Gib Cool
Encyclopedia
William Cameron "Gib" Cool (ca. 1894 – February 8, 1933) was an All-American football player. Cool played center
for the Big Red
of Cornell University
from 1913-1915 and was selected as an All-American after his senior year in 1915. He was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.
, Cool attended the Wyoming Seminary
, the Sturgis Tutoring School and the Manlius Academy
before enrolling in the College of Agriculture at Cornell University
.
and end Murray Shelton
. In the 1915 match against Harvard, Cornell quarterback Charley Barrett
was knocked unconscious in the first half; Cool took over and led the team to a 10-0 victory, Harvard's first defeat since 1911. Cool was known as a football "iron man" who played every minute of every game for two seasons with Cornell. After his senior season in 1915, Cool was selected as a first-team All-American by Walter Eckersall
and Fielding H. Yost and as a second-team All-American by Walter Camp
and Frank G. Menke
. He was also chosen as a first-team All-American by the Brooklyn Eagle
that wrote: "Cool, a Cornell man, has shown himself to be a great little figure, a wonderful man on the defense, able to pass accurately, and then get down the field to make tackles. Cool was a rambler and he stopped many plays at Cambridge and Philadelphia."
Sports writer Alan Gould later wrote of Cool: "For his weight and inches, Cool was one of the finest pivotmen in football history." After Cool's death, Gould recalled the lone touchdown of Cool's college football career. The touchdown came in a 1915 game against Virginia Poly. Cool and Cornell quarterback Charley Barrett were roommates and close friends, and Barrett knew that Cool's secret ambition was to score a touchdown. After Cool intercepted a forward pass, Barrett called two straight plays with Cool as the ball carrier, and Cool scored on the second carry.
In addition to football, Cool rowed with the Cornell crew and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity, Sphinx Head
, Aleph Samach
, Beth L'amed, the Sunday Night Club, Dunstan, the Sophomore Smoker Committee, the Junior Promenade Committee, and the Junior Election Committee.
Cool was posthumously inducted into Cornell's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.
football team for one year. When the United States entered World War I
, Cool enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as an instructor in the School of Fire at Fort Sill
, Oklahoma. Cool died of a heart attack in a New York restaurant at age 39. He was a resident of Pittston at the time of his death.
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for the Big Red
Cornell Big Red
The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports teams, and other competitive teams, at Cornell University. The university sponsors 36 varsity sports, as well as numerous intramural and club teams. Cornell participates in NCAA Division I as part of the Ivy League.The men's and women's hockey...
of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1913-1915 and was selected as an All-American after his senior year in 1915. He was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.
Early years
A native of Pittston, PennsylvaniaPittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was...
, Cool attended the Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary
Wyoming Seminary, founded in 1844 and currently led by President Kip P. Nygren, is a private college preparatory school located in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in Kingston and Forty Fort It is near the Susquehanna River and the city of Wilkes-Barre...
, the Sturgis Tutoring School and the Manlius Academy
Manlius Pebble Hill
The Manlius Pebble Hill School is a non-sectarian, coeducational, independent Pre-K through 12 school in DeWitt, New York. The school is a result of a merger in 1970 between the Manlius School and the Pebble Hill School .-The Manlius School:The Manlius School was founded in 1869 in Manlius, New...
before enrolling in the College of Agriculture at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Athlete at Cornell
Cool played college football at Cornell from 1913-1915, and the team was unbeaten in Cool's three years playing center. He was one of the leaders of the 1915 Cornell team that went undefeated and untied and was recognized as national champion. Three players from the 1915 Cornell team were selected as All-Americans—Cool, quarterback Charley BarrettCharley Barrett
Charley "Chuck" Barrett was an American football player. He was the consensus All-American quarterback in 1914 and 1915 while playing for Cornell University and led Cornell to an undefeated season and national championship in 1915...
and end Murray Shelton
Murray Shelton
Murray Norcross Shelton was an American football player. Shelton graduated from Cornell University in 1916 and was a member of the Sphinx Head Society. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973....
. In the 1915 match against Harvard, Cornell quarterback Charley Barrett
Charley Barrett
Charley "Chuck" Barrett was an American football player. He was the consensus All-American quarterback in 1914 and 1915 while playing for Cornell University and led Cornell to an undefeated season and national championship in 1915...
was knocked unconscious in the first half; Cool took over and led the team to a 10-0 victory, Harvard's first defeat since 1911. Cool was known as a football "iron man" who played every minute of every game for two seasons with Cornell. After his senior season in 1915, Cool was selected as a first-team All-American by Walter Eckersall
Walter Eckersall
Walter "Eckie" Eckersall was an American football player, official, and sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.-Early life:...
and Fielding H. Yost and as a second-team All-American by Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
and Frank G. Menke
Frank G. Menke
Frank Grant Menke was an American newspaper reporter, author, and sports historian. He wrote for the Hearst Newspapers from 1912 to 1932 and his articles appeared daily in 300 newspapers across the country. He was billed by the Hearst syndicate as "America's Foremost Sport Writer"...
. He was also chosen as a first-team All-American by the Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn Eagle
The Brooklyn Daily Bulletin began publishing when the original Eagle folded in 1955. In 1996 it merged with a newly revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and now publishes a morning paper five days a week under the Brooklyn Daily Eagle name...
that wrote: "Cool, a Cornell man, has shown himself to be a great little figure, a wonderful man on the defense, able to pass accurately, and then get down the field to make tackles. Cool was a rambler and he stopped many plays at Cambridge and Philadelphia."
Sports writer Alan Gould later wrote of Cool: "For his weight and inches, Cool was one of the finest pivotmen in football history." After Cool's death, Gould recalled the lone touchdown of Cool's college football career. The touchdown came in a 1915 game against Virginia Poly. Cool and Cornell quarterback Charley Barrett were roommates and close friends, and Barrett knew that Cool's secret ambition was to score a touchdown. After Cool intercepted a forward pass, Barrett called two straight plays with Cool as the ball carrier, and Cool scored on the second carry.
In addition to football, Cool rowed with the Cornell crew and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity, Sphinx Head
Sphinx Head
The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Cornell University...
, Aleph Samach
Aleph Samach
The Aleph Samach is a junior honor society at Cornell University, founded in 1893 on four pillars: leadership, loyalty, service, and honor. Unlike most collegiate secret societies, which have primarily senior membership, The Aleph Samach is composed mostly of juniors...
, Beth L'amed, the Sunday Night Club, Dunstan, the Sophomore Smoker Committee, the Junior Promenade Committee, and the Junior Election Committee.
Cool was posthumously inducted into Cornell's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.
Later years
After graduating from Cornell, Cool coached the University of TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
football team for one year. When the United States entered World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Cool enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as an instructor in the School of Fire at Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
, Oklahoma. Cool died of a heart attack in a New York restaurant at age 39. He was a resident of Pittston at the time of his death.