William Freeman "Deacon" White (December 6, 1878 – November 1, 1939) was an American educator and an athlete, coach, manager, owner and promoter of multiple sports, known as the "King of Sports" in
Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
, during the 1920s. His is remembered as founder of multiple sports teams and the first coach of the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
football team. A book-length biography of him called him "the founder of modern sports in Edmonton".
Biography
White was born in
Sheridan, Illinois
Sheridan is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 2,431, up from 2,137 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Sheridan is locate ...
, on 6 December 1878 and graduated with a master's degree from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. There is no record of him playing intercollegiate sports there, but he is believed to have played intramural sports, and excelled at track, basketball, rugby, and baseball. He received the nickname "Deacon" because he was the son of a preacher, and possibly as an allusion to professional baseball player James Laurie "Deacon" White.
He began his working life as a professor in mathematics at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, but was involved with sports from soon after his graduation, and coached the St. Alban's Military Academy in Chicago to a state baseball championship.
He moved to Iowa in 1903 to teach and coach baseball. He then moved into baseball full-time, coaching and managing teams in Wisconsin, Montana, and North Dakota. In the spring of 1906 he played for
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
of the North-Western League for two months before an injury ended his season. He then formed a youth team from
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Frank Oliver, Frank Goode,
Frank Gray
Francis Tierney Gray (born 27 October 1954) is a Scottish Association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. He played for Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest, Sunde ...
, and others) hoping to found a professional baseball team.
White first need to create a professional league in which an Edmonton could play. He therefore became the primary organizer and founder of the Western Canada Baseball League which was founded in 1906, and the coach and chief promoter of Edmonton's team in the new league, the Legislators. This initial venture only lasted one year, however, so in 1908 he founded a four-team senior amateur league called the "Twilight League" and managed a team affiliated with the Edmonton Young Liberals Club, as well as playing first base for the Liberals.
In football, he became the Edmonton Esquimaux' first import player and also their coach. He led them to an
Alberta Rugby Football Union The Alberta Rugby Football Union was formed on September 25, 1911, and governed the newly emerging and evolving sport of football in the province for over 2 decades before it was disbanded in 1936. First the Calgary Rugby Football Union (CRFU) was c ...
championship in 1908.
In 1910 the Esquimaux changed their name to the Edmonton Eskimos (Elks for the 1922 season), and White was their coach. This team was the franchise predecessor to the publicly owned Edmonton Eskimo Rugby Club, established in 1948. He coached the senior team during three different periods, compiling a record of 21 wins, 11 losses and 1 tie. Most famously, he led the team to two
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
finals, in 1921 and 1922. Though they lost both games, the Eskimos were the first western Canadian team to challenge for the Cup. In all, he coached 11 seasons, still an Eskimos franchise record.
He also was a player, coach and manager of Edmonton Eskimos baseball team. He also coached and managed the Edmonton Eskimos hockey club, taking them to the semi-finals of the
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...
Chicago
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