William Henry "Wild Bill" Steers (April 13, 1897 – December 20, 1957) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and coach and university professor. He served as the head football coach at

California University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, California (commonly known as PennWest California) is a public university campus in California, Pennsylvania and one of three campuses of Pennsylvania Western University, part of the Pennsylvania State System o ...

California, Pennsylvania California is a borough on the Monongahela River in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area since 1950. The population was 5,479 as of the 2020 census and was estimated at 5,453 in 2021. Cali ...

from 1929 to 1940, compiling a record of 37–40–9. A native of The Dalles, Oregon, Steers played football at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, where he was a member of the

1919 Oregon Webfoots football team The 1919 Oregon Webfoots football team represented the University of Oregon in the 1919 college football season. It was the Webfoots' 27th overall and fourth season as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC). Home games were played at Ki ...

, which shared the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

(PCC) title and played in the

1920 Rose Bowl The 1920 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a college football bowl game in Pasadena, California, played on January 1, 1920. In the sixth Rose Bowl, the once-tied Harvard Crimson met the once-defeated Ore ...

. He earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from Oregon in 1929 and a doctorate from

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

in 1940. Steers was hired as a professor of physical educator at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

in 1940. He joined the faculty at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

in 1945 as a physical education instructor and was later the director of education instruction at the university's School of Education. Steers died on December 20, 1957.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steers, Bill 1897 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American academics American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks California Vulcans football coaches Mare Island Marines football players Oregon Ducks football players Ithaca College faculty Teachers College, Columbia University alumni University of Miami faculty People from The Dalles, Oregon Coaches of American football from Oregon Players of American football from Oregon Educators from Oregon Military personnel from Oregon