Walter Raleigh "Okey" Okeson (October 3, 1875 – November 4, 1943) 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. He was a
player-coach for the first all-professional football team, the
Latrobe Athletic Association club in 1897. Okeson was the head football coach at
Lehigh University in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
for one season, in 1900, compiling a record of 5–6.
Okeson was also an
All-American end at Lehigh. In
1897
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...
he was a
player-coach for the
Latrobe Athletic Association and led the team to a 10–2–1 record. He was later named to the "All Western Pennsylvania Team" by ''
The Pittsburg Times'' after the season. In 1898, he played for the
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club. At the end of that season, Okeson played for Duquesne against the
1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team
The 1898 Western Pennsylvania All-Star football team was a collection of early American football, football players, from several teams in the area, to form an all-star team. The team was formed by Dave Berry (American football), Dave Berry, the m ...
, formed by Latrobe manager
Dave Berry. Duquesne won the game, 16-0.
Okeson was the chairman of the College Football Rules Committee for a time. He was also the editor for the 1933–1940 editions of ''Spalding's Foot Ball Guide''. The 1934 edition of the ''Guide'' contained a "National Champion Foot Ball Teams" list compiled by football historian
Parke H. Davis
Parke Hill Davis (July 15, 1871 – June 5, 1934)"PARKE H. DAVIS BURIED.; Many Prominent Men at Funeral of Football Authority", special to ''The New York Times'', June 9, 1934 was an American football player, coach, and historian.
Shortly befo ...
, who died before publication. As editor, Okeson was responsible for the subsequent additions to this list in the 1935 and 1936 editions of the ''Guide'', which were then titled "Outstanding Nationwide and Sectional Teams" that were "Originally Compiled by the late Parke H. Davis."
In the 1939 ''Guide'', Okeson wrote,
Okeson was elected to the Lehigh University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Head coaching record
College
References
External links
*
1875 births
1943 deaths
19th-century players of American football
American football ends
Player-coaches
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club players
Latrobe Athletic Association coaches
Latrobe Athletic Association players
Lehigh Mountain Hawks football coaches
Lehigh Mountain Hawks football players
People from Juniata County, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Pennsylvania
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