Sol Metzger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sol Metzger | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title | Head Coach | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 53-31-6 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Championships | ||
| National Championship: 1908 | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1901-03 | Pennsylvania | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1904 1908 1909 1914-15 1916-17 1920-24 |
Baylor Pennsylvania Oregon State West Virginia Washington & Jefferson South Carolina |
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Sol S. Metzger was an American football player and coach. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1904. Metzger also wrote a nationally syndicated sports column.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
He lettered three seasons, 1901-1903, for the University of Pennsylvania. One under renowned coach George W. Woodruff and two more under Carl Sheldon Williams.[2] In 1901, Metzger first season for the Quakers, he played as a backup. The team started strong by winning their first 7 games, but were weakened in part to injuries accumulated during the earlier games.[3] The Quakers lost five out the last eight to finish the season 10-5. The five losses were the most under Woodruff. In addition to the tough season the team had to deal with an undergraduate and dental student revolt upset about the coaching of the team.[4] This led to Head Coach George W. Woodruff to resign as coach. After Woodruff resignation was accepted, the members of the football team sent a letter to the Football Committee unanimously requesting that Woodruff be reinstated as coach. The letter was ignored,[5] In 1902 Carl Sheldon Williams succeeded George W. Woodruff as coached and the Quakers improved to 9-4. The following year Metzger was named captain and led Penn to a 9-3 mark.[6]
[edit] Coaching career
After graduating from Penn, he took a job as coach at Baylor University. He compiled a 2-5-1 record in 1904. In 1908, Metzger succeeded Carl Williams, his former coach, at the University of Pennsylvania. Penn won a retroactive National Title after an 11-0-1 campaign in his only year at the helm of the Quakers.[7] During the Championship run, the Quakers out-scored their opponents, 215-18, with a 6-6 tie with the Carlisle Indians only blemish on their season. This team was led by two future members of the College Football Hall of Fame, All-American senior captain Bill "Big Bill" Hollenback at halfback and All-American Hunter Scarlett at end.[8] In 1909, he became head coach at Oregon State University posting a 4-2-1 record. From 1914 to 1915, he coached at West Virginia University and compiled a 10-6-1 record. His last coaching stop was at the University of South Carolina where he went 31-20-2.
[edit] Tower Play controversy
In 1915, Metzger was involved in a controversy with what would become to be know as a “Tower Play” during a game between West Virginia Mountaineers and the Marshall Thundering Herd. The Mountaineer was heavily favored and Metzger told the media he would “eat his hat if Marshall scores.” Marshall Coach Boyd Chambers developed a special play to prevent the shutout. On the Thundering Herd fourth possession Marshall moved the ball down to the 15-yard line. Marshall back Dayton Carter came in the game. Marshall quarterback Brad Workman, took the snap and set up to pass. Marshall’s tackle Okey Taylor and Carter ran toward the end zone. Carter was hoisted onto Taylor's shoulders as Workman rifled a high pass in their direction. Carter caught the ball and fell into the end zone for a score. Metzger argued with the officials, but the referee and umpire could find no rule to discount the score. The Mountaineers would go on to win the game with a final score of 92-6. Metzger protested to Yale’s coach Walter Camp who was in charge of college football rules. Camp upheld the score; however he changed the rules to not allow the play for the 1916 season.[9]
[edit] Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor (Independent) (1904 – 1904) | |||||||||
| 1904 | Baylor | 2-5-1 | |||||||
| Baylor: | 2-5-1 | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania (Independent) (1908 – 1908) | |||||||||
| 1908 | Pennsylvania | 11-0-1 | |||||||
| Pennsylvania: | 11-0-1 | ||||||||
| Oregon State (Independent) (1909 – 1909) | |||||||||
| 1909 | Oregon State | 4-2-1 | |||||||
| Oregon State: | 4-2-1 | ||||||||
| West Virginia (Independent) (1914 – 1915) | |||||||||
| 1914 | West Virginia | 5-4-0 | |||||||
| 1915 | West Virginia | 5-2-1 | |||||||
| West Virginia: | 10-6-1 | ||||||||
| South Carolina (varied) (1920 – 1924) | |||||||||
| 1920 | South Carolina | 5-4-0 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association | ||||||
| 1921 | South Carolina | 5-1-2 | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association | ||||||
| 1922 | South Carolina | 5-4-0 | Southern Conference | ||||||
| 1923 | South Carolina | 4-6-0 | Southern Conference | ||||||
| 1924 | South Carolina | 7-3-0 | Southern Conference | ||||||
| South Carolina: | 26-18-2 | ||||||||
| Total: | 53-31-6 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. | |||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ [Charleston Daily Mail WVU football timeline accessed 1-19-2007
- ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 145, accessed 1-18-2007
- ^ Nicholas Gutowski, "Penn Football in the 1800s, Varsity team history, Woodruff's Last Year: 1901, September 29th - November 11th," (University of Pennsylvania archives)
- ^ Nicholas Gutowski, "Penn Football in the 1800s, Varsity team history, Movement Towards Change and Authority Response: 1901, November 12th - 25th," (University of Pennsylvania archives)
- ^ Nicholas Gutowski, "Penn Football in the 1800s, Varsity team history, Change: 1901, November 26th - December 3rd," (University of Pennsylvania archives)
- ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 137
- ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 15
- ^ Hunter Scarlett biography at College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ Woody Woodrum, "Marshall-WVU Series Has Great, Short History" (Herd Insider Magazine) Posted 6-10-2006, accessed 1-27-2007
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Carl Sheldon Williams |
University of Pennsylvania Head Football Coaches 1908 |
Succeeded by Andrew L. Smith |
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