Andrew William Smith (December 9, 1886 – September 6, 1959) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach, college athletics administrator,

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officer, and physician. Smith grew up in

Fredonia, Kansas Fredonia is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,151. The city was founded in 1868, and saw considerable expansion in the early 20th century, with a fos ...

and enrolled at the Homeopathic Medical School at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, receiving his degree in 1912. While attending medical school, he played football for the

1909 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1909 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1909 college football season. The team's head coach was Fielding H. Yost in his ninth year at Michigan. The Wolverines compiled a record of 6–1, outscored ...

. He was selected by

Walter Eckersall Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American college football player, official, and sportswriter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He played for the Maroons of the University of Chicago, and was elected to the ...

in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' as the first-team

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

on their

1909 All-Western college football team The 1909 All-Western college football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Western teams chosen by various selectors for the 1909 college football season. All-Western selections Ends * Harlan Page, Chicago (ECP-1, WE) * ...

, and by E. C. Patterson in ''

Collier's Weekly ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...

'' as the second-team center. Smith was an assistant coach for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1911 and 1912. In August 1914, Smith was hired as the athletic director head football coach at Throop College of Technology (now known as

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

) in Pasadena, California. Upon his hiring, ''The Lancet-Clinic'' reported that the school had "procured the services of a 'medical coach'" who would "both teach the Throop students how to pay football and attend them in case of injury." In 1915, Smith worked as a football coach at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, assisting head football coach Jimmie Schaeffer. In 1916, he returned to Throop as head football coach. Smith continued to coach the Throop football team through at least 1917. Smith organized a Red Cross Medical Corps in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

at the beginning of the United States' involvement in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was sent to officer's training school at Camp Funston and was then stationed at Fort Oglethorpe in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Ranking as a lieutenant, he coached the 1918 Camp Greenleaf football team at Fort Oglethorpe until he was sent overseas in November 1918. However, the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

was signed before he reached France. Smith was then promoted to captain in the medical reserve corps of the regular

. In the early 1920s, Smith was stationed at Crissy Field, an army airfield in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In late 1922, he was sent to

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in the Panama Canal Zone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Andrew W. 1886 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American physicians American football centers American football guards California Golden Bears football coaches Caltech Beavers athletic directors Caltech Beavers football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players People from Fredonia, Kansas United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I Coaches of American football from Kansas Players of American football from Kansas Military personnel from Kansas