George Washington "Doc" Hoskins (October 1864 – January 22, 1958) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player and coach of football and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. He served as the head football coach at
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
(1892–1895), the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
(1896), and
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...
(1899–1906, 1909), compiling a career
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 ...
record of 59–48–9. Hoskins was also the head basketball coach at Bucknell from 1908 to 1911, tallying a mark of 21–14.
Early life
Hoskins was born in 1864 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
Coaching career
Hoskins was the first head coach for the
Penn State Nittany Lions football team. While the school played football from 1887 to 1891, before his arrival, Hoskins is credited for being their first coach. During his tenure from 1892 to 1895, he compiled a 17–4–4 record. His .760 winning percentage ranks highest in school history, surpassing notable coaches such as
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...
,
Hugo Bezdek
Hugo Francis Bezdek (April 1, 1884 – September 19, 1952) was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon (1906, 1913– ...
, and
Rip Engle
Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from ...
. He lost his first college football game at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, and tied his final game against
Western Reserve University
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
.
He followed up his career at Penn State by becoming the third-ever head coach for the
Pittsburgh Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...
in 1896. By mid-November 1896, Hoskins was called upon to become the head coach of the early professional football team, the
Pittsburgh Athletic Club
The Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) was one of the earliest professional ice hockey teams. It was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from around 1895 until 1904 and again from 1907 to 1909. The team was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey Le ...
. He tried to salvage the team's dismal season, but instead helped guide them to a 2–5–3 record.
Hoskins later served as a trainer during spring training for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
. He died in 1958 in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
Head coaching record
College football
See also
*
1896 Pittsburgh Athletic Club football season
*
References
Additional sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoskins, George
1864 births
1958 deaths
19th-century players of American football
American football ends
Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania
Bucknell Bison football coaches
Bucknell Bison men's basketball coaches
Cincinnati Reds personnel
Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Pittsburgh Athletic Club football coaches
Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches
Sportspeople from Philadelphia
Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Philadelphia