Ivy Williamson
Encyclopedia
Ivan B. "Ivy" Williamson (February 4, 1911 – February 19, 1969) was a player and coach of American football
and basketball
, and a college athletics administrator. He played college football
and basketball at the University of Michigan
from 1930 to 1932 and was captain of the national champion
1932 Michigan football team
. He was an assistant football coach at Yale University
(1934–1941, 1945–1946), the head football coach at Lafayette College
(1947–1948) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison
(1949–1955). He served as the athletic director at Wisconsin from 1955 to 1969.
in Prairie Depot, now known as Wayne, Ohio
. He attended Bowling Green High School where he was a star athlete. During his senior year, Williamson contracted osteomyelitis
, an infection in his ankle bone. Despite being told that he would probably not play football again, Williamson worked himself back into shape and became a star football player in college.
, where he played basketball and football. He won two varsity letters in basketball and three in football. He was first-team All-Big Ten in football in 1931 and 1932 and was captain of the national champion
1932 Michigan football team
. Michigan's head coach Harry G. Kipke
said, "Ivy Williamson is the smartest I have ever had or hope to have." In his three years playing football for Michigan, the Wolverines won three straight Big Ten titles and had an overall record of 24 wins, one loss and two ties. Williamson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1933 with distinction and received the Gold Medal award from university president as "the outstanding gentleman, athlete and scholar in the Class of 1933."
. He led Roseville's football team to an undefeated season in 1933.
. He remained an assistant coach under Ducky Pond
from 1934 to 1940 and remained on the staff under head coach Spike Nelson in 1941.
In June 1942, Williamson was commissioned a lieutenant junior grade in the United States Naval Reserve entered the U.S. Navy. He was assigned to coach a Navy football team in 1942 with Potsy Clark at Pensacola, Florida
. During three years in the military, Williamson had tours of duty at a Naval station in Sanford, Florida
, a gunnery school in Hollywood, Florida
, the cadet selection board in Detroit, Michigan
and the carrier USS Wolverine
in Chicago. He remained in the Navy for three years and was discharged in 1945.
Williamson rejoined the Yale coaching staff in 1945 under head coach Howie Odell
. Williamson also served as the head basketball coach at Yale University
for the 1946–47 season.
in Easton, Pennsylvania
. In the two years before Williamson was hired, the Lafayette football team won only 3 games, lost 14 and tied 1. Williamson immediately turned the program around, leading the team to a 6–3 record in 1947 and 7-2 in 1948. The only losses in 1947 were to Army and Rutgers.
. He again took over a program with a losing record, as the Badgers finished 2–7 the year before Williamson was hired. The team steadily improved in the first there years under Williamson, finishing 5–3–1 in 1949, 6–3 in 1950, and 7–1–1 in 1951. The 1952 team finished the regular season 6–2–1, tied for the Big Ten championship. The Badgers lost to the USC Trojans in the 1953 Rose Bowl
by a 7–0 score.
In January 1951, Williamson was approached by the University of Southern California
about taking the head coaching job for the Trojans. The University of Wisconsin offered Williamson a pay raise of $2,000 (from $10,300 to $12,500), and raises of $1,500 to his four assistant coaches, in order to persuade him to stay. In 1953, the Saturday Evening Post published an article on Williamson titled, "That Gentlemanly Coach at Wisconsin." The article's author, Harry Paxton, wrote: "Ivy Williamson is a big, unruffled Midwesterner from a small Ohio farm town. He speaks mildly and calmly. He never dramatizes himself, but somehow with him seems to get the feeling that here is a nice, honest fellow with a good head on his shoulders. He has a natural gift for winning and keeping the confidence of all sorts of people—alumni and other boosters; faculty and school officials, players and prospective players."
The team continued to thrive in 1953 with a record of 6–2–1 and in 1954 with a record of 7–2. Williamson experienced his first losing season as a head coach in 1955 with a record of 4–5.
. He was replaced as head football coach by Milt Bruhn
. Due to a university policy providing that the athletic director could not be paid a salary higher than that of the dean, the move to athletic director came with a salary cut from $15,300 to $13,500.
During Williamson's 13 years as athletic director, he increased the capacity of Camp Randall Stadium
to 77,000 with the construction of an upper deck, expanded intramural facilities, restored men’s ice hockey as a varsity sport, and built a new natatorium, a new baseball field and running track. In 1955, the University of Wisconsin announced that the newly-established Ivy Williamson Trophy would be presented each year to the senior football player showing the highest degree of sportsmanship throughout his career. In December 1957, Williamson was one of 25 former college football players chosen by Sports Illustrated
for its silver anniversary All-American team honoring players with outstanding career and community service records. In January 1963, Williamson was elected permanent chairman of the NCAA Football Rules Committee.
The football program continued to thrive into the early 1960s, but went into a steep decline later in the decade, finishing 8–19 from 1964 to 1966 and then having consecutive winless seasons in 1967 and 1968.
Less than six weeks after his firing, Williamson died from irreversible brain stem damage after falling down the basement stairs at his home in Maple Bluff, Wisconsin
. He was taken by ambulance to the University hospital in Madison, where he was pronounced dead. He was survived by his wife, Beulah, and twin sons, Jack and David.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and a college athletics administrator. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and basketball at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1930 to 1932 and was captain of the national champion
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
1932 Michigan football team
1932 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1932 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1932 college football season. The team's head football coach was Harry Kipke...
. He was an assistant football coach at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(1934–1941, 1945–1946), the head football coach at Lafayette College
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
(1947–1948) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
(1949–1955). He served as the athletic director at Wisconsin from 1955 to 1969.
Early life and playing career
Williamson was born and grew up near Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
in Prairie Depot, now known as Wayne, Ohio
Wayne, Ohio
Wayne is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States. The population was 842 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wayne is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
. He attended Bowling Green High School where he was a star athlete. During his senior year, Williamson contracted osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...
, an infection in his ankle bone. Despite being told that he would probably not play football again, Williamson worked himself back into shape and became a star football player in college.
Michigan
Williamson attended the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he played basketball and football. He won two varsity letters in basketball and three in football. He was first-team All-Big Ten in football in 1931 and 1932 and was captain of the national champion
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
1932 Michigan football team
1932 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1932 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1932 college football season. The team's head football coach was Harry Kipke...
. Michigan's head coach Harry G. Kipke
Harry G. Kipke
Harry George Kipke was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the head football coach at Michigan State College in 1928 and at the University of Michigan from 1929–1937, compiling a career record of 49–30–5...
said, "Ivy Williamson is the smartest I have ever had or hope to have." In his three years playing football for Michigan, the Wolverines won three straight Big Ten titles and had an overall record of 24 wins, one loss and two ties. Williamson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1933 with distinction and received the Gold Medal award from university president as "the outstanding gentleman, athlete and scholar in the Class of 1933."
High school coach
After graduating from Michigan in 1933, Williamson taught economics and history and coached basketball and football at Roseville High School in Roseville, MichiganRoseville, Michigan
Roseville is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,299...
. He led Roseville's football team to an undefeated season in 1933.
Yale and military service
In 1934, Williamson was hired as an assistant football coach at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He remained an assistant coach under Ducky Pond
Ducky Pond
Raymond W. "Ducky" Pond was an American football and baseball player and coach of football in the United States. He served as the head football coach at Yale University from 1934 to 1940 and at Bates College in 1941 and from 1946 to 1951, compiling career college football record of...
from 1934 to 1940 and remained on the staff under head coach Spike Nelson in 1941.
In June 1942, Williamson was commissioned a lieutenant junior grade in the United States Naval Reserve entered the U.S. Navy. He was assigned to coach a Navy football team in 1942 with Potsy Clark at Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. During three years in the military, Williamson had tours of duty at a Naval station in Sanford, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Sanford is a city in, and the county seat of, Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 50,998...
, a gunnery school in Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, the cadet selection board in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and the carrier USS Wolverine
USS Wolverine (IX-64)
USS Wolverine was a freshwater aircraft carrier of the United States Navy during World War II. She had been converted from a paddlewheeler coal-burning steamer to be used for advanced training for naval aviators in carrier take-offs and landings....
in Chicago. He remained in the Navy for three years and was discharged in 1945.
Williamson rejoined the Yale coaching staff in 1945 under head coach Howie Odell
Howard Odell
-External links:* *...
. Williamson also served as the head basketball coach at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
for the 1946–47 season.
Lafayette
In 1947, Williamson was hired as the head coach at Lafayette CollegeLafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
in Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
. In the two years before Williamson was hired, the Lafayette football team won only 3 games, lost 14 and tied 1. Williamson immediately turned the program around, leading the team to a 6–3 record in 1947 and 7-2 in 1948. The only losses in 1947 were to Army and Rutgers.
Wisconsin
In February 1949, Williamson was hired as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He again took over a program with a losing record, as the Badgers finished 2–7 the year before Williamson was hired. The team steadily improved in the first there years under Williamson, finishing 5–3–1 in 1949, 6–3 in 1950, and 7–1–1 in 1951. The 1952 team finished the regular season 6–2–1, tied for the Big Ten championship. The Badgers lost to the USC Trojans in the 1953 Rose Bowl
1953 Rose Bowl
The 1953 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1953 at the end of the 1952 college football season. It was the 39th Rose Bowl Game. It was the first-ever Rose Bowl appearance by the Badgers and the first appearance for the Trojans since the 1948 Rose Bowl. This game was...
by a 7–0 score.
In January 1951, Williamson was approached by the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
about taking the head coaching job for the Trojans. The University of Wisconsin offered Williamson a pay raise of $2,000 (from $10,300 to $12,500), and raises of $1,500 to his four assistant coaches, in order to persuade him to stay. In 1953, the Saturday Evening Post published an article on Williamson titled, "That Gentlemanly Coach at Wisconsin." The article's author, Harry Paxton, wrote: "Ivy Williamson is a big, unruffled Midwesterner from a small Ohio farm town. He speaks mildly and calmly. He never dramatizes himself, but somehow with him seems to get the feeling that here is a nice, honest fellow with a good head on his shoulders. He has a natural gift for winning and keeping the confidence of all sorts of people—alumni and other boosters; faculty and school officials, players and prospective players."
The team continued to thrive in 1953 with a record of 6–2–1 and in 1954 with a record of 7–2. Williamson experienced his first losing season as a head coach in 1955 with a record of 4–5.
Administrative career
In November 1955, Williamson became Wisconsin's athletic director following the death of athletic director Guy SundtGuy Sundt
-References:...
. He was replaced as head football coach by Milt Bruhn
Milt Bruhn
-External links:...
. Due to a university policy providing that the athletic director could not be paid a salary higher than that of the dean, the move to athletic director came with a salary cut from $15,300 to $13,500.
During Williamson's 13 years as athletic director, he increased the capacity of Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats...
to 77,000 with the construction of an upper deck, expanded intramural facilities, restored men’s ice hockey as a varsity sport, and built a new natatorium, a new baseball field and running track. In 1955, the University of Wisconsin announced that the newly-established Ivy Williamson Trophy would be presented each year to the senior football player showing the highest degree of sportsmanship throughout his career. In December 1957, Williamson was one of 25 former college football players chosen by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
for its silver anniversary All-American team honoring players with outstanding career and community service records. In January 1963, Williamson was elected permanent chairman of the NCAA Football Rules Committee.
The football program continued to thrive into the early 1960s, but went into a steep decline later in the decade, finishing 8–19 from 1964 to 1966 and then having consecutive winless seasons in 1967 and 1968.
Firing and death
In January 1969, after five straight losing seasons and with the athletic department having a deficit, Williamson was fired as Wisconsin’s athletic director at age 57. He was reassigned to a new position in the school of physical education with a reduction in salary from $23,000 to $18,800. He was described by those who knew him as "a man crushed in spirit" after his removal as athletic director.Less than six weeks after his firing, Williamson died from irreversible brain stem damage after falling down the basement stairs at his home in Maple Bluff, Wisconsin
Maple Bluff, Wisconsin
Maple Bluff is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,358 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Madison and is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. He was taken by ambulance to the University hospital in Madison, where he was pronounced dead. He was survived by his wife, Beulah, and twin sons, Jack and David.
Football
External links
- Ivy Williamson at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com