Edwin Mortimer Hopkins (September 16, 1862 – June 13, 1946) was an American university professor 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 ...
coach. He served on the faculty at the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
from 1891 to 1937, where he was the head of the English department for many years. He was also the head coach for the
school's football team for their 1891 season, their first official head coach.
Hopkins graduated from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1888 with a bachelor's degree in English and earned a master's degree the following year. While at Princeton he was elected to the "Lit" board in 1888.
That same year he won "The Lippincott prize" of $50 for writing the best article on "Social Life at Princeton".
He returned to Princeton to complete his PhD in 1894, and upon his return to KU he became a full professor in English.
Coaching career
![E](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/E.M._Hopkins_1893_Associate_in_English_at_KU.jpg)
While Hopkins never played football, he was hired to be the first head football coach of the
Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...
for the second season of the program's history. He was hired for the most part because he had recently arrived at the university from back east where the sport had already been established for several decades and was quickly gaining in popularity, which gave him a fresh thorough understanding of the game.
He led the team to an undefeated season with a mark of 7–0–1.
At the University of Kansas, he was instrumental in founding several regional and national organizations. He was a founder of the Quill Club,
the English Journal
''English Journal'' (previously ''The English Journal'') is the official publication of the Secondary Education section of the American National Council of Teachers of English. The peer-reviewed journal has been published since 1912 and features c ...
, and the Kansas Association of Teachers of English.
As he was a direct descendant of
Stephen Hopkins,
one of the passengers of the
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
, he founded the
Kansas Society of Mayflower Descendants. In addition, he was a charter member of the
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations.
The AAUP's stated mission is ...
and played an important role in the formation of the
National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum ...
where he served as director for several years and president in 1915.
He was also the director of a large national survey on the cost and labor of English in the United States from 1913 to 1931 backed by the
United States Bureau of Education
The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separated ...
, the
National Education Association
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...
, the
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...
, and the National Council.
In 1905, he reorganized the
University Daily Kansan
The ''University Daily Kansan'' is an editorially independent student newspaper serving the University of Kansas. It was founded in 1904.
Its print distribution was only within the university's campus, as well as student apartment complexes throu ...
as part of his work reorganizing the school of Journalism at the university, which he had begun in 1903.
Later life and death
Hopkins had a lifelong love of music. As an officer of the Philadelphian Society at Yale in 1888 he served as their official organist.
Later on while living in
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
he served as a church organist and choir director at three different churches, spending his last 25 years as the organist of the Lawrence Baptist Church. Hopkins died on June 13, 1946, in
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
at the age of 83. He was married until his wife's death in 1944. He and his wife never had any children..
He and his wife were buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in
Metuchen, New Jersey
Metuchen ( ) is a suburban borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. The borough, along wit ...
.
Head coaching record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Edwin Mortimer
1862 births
1946 deaths
Kansas Jayhawks football coaches
Princeton University alumni
University of Kansas faculty
People from Kent, New York