Roscoe A. "Skip" Gougler (August 11, 1894 – July 16, 1962) 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, dentist, and professor of dentistry. He played at the halfback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

positions for the

Pittsburgh Panthers football The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the College athletics, intercollegiate American football, football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport a ...

teams from 1914 to 1918. He was selected as a second-team All-American in 1918. He also played two years of professional football, including the 1919 season with the

Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships ...

of the

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...

. He later coached football and became a member of the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh's dentistry school.

Biography

Gougler was raised in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. He played quarterback for the Harrisburg Central High School football team, where he developed a reputation as "a most illusive icsidestepper." After one year at Conway Hall, Gougler enrolled at 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 ...

where he played four years of football under coach

"Pop" Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

. Gougler was a member of the

Pitt Panthers football The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has pl ...

teams from 1915-1918. He played halfback and quarterback at Pitt. During Gougler's four seasons at Pitt, the Panthers were undefeated and ran up a 33-game winning streak before losing to Syracuse by a score of 24-3 in 1919. As a senior in 1918, Gougler was selected as a second-team All-American by Robert (Tiny) Maxwell, sports editor of the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. Pitt's undefeated 1917 team was known as "The Fighting Dentists" because on occasion every position was filled by dental students. The dental students on the 1917 team included Gougler, (Gougler completed his education in dentistry at Pitt in 1920.) "Tank" McLaren

Katy Easterday Roy Alexander "Katy" Easterday (June 29, 1894 – May 26, 1976) was an American football and basketball player, track and field athlete, coach, college athletics administrator, and dentist. He played at the halfback position for the Pittsburgh Pan ...

, "Jake" Stahl. and

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

. Gougler signed with the Massillon Tigers to play professional football in 1919. Gougler proved to be a key player on the 1919 Massillon team. Early in the season, Gougler kicked three field goals to account for all of the team's scoring in a key 9-6 win over the

Akron Indians The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...

. Gougler's third field goal came with only seconds left in the game. In a rematch against Akron later in the year, Gougler again scored all of Massillon's points in a 13-6 win. On Armistice Day in 1919, Massillon lost to Cleveland Tigers, 3-0, as Gougler missed five

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

attempts, including three from inside the 20-yard line. In 1920, Gougler completed his education in dentistry. While completing his studies, he began his coaching career as an assistant coach at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

in Pittsburgh. In July 1921, he was hired as an assistant football coach at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

. At Lafayette, Gougler worked as an assistant to his former Pitt teammate

. In 1924, Sutherland became the head football coach at Pitt, and Gougler followed him from Lafayette. Gougler again became an assistant football coach under Sutherland. He remained a member of the Pitt coaching staff until 1934. Gougler later served as a member of Pitt's Dental School faculty. Gougler died at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh at age 67 in 1962.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gougler, Skip 1894 births 1962 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Duquesne Dukes football coaches Lafayette Leopards football coaches Massillon Tigers players Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Players of American football from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pittsburgh