William Orville Hickok III (August 23, 1874 – September 4, 1933) was an American football player and industrialist. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1874 ( MDCCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Inevitably nicknamed "Wild Bill", and also known as "Hickey", he starred at Yale in track as well as football and was eventually inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Wild Bill is a nickname most commonly associated with Wild Bill Hickok, which may refer to one of two individuals James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. After his athletic career, he became the president of his family's manufacturing business.
Hickok was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to William Orville Hickok, Jr. Harrisburg is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States of America , and Louisa Harrison Anderson Hickok. The family was prominent in Harrisburg civic life through his grandfather's machinery business, W. O. Hickok Manufacturing Company.
Bill played guard at Yale and was twice selected as an All-American. In American and Canadian football, a guard ( G) is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line In addition, he set records in the shot put and hammer throw for the track team. The shot put is an Athletics (track and field event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion a heavy The modern or Olympic is an Athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle
After completing his studies, Hickok returned to Pennsylvania. In 1896 he was asked by another Yale graduate from Harrisburg, Vance McCormick, to coach the football team McCormick had organized at the nearby Carlisle Indian School. Vance Criswell McCormick ( June 19, 1872 &ndash June 16, 1946) was an American politician and prominent businessman from Carlisle Indian Industrial School, (1879 - 1918 was an Indian Boarding School in Carlisle Pennsylvania. The team went 6-4 against a challenging schedule that included the leading Ivy League powers. The Ivy League is an Athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States.
For the game against his alma mater, Hickok also served as a referee (a common practice at the time) along with an official provided by the Yale side. In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game In a memorable moment, the Indians appeared to have scored a late touchdown to potentially tie the game when one of their players broke free with a handoff after the team's halfback had dived into the line. A touchdown is the primary method of scoring in American and Canadian football. However, Hickok blew his whistle to call it back on the grounds that the play was dead prior to the handoff, causing his own team to protest. One newspaper covering the contest would compare his action to that of a corrupt Indian agent.
Other than serving as an assistant coach at Yale, Hickok spent most of his remaining life in Harrisburg. He married Avis Cochran and eventually served as president of the Hickok Manufacturing Company. After his death in 1933, the position passed to his brother Ross.
References
- Jenkins, Sally. The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation. New York: Doubleday, 2007.
External links
- Hickok profile — College Football Hall of Fame
- Ross A. Hickok papers index — Pennsylvania State Archives
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