 Claiborne depicted c. 1900 | |
| Sewanee Tigers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Class | Graduate |
| Major | Theology |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1872-12-11)December 11, 1872 Geddis,Amherst County, Virginia |
| Died: | January 7, 1933(1933-01-07) (aged 60) Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
William Stirling "Wild Bill" Claiborne (December 11, 1879 – January 7, 1933) was acollege football player and Episcopal archdeacon of Sewanee and East Tennessee. Before he was archdeacon, he was rector of Otey Memorial parish.[1][2]
Claiborne attended Roanoke College from 1891 to 1897.[2]
Claiborne was a prominentguard for theSewanee Tigers ofSewanee:The University of the South, a smallEpiscopal school in the mountains ofTennessee. He played on the 1899 "Iron Men" who won five road games in six days and all by shutout,[3] selectedAll-Southern.[4] Claiborne was blind in one eye, and used his discolored eye for purposes of intimidation on the field.[3][5][6] A documentary film about the team and Claiborne's role was released in 2022 called"Unrivaled: Sewanee 1899." At Sewanee Claiborne studiedtheology[3] and was ordained priest in 1901.
He was a member of the Missionary Society.[3] He was called the "apostle of the mountain folk" for his work among Tennesseemountain people.[3] He founded the St. Andrew's School for Mountain Boys, refounded St. Mary's School, founded theDuBose Memorial Training School,[7] and established Emerald-Hogston Hospital.[3] Claiborne wrote a book titledRoy in the Mountains.[3][8][9]
One description of his service in the ministry reads "eleven years ago he went into the mountains of East Tennessee and rolled up his sleeves. They are still up."[10]