Samuel Clyde Williams (March 24, 1879 – March 20, 1938) was an All-American football player at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, and a football, basketball, and baseball coach and athletic director at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. He is a member of both schools' Halls of Fame.

College career

Williams was born in

Shelby, Iowa Shelby is a city in Pottawattamie and Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 727 at the time of the 2020 census. History Shelby got its start in the late 1860s, following construction of the railroad through the territor ...

. He played

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 ...

for the

under coach

Alden Knipe Alden Arthur Knipe (June 1870 – May 22, 1950) was an American football player and coach. He served as the sixth head football coach at the University of Iowa, serving from 1898 to 1902 and compiling a record of 30–11–4. Knipe was also the ...

. Knipe was a stern disciplinarian, and friction soon arose between Knipe and the older players of the 1898 Hawkeye football team. After Iowa started the season 1–4–1, Ralph Blackmore led the "Blackmore Revolt", in which five upperclassmen quit the team. Knipe simply started younger players, including Clyde Williams, who was a freshman at the time. With Williams at quarterback, Iowa finished the year 2–0–1, ending the season with a 6–5 victory over rival

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 ...

. Nebraska had been heavy favorites and were coached by

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

. In Williams' sophomore season in 1899, Iowa faced heavily favored

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, coached by

Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...

. The Hawks scored a touchdown against Chicago, while the Maroons could muster only a field goal. Since both were scored as five points in those days, Iowa settled for a 5–5 tie. Chicago went on to win the 1899 Western Conference title with a 12–0–2 record. Under Williams, the Hawkeyes did not yield another point all year, winning their last seven games by a combined score of 194–0. Iowa closed the 1899 season by defeating

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in their first ever meeting by a 58–0 score. That capped off an 8–0–1 season for the Hawkeyes, their first ever undefeated season. Less than 24 hours after the season ended, the University of Iowa accepted an invitation for membership in the Western Conference.

Caspar Whitney Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January 18, 1929) was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889 when he worked for '' Harp ...

in Collier's Magazine named Clyde Williams as the top quarterback in the West in 1899.Williams' State of Iowa Hall of Fame bio
. In Williams' junior season in 1900, the Hawkeyes won their first four non-conference games by a combined score of 198–0. Chicago loomed as Iowa's first ever Big Ten opponent. Chicago had won the Western Conference the previous year and handed Iowa its only blemish on the season in 1899. After a scoreless first half, the Hawks scored two quick touchdowns early in the second period and Iowa won, 17–0.75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 21 (ASIN: B0007E01F8) Iowa's next game was against

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. The Hawkeyes led 28–0 before Michigan managed a field goal to prevent the shutout, the first points scored on Iowa in 1900. But the Hawkeyes dominated the Wolverines and won, 28–5. The victories over Chicago and Michigan allowed Iowa to earn a share of the Big Ten title with

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in Iowa's first year in the conference. The Hawkeyes finished with a 7–0–1 record, their second straight undefeated season. After the season, Clyde Williams was named a third-team All-American by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

. Williams was the first player west of the Mississippi River to garner All-American honors. As a result, Clyde Williams is often referred to as "Iowa's first All-American". Only three starters returned in Williams' senior season in 1901. Williams was named as Iowa's team captain. The Hawkeyes won their first three games of 1901 before preparing to play fellow defending Western Conference champion,

. 25 minutes before the game, Williams was told he was ineligible to play for the remainder of the season, because he had played summer baseball under an assumed name. A deflated Hawkeye team lost to Minnesota, 16–0, losing their first game and yielding their first touchdown in 23 games. Iowa finished with a 6–3 record in 1901. In four years as a starting quarterback at Iowa, Williams never lost a game. The Hawkeyes' record in games Williams started, from the middle of the 1898 season to the middle of the 1901 season, was 23–0–3. He earned 11 letters at Iowa, four in football, four in baseball, and three in track.

Coaching career

After serving as an Iowa assistant football coach for two years, Williams went to

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

as an assistant football coach for

. Williams served as the Cyclones' head football coach for six seasons from 1907 to 1912. During that time, he had a coaching record of 32–15–2. This ranks him fifth at Iowa State in total wins and fourth at Iowa State in winning percentage. In addition, he led Iowa State to two

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

football titles in 1911 and 1912, which are currently the only two conference football championships in school history. Williams was the school's first men's basketball coach from 1908 to 1911, where he compiled a 20–29 record. He also served as Iowa State's baseball coach and was their athletic director from 1914 to 1919.

Death

Williams died on March 20, 1938, at his home, in

Sheldon, Iowa Sheldon is a city in O'Brien and Sioux counties in the U.S. state of Iowa, along the Floyd River. The population was 5,512 at the time of the 2020 census; it is the largest city in O'Brien County. History and culture Sheldon got its start i ...

, following several months of illness.

Honors

Iowa State's home football stadium from 1915 through 1975 was named

Clyde Williams Field Clyde Williams Field was an outdoor stadium on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. It was the home of the Iowa State Cyclones football and track and field teams. It was originally built in 1914–15, just south of the recently com ...

in Williams's honor. It was replaced when Iowa State moved to their current facility,

Jack Trice Stadium Jack Trice Stadium (originally Cyclone Stadium and formerly Jack Trice Field, sometimes referred to as "the Jack") is a stadium located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the Iowa State Cyc ...

. Williams was inducted into the State of Iowa Hall of Fame in 1956. He is also one of the few people inducted into both the

University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame The University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame is a sports history museum located in the Roy G. Karro Building in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. The museum pays tribute to the most legendary and influential Iowa Hawkeye sports heroes. Opened in October 200 ...

(inducted 1993) and the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame (inducted 1997).Williams' Iowa State Hall of Fame bio
.

Head coaching record

Football

Basketball

Baseball

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Clyde 1879 births 1938 deaths 19th-century players of American football Baseball second basemen Baseball shortstops Baseball third basemen Des Moines Boosters players Iowa Hawkeyes baseball players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Iowa State Cyclones athletic directors Iowa State Cyclones baseball coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball coaches Marshalltown Brownies players Marshalltown Grays players Sioux Falls Canaries players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Toledo Mud Hens players College men's track and field athletes in the United States Coaches of American football from Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Baseball players from Iowa Baseball coaches from Iowa Basketball coaches from Iowa