Charles Wesley Melick (May 20, 1877 – April 15, 1960) was an American educator and

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 ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach. He served as the first head basketball coach for

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, in 1905–06,and was head football coach at Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

—in 1907.

Biography

Melick spent most of his early life in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, primarily in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. He attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree, and then worked as a dairy husbandry assistant at the

Kansas State Agricultural College Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1905, he coached the

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team at Kansas State. Melick is also credited as the first basketball coach in the Kansas State history, posting a 7–9 record in the 1905–06 season.Julius Terrass Willard
''History of the Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science''
p. 506, Kansas State College Press, 1940. While working at Kansas State, Melick was credited with the invention of new drink he called "Kansas Ambrosia", a mixture of

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

and

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mod ...

that could be "flavored to suit taste" and "served at all times." At the age of 29 in 1906, he moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

for work.''Some Phases of the Negro Question''
p. 1, D.H. Deloe, 1908. He worked at the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station as a professor of

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

.''American Chemical Journal, Volume 40''
p. 129, 1908. While he worked at the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, Melick became the head coach for the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

(now University of Maryland)

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

in 1907. He hired Washington attorney Durant Church as an assistant coach, and Church tutored

Curley Byrd Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd (February 12, 1889 – October 2, 1970) was an American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician. Byrd began a long association with the University of Maryland as an undergraduate in 1905, and ...

in the art of

kick A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

ing. Byrd also assisted with coaching as both Melick and Church were often busy with their full-time professional jobs.David Ungrady
''Tales from the Maryland Terrapins''
p. 15, Sports Publishing LLC, 2003, . Melick, a native of the then homogeneous

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

, was surprised at the state of race relations when he moved to Maryland, where about a quarter of the population was black. He wrote ''Some Phases of the Negro Question'' based on his observations in 1908, and in which he criticized

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...

Published works

*''Dairy Laboratory Guide'', 1907. *''Some Phases of the Negro Question'', 1908.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melick, Charles 1877 births 1960 deaths American agriculturalists Maryland Terrapins football coaches Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball coaches Kansas State Wildcats track and field coaches Kansas State University faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty University of Nebraska alumni Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Basketball coaches from Nebraska