William Odlin

William Odlin (April 5, 1865 – May 11, 1929) was an American lawyer and college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Brown University in 1893.

William Odlin

Biographical details
Born	(1865-04-05)April 5, 1865 Laconia, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	May 11, 1929(1929-05-11) (aged 64) Andover, Massachusetts, U.S.
Playing career
1886–1889	Dartmouth
Position(s)	Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1893	Brown
Head coaching record
Overall	6–3

Odlin was born on April 5, 1865, in Laconia, New Hampshire.^[1] He attended boarding school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.^[2] He continued his education at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1890.^[3] Odlin is credited with reviving interest in football at the college. As John Henry Bartlett put it in his book, Dartmouth Athletics:

The Rugby game, started and grown moderately popular under Clarence Howland, had become almost obsolete at Dartmouth by '86, when Odlin entered college, and his laborious efforts to place it on a firm footing entitle him to a foremost place in the history of athletics at Dartmouth. He labored against the general sentiment of the college, the frowns of the faculty and a lack of experienced material, but the fruition of his labors was seen in the great championship team of '89, of which he was captain."^[3]

Odlin played on the football team as a fullback,^[4] and served as its captain for four years, from 1886 to 1889.^[5] Upon graduation, he continued on to study law, which he practiced in Boston with the firm Odlin & Ruggles.^[3]

In 1893, he took over as the head coach of the Brown University football team. He served in that position for one season and amassed a 6–3 record.^[6]

Odlin died on May 11, 1929, at his home in Andover, Massachusetts.^[7]

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Brown Bears (Independent) (1893)
1893	Brown	6–3
Brown:		6–3
Total:		6–3

References

1. Emerson, Charles Franklin (1911). General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1910. Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Press. p. 378. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
2. Notable Alumni: Long List: 1800s Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, Phillips Academy, retrieved June 20, 2010.
3. John Henry Bartlett, Dartmouth Athletics: A Complete History of All Kinds of Sports at the College Archived 2024-05-02 at the Wayback Machine, p. 307, Republican Press Association, 1893.
4. Bartlett, p. 214
5. Season by Season Results Archived 2012-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, Dartmouth College, retrieved June 20, 2010.
6. All-Time Coaching Records: William Odlin Archived 2010-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 20, 2010.
7. "William Odlin, Lawyer, Dead". Boston Evening Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. May 11, 1929. p. 1. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .