Ebin "Tug" Wilson (August 1869 – December 18, 1948), sometimes spelled Eben Wilson, 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. He was a starter on the

1901 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the Western Conference during the 1901 Western Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Fielding H. ...

that outscored its opponents 550–0 and later coached football at

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cur ...

and

Alma College Alma College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Alma College is affiliat ...

Early life and playing career

Wilson was born in August 1869. He grew up in

Merrill, Michigan Merrill is a village located in Jonesfield Township in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 Census places the population at 778. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all l ...

and began his college football career playing for Michigan State Normal College—now known as

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

–at

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

. During his senior year in 1898, Wilson was captain of Normal's football team. After graduating from the State Normal school, Wilson enrolled 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 ...

as a law student. He played for the

football team as a reserve in 1899 and as the starting

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 eccentricity ...

in 1900. He was the starting

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gill ...

on the

that won the national championship and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 550 to 0. After the 1901 season, the ''Michigan Daily-News'' wrote of Wilson: "He has a great many qualities which combine to make a good guard, but there is one that stands out above all the rest and that is -- strength." He was also the University of Michigan's champion heavyweight wrestler and an expert boxer. At the end of the 1901 season, Wilson was selected as an All-Western player by Rhinehart.

Coaching career

After playing in the

1902 Rose Bowl Originally titled the "Tournament East–West football game," what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was first played on January 1, 1902, at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games. The inaugu ...

and graduating from Michigan, Wilson became the 15th head football coach at

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...

. When the hiring of Wilson was announced, the college newspaper at Wabash reported:

Wabash college students believe that they have this year a coach who will do more toward strengthening the team and promoting interests of football in general than has been done in many years in the past. Coach Wilson is the man in whom we place this confidence. Through many years of experience on college elevens, he has certainly gained no mean knowledge of the find points of the game and what is more he has the ability of imparting this knowledge to the players. He states that in drilling the team he expects to follow closely the tactics which he learned in Michigan under Coach
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 ...
, and, in addition, to teach some new plays of his own invention which he is sure are winners.

After Wilson took over as coach in the fall of 1902, the Wabash team compiled a 2–4–2 record that season. In 1903, Wilson led the team to a record of 9–3, including shutout victories over

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

(5–0),

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

(46–0),

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

(51–0), and

DePauw Pauw (Dutch for "peacock"), de Pauw or DePauw are variants of a Dutch or Flemish surname and may refer to: People ;Pauw * Adriaan Pauw (1585–1653), Dutch Grand Pensionary of Holland *Jacques Pauw, South African investigative journalist * Michiel ...

(10–0), and an 87–5 win over

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

. The 1903 Wabash team outscored its opponents by a combined score of 274 to 74. In the final game of the 1903 season, Wabash was beaten by Notre Dame, 34–0. His career coaching record at Wabash was 11–7–2. Wilson became the football coach at

in 1904. In addition to coaching football, Wilson was the school's physical director and instructor of physical training for men.

Family and death

Wilson was married to Grace Coy in 1897. At the time of the 1900 United States Census, Wilson and his wife lived in Columbia Township in

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

region of Michigan. He worked at a planing mill. In 1910, Wilson remained in Columbia with his wife. By that time, they had a son, Wayne M. Wilson. Wilson's occupation in 1910 was listed as a farmer. At the time of the

1930 United States Census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during ...

, Wilson was still living in Columbia and working as a farmer. His son, Wayne M. Wilson, was living with him and working as a fireman for the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1940, Wilson was living in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, and working as a watchman. Wilson died in 1948 at the Saginaw County Infirmary. He was 78 years old at the time of his death.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ebin 1869 births 1948 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football centers American football guards Alma Scots football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football players Michigan Wolverines football players Wabash Little Giants football coaches University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Saginaw County, Michigan Coaches of American football from Michigan Players of American football from Michigan