William McCracken

William McCracken
Biographical details
Sport(s)	Football
Born	1864
Died	June 13, 1940(1940-06-13) (aged 75–76)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1890–1896	Geneva
1906	Northern Michigan
Head coaching record
Overall	19–19–1

William McCracken (c. 1864 – June 13, 1940^[1]) was an educator, American football coach, and sports figure in the United States.

Coaching career

Geneva College

McCracken was the first head football coach at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and he held that position for seven seasons, from 1890 until 1896. His coaching record at Geneva was 17 wins, 18 losses, and 1 tie.^[2]

Northern Michigan

After starting the program at Geneva College, McCracken went to the newly formed Normal School of Northern Michigan in Marquette, Michigan (now Northern Michigan University)^[3] to teach chemistry and physics.^[4] Records show that he was on staff at Normal as early as 1901.^[5]

In 1904, he was asked to start the program there, making the second school where he was the first coach. His team produced a record of two wins and one loss in the inaugural 1904 season^[6] and played their games at the County Fairgrounds.^[7]

Contributions to education

In 1907, McCracken took a position as head of the chemistry department at Michigan's Western State Normal School in Kalamazoo^[8] (now called Western Michigan University). He remained at Western Michigan until his retirement in 1939, also serving as acting university president in the 1922–23 school year.^[9] In 1946, the school began plans for McCracken Hall to honor his legacy.^[10]

McCracken offered his services wherever he believed he could add value to the school and its students. In yet another string of "firsts", he was the first faculty advisor for the Western Herald student newspaper in 1916.^[11]

References

↑ Science "SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS" June 21, 1940
↑ Geneva College coaching records
↑ Michigan Teachers' Directory "Northern State Normal School Faculty" Published by Robert Smith & Co., 1899
↑ The Decennial Publications of the University of Chicago Published by The University of Chicago Press, 1908
↑ Biennial Report By State Board for Vocational Education, Michigan State Board of Education, 1903
↑ Northern Michigan University Varsity Athletics Football-Coaching Records
↑ Northern Horizons "100 YEARS OF WILDCAT" Fall 2004
↑ New York Times "Obituaries-William McCracken" June 14, 1940
↑ Western Michigan University Building Timeline ~ 1944-1953
↑ Western Michigan 1946 Architectural Rendering of McCracken Hall
↑ Western Herald "Happy Anniversary, Western Herald" By Shawntai Brown, November 3, 2008

Geneva Golden Tornadoes head football coaches

William McCracken (1890–1896)
Ross Fiscus (1897–1899)
J. B. Craig (1900–1903)
Smith Alford (1904)
Archibald Leech (1905)
No team (1906)
Arthur McKean (1907–1911)
Graydon Long (1912)
Coligny Brainerd Metheny (1913–1916)
Phillip Henry Bridenbaugh (1917–1921)
Robert Park (1922)
Tom Davies (1923)
Jack Sack (1924)
Bo McMillin (1925–1927)
Mack Flenniken (1928–1929)
Howard Harpster (1930–1932)
Jimmy Robertson (1933)
Dike Beede (1934–1936)
Edgar P. Weltner (1937–1940)
Alured Ransom (1941)
Cal Hubbard (1942)
No team (1943–1945)
Alured Ransom (1946–1948)
Walter J. West (1949–1952)
Byron E. Morgan (1953–1962)
Donald Lederick (1963–1966)
Joe Banks (1967–1968)
Dan Frasier (1969–1971)
Max Holm (1972–1973)
Dick Lasse (1974–1975)
Gene Sullivan (1976–1992)
Geno DeMarco (1993– )

Northern Michigan Wildcats head football coaches

William McCracken (1904)
Charles H. Estrich (1905–1906)
Unknown (1907–1908)
Professor Mills (1909)
Unknown (1910–1911)
Deforest Stull (1912)
No team (1913–1915)
W. B. McClintock (1916–1917)
No team (1918)
L. O. Gant (1919–1921)
C. B. Hedgcock (1922–1933)
R. Victor Hurst (1934–1935)
C. B. Hedgcock (1936–1937)
R. Victor Hurst (1938–1942)
No team (1943–1945)
C. V. Money (1947–1955)
Lloyd Eaton (1956)
F. L. Ferzacca (1957–1965)
Rollie Dotsch (1966–1970)
Rae Drake (1971–1973)
Gil Krueger (1974–1977)
Bill Rademacher (1978–1982)
Herb Grenke (1983–1990)
Mark Marana (1991–1994)
Eric Holm (1995–2001)
Doug Sams (2002–2005)
Bernie Anderson (2006–2011)
Chris Ostrowsky (2012– )

Western Michigan University

Academics	Haworth College of Business International Congress on Medieval Studies New Issues Poetry & Prose Paper engineering Cooley Law School Sunseeker

Athletics	Basketball Broncos Buster Bronco Central Collegiate Hockey Association Ebert Field Football Hyames Field Ice hockey Kanley Track Lawson Arena Michigan MAC Trophy Mid-American Conference Seelye Athletic Center Soccer University Arena Waldo Stadium WMU Soccer Complex WMU–CMU Rivalry Trophy

Campus	East Campus Kalamazoo Miller Auditorium Oakland Drive Campus

History	William McCracken Bill Spaulding Buck Read Charles Van Riper Dwight B. Waldo Western State Normal Railroad

People	Alumni John Dunn P. J. Fleck Diether Haenicke Steve Hawkins Paul L. Maier Andy Murray Michael Swords

Student life	Western Herald WIDR WMUK

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