Zachary Henry Curlin (January 31, 1890 – June 3, 1970) 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 wi ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and coach.

Background and career

Curlin attended Christian Brothers College (now University) in Memphis and the Webb School. and played piano in the band. He was a halfback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

teams from 1910 to 1913, and the starting quarterback in 1912 and 1913, leading Vandy to an SIAA title in 1912. He made kicks on both Harvard and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Curlin was pulled for his backup Rabbi Robbins in Vanderbilt's largest win its history, a 105–0 win over Bethel in 1912, the muddy conditions better suited to the other's talents. Curlin later served as the

Memphis Tigers men's basketball The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represents the University of Memphis in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The Tigers have competed in the American Athletic Conference since 2013. As of 2020, the Tigers had the 26th highest winni ...

coach for many years.

Legacy

Curlin was inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame in 1974 and a street on the south side of the university's campus bears his name. An award is given annually in his name that recognizes the top male student-athlete at the University of Memphis that possesses his "drive, enthusiasm and determination for academics and athletics while maintaining a concern for others."

References

External links

* 1890 births 1970 deaths American men's basketball players American football drop kickers American football quarterbacks Memphis Tigers athletic directors Memphis Tigers baseball coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee People from Mississippi County, Arkansas Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee Basketball coaches from Tennessee Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee Christian Brothers University alumni {{1920s-collegefootball-coach-stub