Willard J. Ryan (May 8, 1890 – February 7, 1962) was an American teacher and football coach who served as the first

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Historically,

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau (April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native George Whitney Cal ...

has been credited as being the Packers' first head coach, although this is primarily due to the different rules of American football in the early 1900s. In Ryan's era, the head coach was not allowed to communicate with the players while they were playing a game. Lambeau, as team captain, would call the plays during a game and also organized practices, tasks that are now allocated to the head coaching position. Ryan, who also coached the

Green Bay West High School Green Bay West High School is a high school in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, serving the city's west side. Originally founded in 1890 as the high school for the town of Fort Howard (annexed into Green Bay in 1895), the school opened as We ...

football team, only coached the Packers in their inaugural season in 1919, leading the team to a record of . Before his coaching career, Ryan served in

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 1918. In 1920, he moved to Minnesota to work as a school teacher and a superintendent of schools. He retired in 1955 and moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, in 1961. He died of unknown causes on February 7, 1962, at the age of 71.

Early life

Willard Ryan was born on May 8, 1890, in

Washburn, Wisconsin Washburn is a city in Bayfield County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 2,051 at the 2020 census. The city is just east of and adjacent to the Town of Washburn. It is in northern Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Superior's Che ...

, a small town on the coast of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. His parents were both of Irish descent.

Professional career

Ryan served as the

of the

football team in 1916 and 1917. In 1918, he served in

and also coached a military service football team. After co-founding the Packers with

George Whitney Calhoun George Whitney Calhoun (September 16, 1890 – December 6, 1963) was an American newspaper editor and co-founder of the Green Bay Packers, a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After establishing the Packers ...

asked Ryan to be the head coach of the team, while Lambeau served as team captain. During the 1919 season, Ryan also returned to coach Green Bay West, while Lambeau coached rival

Green Bay East High School Green Bay East High School is a public high school in the Green Bay Area Public School District serving the near-east side of Green Bay, Wisconsin and parts of Bellevue and Allouez. Founded in 1856, the school has occupied its current building ...

. Under Ryan's coaching, Green Bay West finished the 1919 season with a record of . The Packers under Ryan were more successful, with the team going in 1919, mostly playing against other local teams in the Wisconsin region. The Packers controversially lost the last game of the year to the

Beloit Fairies Beloit may refer to Places in the United States * Beloit, Alabama * Beloit, Georgia * Beloit, Iowa * Beloit, Kansas * Beloit, Ohio *Beloit, Wisconsin * Beloit (town), Wisconsin, adjacent to the city of Beloit *Beloit Township, Mitchell County, Kan ...

to ruin their perfect record. The controversy arose as the referee, which was provided by Beloit, called three separate penalties that negated three Packers' touchdowns. Ryan was quoted after the game saying "the boys displayed wonderful fighting ability, but it was simply a case of too much Zabel

he referee He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

and that he considered the game a "robbery". Even though Ryan served officially as head coach in 1919, the Packers' organization considers Lambeau as the first head coach. This is primarily due to the roles that Lambeau and Ryan served. Although the division of labor is not exactly known, the rules of American football in the early 1900s prevented the head coach from talking to the players during the game. This meant that Lambeau, as team captain, called the plays and managed the team during games. Lambeau was also recognized for organizing the team, signing players, and conducting practices, all roles performed by a head coach in modern football. Prior to the 1920 Packers season, Lambeau replaced Ryan as coach. In 1920, Ryan moved from Green Bay to

Gilbert, Minnesota Gilbert is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,799 at the 2010 census. State Highway 37 (MN 37) and State Highway 135 (MN 135) are two of the main routes in Gilbert. Gilbert is part of the Quad Cities, w ...

, where he was

superintendent of schools In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principal ...

for a number of years. In 1942, he took part in Fourth Registration of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

draft—colloquially known as "

The Old Man's Draft The Old Man's Draft or Old Man's Registration is the colloquial term for the fourth Selective Service registration sequence held in the United States during World War II, in April 1942. History The first peacetime conscription in American histor ...

". The registration did not lead to enlistments into the military though, as its purpose was to provide an inventory of the industrial manpower of men who were too old to serve in active United States military units. Ryan later moved to

Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth. Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...

, where he retired in 1955 from being an agriculture instructor, a position he had taken in the preceding years.

Personal life

Ryan was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. He also served as a commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

and was a member of the

Elks Lodge The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a so ...

. In 1961, Ryan moved to

. He died of unknown causes six months later—on February 7, 1962—at the age of 71. He was survived by his wife, son, and two daughters.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Willard 1890 births 1962 deaths Green Bay Packers head coaches People from Eveleth, Minnesota People from Gilbert, Minnesota Sportspeople from Green Bay, Wisconsin People from Washburn, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Military personnel from Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Wisconsin Educators from Minnesota American military personnel of World War I