Harry Killenger "Cy" Young (March 8, 1893 – September 24, 1977) 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 with ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and coach. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as a halfback at Marshall College—now known as

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

from 1910 to 1911 and

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

from 1913 to 1916. Young served as the head football coach at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

for one season, in 1917, compiling a record of 3–5. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

as a player in 1958.

Early life and playing career

A native of

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, attended three colleges and participated in the athletic programs of all three. In 1910–11, Young matriculated to Marshall College (now

), where he played varsity football,

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and baseball. He attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

where he played for the junior varsity football team for one year, and then transferred to

Washington & Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts university in Lexington, Virginia. Established in 1749 as the Augusta Academy, the university is among the Colonial col ...

, where he was a four-sport player, lettering 16 times. During his football career at Washington and Lee, Young led the team in scoring four straight years and served as captain of the team in 1916. At that time, Washington and Lee played such powerhouses as Army, Navy, Georgia Tech, Indiana, North Carolina and Cornell. Young's basketball career equaled his football, playing four years at Washington and Lee, leading the team in scoring three of the four years, and serving as captain in 1915. The

Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

selected him as an All-American in 1917. Young's baseball career also covered a four-year period, in which he led the team in runs scored and in stolen bases each of the four years. He was captain of the 1917 team. Young's track record also covered a span of four years where he ran the 100 and 220-yard dashes. He only lost one race during his college career and held many of the school's track records some of which still stand.

Coaching career

Young was the head football coach at the

for one season, guiding the 1917 William & Mary Indians football team to a record of 3–5. He was also head coach for the William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team for the 1917–18 season, leading his team to a mark of 6–11.William & Mary men's basketball history - Media Guide 2007-08
. Accessed March 24, 2008. Young served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in France during

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 ...

. After the war, he worked in the lumber business in

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

. He returned to coaching in 1928, when he was appointed freshman coach at William and Mary. He retired as Washington and Lee Alumni Secretary in 1958.

Honors and death

Young was selected to the

in 1958 and to the West Virginia Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1966. He is also an inductee of the Marshall University and Washington & Lee University halls of fame. In 1976, Young was also inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

. Young died on September 24, 1977, at a hospital in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Harry 1893 births 1977 deaths American men's basketball players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Marshall Thundering Herd baseball players Marshall Thundering Herd men's track and field athletes Michigan Wolverines football players Washington and Lee Generals baseball players Washington and Lee Generals football players Washington and Lee Generals men's basketball coaches Washington and Lee Generals men's basketball players William & Mary Tribe baseball coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches William & Mary Tribe football coaches All-American college men's basketball players All-Southern college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Army personnel of World War I Sportspeople from Charleston, West Virginia Coaches of American football from West Virginia Players of American football from West Virginia Baseball coaches from West Virginia Baseball players from West Virginia Basketball coaches from West Virginia Basketball players from West Virginia Military personnel from West Virginia Sportswriters from West Virginia Track and field athletes from West Virginia