perfect 5–0 record, which was an impressive turnaround from a scoreless 0–6–1 campaign the year prior.[10] The team outscored the Southern Athletic Club, Alabama, Millsaps, Louisiana State, and Mississippi by a combined 105–0 margin.[10] The next year, Tulane finished 1901 with a 4–2 mark.[11] Against the Mobile Y.M.C.A., Tulane lost, 2–0, despite Summersgill's protests to the officials that there was still time remaining in the game.[10] The Olive and Blue later beat Louisiana State, 22–0, on the field, but was forced to forfeit 11–0 by the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association over the use of a professional player.[10] Today, Tulane records still count this as a win, which Louisiana State records dispute.[10][12]

Summersgill received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Tulane in 1900.[3] In May 1901, he was licensed after passing the medical examination at Tulane.[13] In 1902, Summersgill coached the Tulane baseball team and amassed an 8–5 record.[14]

Medical career

In 1905, he was the medical officer in charge at the Bohio Hospital in the Canal Zone at Bohio, Panama.[3] He served as superintendent of the City Hospital in Cincinnati,[15] and later, as the head of the University of California Hospital in San Francisco.[15] After a ten-week illness, he died on June 16, 1931 of a cerebral hemorrhage at the Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York.[15]

References

  1. ^ Register, p. 138, Tulane University, 1899.
  2. ^ 2009 Brown Football Media Guide (PDF), p. 94, Brown University, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Catalogue of Beta Theta Pi, p. 49, Beta Theta Pi, 1905.
  4. ^ Outing, Volume 35, p. 197, 1900.
  5. ^ All-Time Lettermen (PDF), 2009 Football Media Guide, p. 7, University of Virginia, March 20, 2009.
  6. ^ Summersgill Virginia's Captain, The Sun, December 8, 1898.
  7. ^ The Beta Theta Pi, Volume 28, p. 197, Beta Theta Pi, 1900.
  8. ^ The Alumni Bulletin, Volumes 1-3, p. 65, University of Virginia, 1901.
  9. ^ Dale A. Somers, The Rise of Sports in New Orleans: 1850–1900, p. 265, Pelican Publishing, 1972, ISBN 0807100420.
  10. ^ a b c d e Tulane Football 2009 Media Supplement, pp. 41–42, Tulane University, 2009.
  11. ^ H.T. Summersgill Records by Year, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved December 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Year-by-Year Results, 2008 LSU Football Media Guide, p. 152, Louisiana State University, 2008.
  13. ^ Bulletin, Volumes 17-20, , p. R-78, University of the State of New York College Department, 1901.
  14. ^ S. Derby Gisclair, Baseball at Tulane University, p. 13, Arcadia Publishing, 2007, ISBN 0738542083.
  15. ^ a b c DR. H.T. SUMMERSGILL, GORGAS AIDE, DIES; Had Served as the Head of Hospitals in Cincinnati andCalifornia., The New York Times, June 17, 1931.