Butch Cowell

William Harold "Butch" Cowell (July 21, 1887 – August 28, 1940) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the New Hampshire Wildcats football team from 1915 to 1936.

Butch Cowell

Cowell in The Granite yearbook, 1925 edition
Biographical details
Born	(1887-07-21)July 21, 1887 Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	August 28, 1940(1940-08-28) (aged 53) Dover, New Hampshire, U.S.
Playing career
1909–1910[1]	Kansas
1911[1]	Illinois
1913[1]	Pittsburgh
Position(s)	Tackle, end
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1914	Haskell (assistant)
1915–1936[a]	New Hampshire
Basketball
1916–1928	New Hampshire
Baseball
1916	New Hampshire
1919–1921	New Hampshire
Head coaching record
Overall	87–68–23 (football) 119–54 (basketball) 17–25–2 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1941)

Biography

Cowell was born on July 21, 1887, in Lynn, Massachusetts. His family moved to Clyde, Kansas, where he played high school football.^[2] He later played college football at Kansas,^[3] Illinois,^[4] and Pittsburgh.^[5]

Cowell served as the head coach of the University of New Hampshire's football team from 1915 to 1936,^[b] except in 1918 when no varsity team was fielded. As a football coach, Cowell led his varsity teams to an overall record of 87 wins, 68 losses, and 23 ties, for a .553 winning percentage. In addition to coaching football, Cowell was also the head basketball coach, head baseball coach, and athletic director at New Hampshire. He was a founder of the American Football Coaches Association and served a term as the organization's president.^[6]

New Hampshire's Wildcat Stadium was named Cowell Stadium in his honor from 1952 until 2016. He was a member of the inaugural class of the Wildcat athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.^[7] He is also the "Cowell" in the name of the rivalry game with the Maine Black Bears, the Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket.

During World War I, he served as a second lieutenant in the Yankee Division (26th Infantry Division).^[2] Cowell, who never married, died on August 28, 1940, in Dover, New Hampshire, at the age of 53 after a two-year illness.^[6][8] He was interred at Maple Grove Cemetery in Randolph, Maine.^[9] His brother, Roland Cowell, was also a coach and administrator in college athletics.^[2][10][11]

Head coaching record

Note that New Hampshire did not adopt the Wildcats nickname until February 1926;^[12] before then, they were generally referred to as "the blue and white".

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
New Hampshire (Independent) (1915–1922)
1915	New Hampshire	3–6–1
1916	New Hampshire	3–5–2
1917	New Hampshire	3–2–2
1918	No varsity team†	—
1919	New Hampshire	7–2
1920	New Hampshire	5–2–1
1921	New Hampshire	8–1–1
1922	New Hampshire	3–5–1
New Hampshire Wildcats (New England Conference) (1923–1936)
1923	New Hampshire	4–4–1	1–1–1	T–2nd
1924	New Hampshire	7–2	2–1	2nd
1925	New Hampshire	4–1–2	2–0–1	1st
1926	New Hampshire	4–4	2–1	T–2nd
1927	New Hampshire	0–7–1	0–3	4th
1928	New Hampshire	3–2–3	1–1–1	3rd
1929	New Hampshire	7–2	2–0	1st
1930	New Hampshire	5–2–1	2–0	1st
1931	New Hampshire	7–2[c]	2–0	1st
1932	New Hampshire	3–4–1[d]	1–0–1	2nd
1933	New Hampshire	3–3–1	1–0	2nd
1934	New Hampshire	3–4–2	1–0	1st
1935	New Hampshire	2–5–1	0–1	4th
1936	New Hampshire	3–3–2	0–1	4th
New Hampshire:		87–68–23	17–9–4
Total:		87–68–23
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

† New Hampshire had an eight-game schedule planned for the 1918 season,^[19] which was abandoned due to World War I.^[20]
Source:^[21]

Notes

1. Cowell was New Hampshire's football head coach for 21 seasons in 22 years, as the school did not field a varsity team in 1918 due to World War I.
2. Before 1923, the school was named New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.
3. New Hampshire's varsity record in 1931 was 7–2.^[13][14] College Football Data Warehouse also lists a tied game, against Saint Anselm;^[15] however, contemporary news reports are clear that it was New Hampshire's freshman team that played Saint Anselm.^[16]
4. New Hampshire's varsity record in 1932 was 3–4–1.^[13][17] College Football Data Warehouse lists an additional loss, to Saint Anselm;^[15] however, contemporary news reports are clear that it was New Hampshire's freshman team that played Saint Anselm.^[18]