William Joseph Randall (June 27, 1874 – November 17, 1925) was an American college football player and coach. He served as head coach at Dartmouth in 1910 and amassed a 5–2 record. Randall was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 27, 1874. A native of Chelsea, Massachusetts, Randall attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

from which he graduated in 1896. he played on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

and earned

varsity letters A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

in 1892, 1894, and 1895. Randall was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In 1896, he served as a coach at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

under fellow Dartmouth alumnus George Huff.''The Dartmouth'', p. 322. In 1909, Randall served as Dartmouth's assistant coach responsible for the

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

on the Dartmouth staff under W. H. Lillard. In 1910, Randall took over as head coach, with coaching duties also shared with

Tom Keady John Thomas Keady (August 18, 1882 – February 12, 1964) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Lehigh University from 1912 to 1920, at the University of Vermont from 1921 to ...

and

Clark Tobin Clark W. Tobin (January 1, 1887 – January 25, 1952) was an American college football player and coach. Biography Tobin played college football at Dartmouth College in 1909 and 1910. He was the captain of the 1909 Dartmouth football team and w ...

, which was a continuation of earlier practice of the football program. Randall continued to serve on the Dartmouth coaching staff over the next several years, including as a scout, until at least 1914.Dartmouth Drills in Snow
''The New York Times'', November 19, 1914. Randall died in his home in Chelsea on November 17, 1925, at the age of 51.
''The New York Times'', November 17, 1925.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, W. J. 1874 births 1925 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football tackles Norwich Cadets football coaches Dartmouth Big Green football coaches Dartmouth Big Green football players Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Sportspeople from Chelsea, Massachusetts Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from Boston