College, Professional Football Coach. He was a teammate of legendary running back Jim Thorpe at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. He was the head football coach at Washington State University from 1915 to 1917, where he led the Cougars to a record of 17 wins, two losses and one tie. During his three seasons at Washington State University, his Cougar football team outscored their opponents 451 to 38, including a 14 to nothing win over Brown University in the first modern day Rose Bowl game in 1916, and a disputed claim to the 1915 college football national championship. He went on to compile an overall coaching record of 70 wins, 47 losses and six ties, as the head football coach at Purdue University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of Wyoming and Albright College. He also served as the head baseball coach at Louisiana Tech in 1923, leading the Bulldogs to a record of sixteen wins and six losses. From 1932 to 1933 he was the head football coach of the Boston Braves of the National Football League (NFL), recording 11 wins, 11 losses and two ties. He was the alleged inspiration for owner George Preston Marshall's decision to change the team's name from the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins, a nickname that remained in place following the franchise's relocation to Washington D.C. in 1937. He was an inductee into the American Indian Hall of Fame in 1971, the Washington State University Hall of Fame in 1983, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Albright College Hall of Fame in 2008. He died from cancer at St. Joseph's Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania, one month shy of his 80th birthday.
College, Professional Football Coach. He was a teammate of legendary running back Jim Thorpe at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. He was the head football coach at Washington State University from 1915 to 1917, where he led the Cougars to a record of 17 wins, two losses and one tie. During his three seasons at Washington State University, his Cougar football team outscored their opponents 451 to 38, including a 14 to nothing win over Brown University in the first modern day Rose Bowl game in 1916, and a disputed claim to the 1915 college football national championship. He went on to compile an overall coaching record of 70 wins, 47 losses and six ties, as the head football coach at Purdue University, Louisiana Tech University, the University of Wyoming and Albright College. He also served as the head baseball coach at Louisiana Tech in 1923, leading the Bulldogs to a record of sixteen wins and six losses. From 1932 to 1933 he was the head football coach of the Boston Braves of the National Football League (NFL), recording 11 wins, 11 losses and two ties. He was the alleged inspiration for owner George Preston Marshall's decision to change the team's name from the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins, a nickname that remained in place following the franchise's relocation to Washington D.C. in 1937. He was an inductee into the American Indian Hall of Fame in 1971, the Washington State University Hall of Fame in 1983, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Albright College Hall of Fame in 2008. He died from cancer at St. Joseph's Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania, one month shy of his 80th birthday.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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DIETZ
WILLIAM H.
"LONE STAR"
COACH
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