Football Coach. A respected gridiron leader, he had a successful career at both the college and professional level. Raised in central Oklahoma, he graduated from Oklahoma A&M (now, Oklahoma State) where he played football and basketball, then broke into coaching with jobs as an assistant at the University of Illinois and at Duke University. Named head coach and athletic director at the College of William & Mary in 1939, he remained on the job up thru 1943, though the 1943 season was cancelled due to World War II. Over his time in Williamsburg his teams won 29, lost 7, and tied 3, in the process taking the 1942 Southern Conference championship with a record of 9-1-1. Moving on to Auburn University in 1944, his squads went 15 and 22; breaking into the professional ranks with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference in 1948, he compiled a modest 2-12 record, then in 1950 became head coach and general manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Going 48-27-1, his team won the 1953 Grey Cup, Canada's 'Super Bowl'; Voyles retired in 1955 and moved to South Florida where he was for many years in the real estate business, though he maintained his football ties by serving as an NFL scout for the Buffalo Bills until well into advanced age. Coach Voyles died following a protracted illness.
Football Coach. A respected gridiron leader, he had a successful career at both the college and professional level. Raised in central Oklahoma, he graduated from Oklahoma A&M (now, Oklahoma State) where he played football and basketball, then broke into coaching with jobs as an assistant at the University of Illinois and at Duke University. Named head coach and athletic director at the College of William & Mary in 1939, he remained on the job up thru 1943, though the 1943 season was cancelled due to World War II. Over his time in Williamsburg his teams won 29, lost 7, and tied 3, in the process taking the 1942 Southern Conference championship with a record of 9-1-1. Moving on to Auburn University in 1944, his squads went 15 and 22; breaking into the professional ranks with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference in 1948, he compiled a modest 2-12 record, then in 1950 became head coach and general manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Going 48-27-1, his team won the 1953 Grey Cup, Canada's 'Super Bowl'; Voyles retired in 1955 and moved to South Florida where he was for many years in the real estate business, though he maintained his football ties by serving as an NFL scout for the Buffalo Bills until well into advanced age. Coach Voyles died following a protracted illness.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Family Members
Siblings
Advertisement
See more Voyles memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
