William Stirling "Wild Bill" Claiborne (December 11, 1879 – January 7, 1933) was a college football player and Episcopal archdeacon of Sewanee and East Tennessee. Before he was archdeacon, he was rector of Otey Memorial parish.

College football

Claiborne attended Roanoke College from 1891 to 1897. Claiborne was a prominent

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for the

Sewanee Tigers The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 Province 4 of the Epis ...

of Sewanee:The University of the South, a small Episcopal school in the mountains of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He played on the 1899 " Iron Men" who won five road games in six days and all by shutout, selected All-Southern. Claiborne was blind in one eye, and used his discolored eye for purposes of intimidation on the field. A documentary film about the team and Claiborne's role was released in 2022 called "Unrivaled: Sewanee 1899." At Sewanee Claiborne studied

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and was ordained priest in 1901.

Religious work

He was a member of the Missionary Society. He was called the "apostle of the mountain folk" for his work among Tennessee

mountain people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

. He founded the St. Andrew's School for Mountain Boys, refounded St. Mary's School, founded the DuBose Memorial Training School, and established Emerald-Hogston Hospital. Claiborne wrote a book titled ''Roy in the Mountains''. One description of his service in the ministry reads "eleven years ago he went into the mountains of East Tennessee and rolled up his sleeves. They are still up."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claiborne, Wild Bill 1872 births 1933 deaths American football guards Sewanee Tigers football players All-Southern college football players Players of American football from Virginia People from Amherst County, Virginia 19th-century players of American football Sportspeople with a vision impairment American disabled sportspeople