Sidney John Watson (May 4, 1932 – April 25, 2004) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and college

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and coach. He played halfback in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

. He was also the head hockey coach at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

from 1959 to 1983.

Early life

Watson was born in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

and attended Punchard High School.

College career

Watson attended and played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

, where he averaged more than 100 rushing yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry during his career. He played on Northeastern's 1951 undefeated team, and was chosen Little All America in 1953 and captained the 1954 team. He still holds Northeastern's school records for most single-season points (74) and held the record for most career points (191) until 1997. In addition to lettering in football for three years, Watson also received one letter in

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 (appro ...

and three in

Professional football career

After graduating from college, Watson played in the

for the

from 1955 to 1957. He then played with the

in 1958.

Hockey coaching career

Watson became co-head coach of the

team with C. Nels Corey in 1958. He then became the full head coach in 1959, a position he held until 1983. While coach, he led the Polar Bears to the

ECAC 2 ECAC 2 was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's College Division. The league was created as a way to fairly divide the upper- and lower-class programs that had been members of ECAC Hockey. In 1984 the conference was sp ...

playoffs 16 times and won conference championships in 1971, 1975, 1976 and 1978. Watson was awarded the

Eddie Jeremiah Edward John Jeremiah (; November 4, 1905 – June 7, 1967) was an American professional ice hockey player who played 15 games in the National Hockey League for the New York Americans and Boston Bruins during the 1931–32 season. After his play ...

Memorial Trophy, recognizing the national Small College Coach of the year in 1970, 1971 and 1978. Watson joined the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials an ...

during 1999. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious

Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award The Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award is an annual award presented by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Committee to honor "one of the all-time great contributors to the game of College ice hockey, college hockey." In 1981, the Hobey Baker ...

Head coaching record

Administrator career

After retiring as a coach, Watson served as Bowdoin's

Athletic Director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

. He was also the chairman of the NCAA ice Hockey Rules and Tournament Committee for six years, and served as president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and a member of the board of governors of the American College Hockey Coaches Association.

Legacy

In 1996, Bowdoin dedicated the Sidney J. Watson Fitness Facility in his honor. In 2004, following Watson's death, the Division III Men's Player of the Year Award was renamed the Sid Watson Award. In 2009, Bowdoin named their new ice hockey arena the Sidney J. Watson Arena, which holds approximately 2,300 spectators and is

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

(LEED) certified.

Personal life

Watson was married and had five children and 11 grandchildren. He died after suffering a

Myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

on April 25, 2004.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Sid 1932 births 2004 deaths People from Andover, Massachusetts American football halfbacks Northeastern Huskies football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Washington Redskins players American ice hockey coaches American men's ice hockey players Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey coaches Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey players Northeastern Huskies men's basketball players Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts American men's basketball players Basketball players from Essex County, Massachusetts Ice hockey players from Massachusetts United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American sportsmen