 Lillard as Dartmouth coach in 1909 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1881-11-20)November 20, 1881 Paris, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 1967(1967-06-30) (aged 85) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1903–1904 | Dartmouth |
| Position(s) | Left end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1905–1906 | Dartmouth (assistant) |
| 1907–1908 | Andover |
| 1909 | Dartmouth |
| 1910–1915 | Andover |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–1–2 (college) |
Walter Huston "Cappy" Lillard (November 20, 1881 – June 30, 1967) was an Americanfootball coach and educator. He coached theDartmouth Collegefootball team for one season in 1909 and amassed a 5–1–2 record. Lillard taught English and coached football atPhillips Academy, Andover, and later became the headmaster of theTabor Academy.
Lillard was born on November 20, 1881, inParis, Illinois.[1] He attendedDartmouth College and graduated in 1905.[2] Lillard played on the football team as aleft end and earnedvarsity letters in 1903 and 1904.[2][3]The Dartmouth wrote that "Lillard, though an exceedingly light man for college football, was enabled to hold an end position on several of the strongest teams ever representing the Green."[4] Lillard was a player on the 1903 team, which was the first in school history to defeatHarvard.[5] He graduated from Dartmouth in 1905.[6]
Upon graduation, Lillard served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth in 1905 and 1906.[6] In 1907, the preparatory schoolPhillips Academy, Andover hired Lillard as an English instructor and head football coach, which made him the first faculty member to serve as a head coach, ending the school practice of hiring professionals.[7] His appointment was praised by the Andover faculty which blamed the professional coaches for "illegal recruiting, and the commercialism which had crept into college athletics, particularly football."[7] He coached Andover again the following year, before his team's success on the gridiron attracted the attention of hisalma mater.[8]
In December 1908, the Dartmouth athletic council selected the football staff which consisted of four graduates:W. J. Randall (1896), Leigh Turner (1901), and Joseph T. Gilman (1905), and Lillard, who was chosen as the head coach.[9] He also took direct responsibility for theends.[6] Lillard took a leave of absence from Andover to attend graduate school atOxford University in England[7] and then to coach at Dartmouth during the 1909 football season.[6] During his tenure, the Green compiled a 5–1–2 record.[10]
Lillard received hisA.M. from Dartmouth in 1910.[1] That year, he returned to coach and teach at Andover,[11] where he remained at least through 1915.[12] In 1911, he helped implement a new school policy which required every student to participate in some form of athletics, includingintramural competition.[12] Lillard told aNew York Times reporter:
"We had genuine satisfaction at Andover in seeing the bleachers empty and the fields covered with boys having a mighty good time. The new plan as compared with the old gave each individual four times as much actual playing in games, but of course not the same kind of experience that comes with meeting an unknown opponent."[12]
Lillard went on to praise the widespread participation in sports at English universities, and said virtually all of their students competed inrugby,soccer,lacrosse, orrowing. Lillard contrasted this situation with the one at American universities, where, he noted, "about 100 picked men play ... surrounded by a large body of 2,000 rooters. To make the situation worse, these American athletes are playing in a spotlight of publicity, especially the demigods of the 'Varsity."[12]
In 1916, Lillard was hired as the principal ofTabor Academy inMarion, Massachusetts.[13][14] During his tenure, Tabor Academy's enrollment increased tenfold.[13] Lillard resigned from the post in 1942.[15]
In 1963, Lillard published a book,Courage on the Danube, which documented theWarsaw Uprising.[16] He died of a heart ailment on June 30, 1967, in theNew England Medical Center inBoston at the age of 85.[17]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth(Independent)(1909) | |||||||||
| 1909 | Dartmouth | 5–1–2 | |||||||
| Dartmouth: | 5–1–2 | ||||||||
| Total: | 5–1–2 | ||||||||