William Anderson "Dutch" McElreath (September 25, 1915 – April 18, 1993) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Trinity University in San Antonio from 1952 to 1961, compiling a record of 47–42–2. McElreath was also the athletic director at Trinity from 1952 to 1962.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 25, 1915 Sulphur Springs, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | April 18, 1993 (aged 77) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1937–1938 | Vanderbilt |
| 1940 | Vanderbilt |
| Position(s) | End |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1941 | Morgan School (TN) |
| 1946–1951 | Tulane (assistant) |
| 1952–1961 | Trinity (TX) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1952–1962 | Trinity (TX) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 47–42–2 (college) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 GCC (1953–1954, 1956) | |
A native of Sulphur Springs, Texas, McElreath attended Greenville High School in Greenville, Texas, where he played football as an end under coach Henry Frnka. He then played college football at Vanderbilt University, lettering in 1937, 1938, and 1940. A back injury he sustained late in 1938 prevented him from playing in 1939.
In February 1941, McElreath was appointed head football coach at Morgan School in Petersburg, Tennessee.[1] He graduated from Vanderbilt that June and coached at Morgan in the fall of 1941. McElreath enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in 1942 and was assigned to the Coast Guard's physical education program run by Jack Dempsey, former heavyweight boxing champion.[2] During World War II, he spent 18 months in the Pacific theater on an amphibious cargo ship and served in the Bougainville campaign.[3]
After the war, McElreath returned to coaching and reunited with Frnka, who was then head football coach at Tulane University. McElreath worked for six seasons as an assistant at Tulane under Frnka.[4]
In February 1962, McElreath was reassigned to an administrative position as a development program counselor at Trinity. He was succeeded as head football coach by W. C. McElhannon.[5]
Head coaching record
editCollege
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity Tigers (Gulf Coast Conference) (1952–1956) | |||||||||
| 1952 | Trinity | 4–6 | 0–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1953 | Trinity | 8–1 | 2–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1954 | Trinity | 9–0 | 2–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1955 | Trinity | 5–4 | 1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1956 | Trinity | 5–3–1 | 2–0–1 | T–1st | |||||
| Trinity Tigers (Independent) (1957–1961) | |||||||||
| 1957 | Trinity | 3–5 | |||||||
| 1958 | Trinity | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1959 | Trinity | 3–6 | |||||||
| 1960 | Trinity | 2–7–1 | |||||||
| 1961 | Trinity | 2–7 | |||||||
| Trinity: | 47–42–2 | 7–4–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 47–42–2 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "McElreath Named Coach at Morgan". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. February 6, 1941. p. 16. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ O'Donnell, Red (August 29, 1942). "McElreath Named Coach at Morgan". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 6. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "'Dutch' McElreath Returns From Service---Seeks Job". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. January 8, 1946. p. 13. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Former Tulane Coach Name To Head Post". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. Associated Press. April 30, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Grid Coach Axed; Football De-Emphasized". Express and News. San Antonio, Texas. February 18, 1962. p. 1D. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
