William Francis "Pooch" Donovan Sr. (March 15, 1868 – August 21, 1928) was an American athletic trainer and coach. He was the head coach of

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at ...

track coach from 1908 to 1921 and 1925 to 1928, trainer of the

Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun c ...

team from 1907 to 1925, head coach of the football team in 1918, and trainer for the

Harvard Crimson baseball The Harvard Crimson baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of Harvard University, located in Boston, Massachusetts. The program has been a member of the Ivy League since the conference officially began sponsoring baseball a ...

team from 1907 to 1928.

Biography

Donovan was born on March 15, 1868, in

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

. He had a brother, Edward S. Donovan who was called Piper Donovan, who was a noted track athlete. His first cousin,

Keene Fitzpatrick Dennis Keene Fitzpatrick (December 25, 1864 – May 22, 1944) was an American track coach, athletic trainer, professor of physical training and gymnasium director for 42 years at Yale University (1890–1891, 1896–1898), the University of Mic ...

, was the longtime track coach 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 ...

. Donovan competed in track and football and was a member of the Natick Ladder Truck Team with future college trainers Keene Fitzpatrick,

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

, and

John J. Mack John J. Mack (born November 17, 1944) is a senior advisor to the Investment company, investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the former CEO and chairman of the board at Morgan Stanley, the New York City, New York-based investment bank and brok ...

. Donovan began his career in 1887 as an assistant trainer under Mike Murphy at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. In 1893 he became the athletic trainer for the Cleveland Athletic Club. The following year he moved to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, and began training athletes at the Worcester Oval. In 1895 he became the physical director of the

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

. He served as the athletic trainer at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

from 1896 to 1897 then returned to the Worcester Academy, where he trained

Arthur Duffey Arthur Francis Duffey (June 14, 1879 – January 23, 1955) was an American Track and field, track and field athlete who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. In 1902, whilst a student at Georgetown University, Duffey ran a world ...

and John W. Mayhew. In August 1906, Donovan was hired by Harvard to train their football and baseball teams starting in the fall of 1907. In 1908 he became the coach of Harvard's track team. He coached the

1918 Harvard Crimson football team The 1918 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1918 college football season. The Crimson finished with a 2–1 record under first-year head coach William F. Donovan. Walter Camp did not select any Harvard players ...

, which only played three games due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1921, Donovan was succeeded as track coach by W. J. Bingham, but stayed on as trainer of the football and baseball teams. In 1925, track coach Eddie Farrell replaced Donovan as trainer of the Harvard football team. Donovan served as track coach during the football season in Farrell's absence. Donovan had a heart attack in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

after the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. He returned home on August 12, 1928. He died on August 21, 1928, and was buried on August 24, 1928.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Pooch 1868 births 1928 deaths Athletic trainers Harvard Crimson baseball coaches Harvard Crimson football coaches Harvard Crimson track and field coaches People from Natick, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Track and field athletes from Massachusetts