George Washington Woodruff

George Washington Woodruff (February 22, 1864 – March 23, 1934) was an American college football player, rower, coach, teacher, lawyer and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pennsylvania (1892–1901), the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (1903), and Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1905), compiling a career college football record of 142–25–2. Woodruff's Penn teams of 1894, 1895, and 1897 have been recognized as national champions. Woodruff was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1963.

George Washington Woodruff

Biographical details
Born	(1864-02-22)February 22, 1864 Dimock, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	March 23, 1934(1934-03-23) (aged 70) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Yale University University of Pennsylvania School of Law
Playing career
Football
1885–1888	Yale
1892–1895	Penn
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1892–1901	Penn
1903	Illinois
1905	Carlisle
Rowing
1892–1895	Penn
Head coaching record
Overall	142–25–2 (football)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 national (1894–1895, 1897)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1963 (profile)
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office January 20, 1923 – January 18, 1927
Governor	Gifford Pinchot
Preceded by	George E. Alter
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Baldrige
Judge of the United States District Court for the Territory of Hawaii
In office 1909–1910
Preceded by	Seat established by 60 Stat. 322
Succeeded by	Alexander George Morison Robertson
Personal details
Political party	Republican

Playing career and education

Penn, 1898

Woodruff graduated from Yale University in 1889, where he was a member of Skull and Bones,^[1][2]: 65 and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he earned his LL.B. law degree in 1895. His football teammates at Yale included Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pudge Heffelfinger, and Pa Corbin.

Coaching career

At Penn, Woodruff coached Truxtun Hare, Carl Sheldon Williams, John H. Outland, his brother Wylie G. Woodruff, and Charles Gelbert. In his ten years of coaching at Penn, Woodruff compiled a 124–15–2 record while his teams scored 1777 points and only gave up 88. He also coached one year each at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Political career

After coaching, Woodruff practiced law and was active in politics as a Republican. His political posts included Finance Clerk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attorney General, federal judge for the territory of Hawaii, chief law officer of the United States Forest Service under friend and fellow Yale alumni Gifford Pinchot, and acting Secretary of the Interior under President Theodore Roosevelt.^[3]

Family and death

Woodruff was married in 1898, to Maude Donald McBride, of Philadelphia, who died in 1918.^[4] He was married a second time, in 1921, to Elfreda Foster, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Woodruff died on March 23, 1934, in Harrisburg, after suffering from pleurisy.^[5]

Head coaching record

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Penn Quakers (Independent) (1892–1901)
1892	Penn	15–1
1893	Penn	12–3
1894	Penn	12–0
1895	Penn	14–0
1896	Penn	14–1
1897	Penn	15–0
1898	Penn	12–1
1899	Penn	8–3–2
1900	Penn	12–1
1901	Penn	10–5
Penn:		124–15–2
Illinois Fighting Illini (Western Conference) (1903)
1903	Illinois	8–6	1–5	7th
Illinois:		8–6	1–5
Carlisle Indians (Independent) (1905)
1905	Carlisle	10–4
Carlisle:		10–4
Total:		142–25–2
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Note: Before 1936, national champions were determined by historical research and retroactive ratings and polls.
1894 Poll Results = Penn: Parke H. Davis, Princeton: Houlgate, Yale: Billingsley, Helms, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis
1895 Poll Results = Penn: Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis, Yale: Parke H. Davis
1897 Poll Results = Penn: Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis, Yale: Parke H. Davis
George Woodruff's last game as a coach was the 1905 Carlisle-Army game after which he went to Washington for a government job. Ralph Kinney completed Carlisle's season, going 3–2 over the five games played after Woodruff's departure.

References

1. Who's Who In America, 1908
2. "Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Year 1933-1934" (PDF). Yale University. October 15, 1934. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
3. "Penn Biographies: George W. Woodruff (1864 -1934)". University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
4. "Died; Woodruff". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. May 20, 1918. p. 9. Retrieved May 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "George Woodruff Dies In 70th Year". Brooklyn Times-Union. Brooklyn, New York. March 24, 1934. p. 10A. Retrieved May 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .

External links

• George Washington Woodruff at the College Football Hall of Fame

Political offices
Preceded by George Alter	Attorney General of Pennsylvania 1923–1927	Succeeded by Thomas Baldrige
Legal offices
Preceded by Seat established by 60 Stat. 322	United States District Court Judge 1909–1910	Succeeded by Alexander George Morison Robertson