Dave Allerdice

Dave Allerdice

Allerdice, 1909
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born March 26, 1887
Indianapolis, Indiana
Died December 31, 1941 (aged 54)
Indianapolis, Indiana
Playing career
1907–1909 Michigan
Position(s) Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1910
1911
1911–1915		 Michigan (assistant)
Butler
Texas
Head coaching record
Overall 36–11–1

Statistics

David Way Allerdice (March 26, 1887 – December 31, 1941) was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Michigan from 1907 to 1909 and coached football at Butler University (1910) and the University of Texas at Austin (1911–1915).

Early life and playing career

Allerdice was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1887. He enrolled at the University of Michigan and played at the right halfback position for coach Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1907 to 1909. Allerdice played on offense and defense for Michigan, and he also handled place-kicking and punting responsibilities. He was Michigan's leading scorer in 1908 with 64 points in seven games, and again in 1909 with 51 points in seven games. In 1908, he scored all of Michigan's points a 12–6 win over Notre Dame and a 10–6 win over Ohio State. He scored a career-high 19 points (two touchdowns, six extra points, and a field goal) in a 1909 victory over Syracuse.[1] Allerdice won praise from the press for playing through injuries, playing the 1908 Penn game with a broken collarbone and the 1909 Penn game with a broken hand.

Allerdice served as captain of the 1909 Michigan football team that compiled a record of 6–1, outscored opponents 116 to 34, and held six of seven opponents to six points or less. At the end of the 1909 season, he was selected as a first-team All-American by The New York Times and syndicated sports writer, Tommy Clark.[2][3][4][5] He was a second-team pick on Walter Camp's 1909 College Football All-America Team.[6] Walter Eckersall also picked Allerdice as a first-team halfback on his 1909 All-Western team.[7]

Coaching career

Allerdice, c. 1913

After one year as an assistant coach to Yost in 1910, Allerdice became head coach at Butler University in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, but left for the University of Texas to assume the head coaching position there after Billy Wasmund suddenly died in October 1911.

At age 25, Allerdice is still the youngest head coach in Texas football history. His Longhorns finished 5–2 in 1911, 7–1 in both the 1912 and 1913 seasons, and went unbeaten at 8–0 in 1914. In the inaugural Southwest Conference season in 1915, Texas finished 6–3 with losses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame. At season's end, despite a career record of 33–7 with the Longhorns, Allerdice informed the Athletic Council of his resignation because of the "super critical nature of the Texas fans."

Later life

Allerdice was married in October 1916 to Cornelia Simrall Keasbey, in Austin, Texas. He returned to Indianapolis and went into his family's meat packing business. In a draft registration card completed in June 1917, Allerdice indicated that he was working as cattle buyer in Indianapolis.[8] At the time of the 1920 Census, Allerdice and his wife were listed as residents of Indianapolis along with their son, David W. Allerdice, Jr., age one.[9] In 1930, Allerdice continued to be a resident of Indianapolis along with his wife, Cornelia, and sons David (age 11) and John (age 8).[10]

Allerdice, along with his wife and son, died from the injuries suffered in a house fire during the 1941 Christmas holiday. He was posthumously inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1981.

References

  1. ↑ "Yost Team Buries Syracuse: Michigan Wins from Easterners by Score of 43 to 0: Helped Much by Fumbles; Wasmund Stars in Eighty-Five Yard Dash and Benbrook in Defense". Chicago Daily Tribune. October 31, 1909. p. C1.
  2. ↑ "All-American Team Picked on Form During 1909: Problems Confronting Experts Who Take Up This Thankless and Difficult Task of Choosing the So-Called 'Best'". The New York Times. November 28, 1909.
  3. ↑ "All-American Team Chosen". The Daily Review (Decatur, IL). December 1, 1909.
  4. ↑ Tommy Clark (December 6, 1909). "All American Football Team For Season Of 1909". Lowell Sun.
  5. ↑ Tommy Clark (1909-12-09). "All American Football Team For Season Of 1909". Fresno Morning Republican.
  6. ↑ "Benbrook of Michigan Is Picked For First Team--Captain Allerdice and Magidsohn Are on Second--Western Football Receives Warm Praise". Detroit Free Press. December 15, 1909. p. 11.
  7. ↑ Walter Eckersall (November 28, 1909). "Eckersall Picks the All Western: Football Expert Names Season's Best Players in This Section of Country; Four from Conference; Michigan and Notre Dame Given Other Seven Places on Honorary Team". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. C1.
  8. ↑ Draft registration card completed June 1917 by David Way Allerdice. Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Registration Location: Marion County, Indiana; Roll: 1504019; Draft Board: 5.
  9. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Indianapolis Ward 8, Marion, Indiana; Roll: T625_453; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 139; Image: 316.
  10. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 608; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 41; Image: 475.0.

External links