Bill Orwig

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Bill Orwig
Orwig from 1929 Michiganensian
Biographical details
Born(1907-01-01)January 1, 1907
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJuly 30, 1994(1994-07-30) (aged 87)
St. Joseph, Michigan, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1928Michigan
Basketball
1927–1930Michigan
Position(s)
Guard (basketball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1930Michigan (GA)
1931–1935Benton Harbor HS (MI)
1936–1945Libbey HS (OH)
1946–1947Toledo
1948–1953Michigan (assistant)
Basketball
1936–1945Libbey HS (OH)
1946–1947Toledo
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1954–1961Nebraska
1961–1975Indiana
Head coaching record
Overall15–4–2 (college football)
18–6 (college basketball)
Bowls2–0

James Wilfred "Bill" Orwig[1] (January 1, 1907 – July 30, 1994) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football and college basketball at the University of Michigan. He later served as the athletic director at the University of Toledo, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the Indiana University Bloomington.

Raised in Toledo, Ohio, Orwig was an all-state athlete in high school and went on to be an All-Big Ten Conference basketball player at Michigan. He received three varsity letters in basketball and one in football. After graduating from Michigan, Orwig was a successful high school football and basketball coach from 1931 to 1945 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Toledo. He helped develop an athletic program for the occupation forces in Germany and became the athletic director, football coach, and basketball coach at the University of Toledo after World War II.

From 1948 to 1951, Orwig was an assistant football coach at Michigan in charge of

Bobby Knight as basketball coach at Indiana,[2] and has been inducted into the Halls of Fame at Indiana, Michigan and Toledo.[3][4][5][6]

Athlete at Scott High School and University of Michigan

Born in

Gerald R. Ford.[7]

Football and basketball coach at Benton Harbor, Toledo and Michigan

In May 1931, Orwig succeeded

Dick Rifenberg, Lowell Perry, Harry Allis, and Ozzie Clark.[12]

University of Nebraska

In March 1954, Orwig signed a three-year contract as the athletic director at the

Bill Jennings), and had a 27–44 record.[15] Orwig was the athletic director who hired Pete Elliott as the football coach at Nebraska in 1956. Elliott later recalled, "I thought the world of him. I thought he was a great guy."[16] In 1961, Orwig quit his position at Nebraska to accept the athletic director job at Indiana; news reports indicated that Orwig had been offered $20,000 a year by Indiana, $5,000 more than he was making at Nebraska.[17] At the time, Orwig said: "The decision to accept the Indiana University position as Director of Athletics was a most difficult one. . . . The people of Nebraska and the University have been most kind to me over the past 7 years. Their understanding of our problems, their excellent help and their friendship have been heartwarming. . . . I leave Nebraska with the greatest admiration for its administrative staff, its teaching staff, and its increasing educational strength. . . . My thanks go out to all my friends throughout the state and best wishes and hopes to the Cornhuskers for many victories in the years to come."[17] Football coach Bill Jennings said, "I'm sorry to see Bill leave and I'm sure everybody who has worked with him does. He's done a fine job. Nebraska's loss is Indiana's gain."[18]

Athletic director at Indiana University

Orwig was the athletic director at Indiana University from 1961 to 1975.

Bobby Knight in basketball. Bobby Knight said of Orwig: "Bill Orwig, the athletic director who hired me, was a man of exceptional intelligence and class who knew how to get along with people and work with coaches. He had a great arrogance, in a positive way—he knew he was damned good at what he did. I think more than anybody else in the school's history, Bill Orwig developed Indiana's athletic program into a major league operation—facilities, teams, coaches. Sam Bell was a nationally respected track coach. Doc Counsilman was one of the great coaches of all time; John Pont took a team to the Rose Bowl; and Jerry Yeagley started the soccer program and built it from nothing into the best one going. The architect of all that, Bill Orwig, is in the college athletic directors hall of fame."[2] He was also one of the founders and the first president from 1969 to 1970 of the National Athletic Directors of America.[3][7]

Orwig's speech about the 1946 NIT finals

When he won the NIT-NACDA Athletic Directors Award, he said in his speech: "I have always been a great believer in sports as part of our American way of living. . . . I am reminded of an experience I had of 40 years ago which brought home the real sudden realization of how important we are, and how important it is to have sports in our American way of life. I mentioned 40 years ago, that would bring us back to March of 1946. At that time I was involved in some high school work in Toledo, Ohio, as a football and a basketball coach. But in order to augment my income, because we weren't getting paid a great deal in those days, I was doing some officiating. I was very fortunate to be chosen by the Big Ten Conference to work the Final Four of the NCAA, which in that year was held in Madison Square Garden. I went a day or two early so I could watch the finals of the NIT Tournament. The two teams were Utah and Kentucky. On the Utah team was a little Japanese-American boy by the name of

Walter Misaka. On the Kentucky team was a great basketball player, number one in the country, by the name of Ralph Beard. Misaka was about 5'10" and probably weighed around 160 pounds. Beard was about 6'2" or 6'3" and weighed about 190 He was called 'Mr. Everything' in basketball. Nobody had ever heard of Walter, but in the man to man defense that the Utah coach, Peterson, used against Kentucky that night, Misaka was chosen to guard Ralph Beard. He held Ralph Beard to 3 points, one basket and one free throw, and as a result of the great work that this little guy did on Ralph Beard, and of course, the work of his teammates, Utah won the game and won the National Invitation Tournament Championship. Just before the end of the ballgame, with just about a minute to play, the Utah coach took Misaka out of the game. About 14,000 people in the Garden that night rose to a person and stood on their feet and cheered the great effort turned out by the little Japanese-American boy. As I reflected on it later, I thought what a great display of how sports are in the American way of life. Remember, I mentioned the date was March, 1946. We had just finished a war with Japan. There were people in the audience who had lost loved ones in the Japanese conflict. There wasn't much love in the heart of any of those people or any American for that matter, for anyone of Japanese ancestry. Yet they could cast aside all of their dislike for the Japanese race and stand on their feet at a sports contest and cheer the efforts of a little Japanese-American boy. Since that time I realize how great our sports program is in America, and how much it means to the American way of life."[20]

Later years and awards

Orwig as athletic director at Nebraska

After stepping down as Indiana's athletic director in 1975, Orwig retired with his wife to Sister Lakes in southwestern Michigan, where he was a volunteer and fundraiser for the University of Michigan athletic scholarship program and sat on the board of directors of the Michigan Health Care Association, the State Bank of Coloma, the Southwestern Michigan Humane Society, and the Berrien Hills Country Club.[7] He also enjoyed fishing and playing golf.[7] Orwig and his wife Jane Orwig (formerly Jane Ingrid Anderson) had two children.[17] Orwig and his wife were married in 1933 in St. Joseph, Michigan.[10]

Since 1976, the Bill Orwig Medal has been awarded each year by the Indiana University Alumni Association to recognize outstanding contributions made by a non-alumnus to the IU athletic program.[21]

In 1978, Orwig received the James J. Corbett Memorial Award, presented annually to the collegiate administrator who "through the years has most typified Corbett's devotion to intercollegiate athletics and worked unceasingly for its betterment."[22] On receiving the award, Orwig said: "This award is kind of like being named coach of the year. It's the top award you can get in the field of athletic administration. It pleases me immensely, particularly since I was elected by my peers after I had retired."[7]

Orwig was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1984 and the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1987.[3] He has also been inducted into the Toledo Rockets' Varsity 'T' Hall of Fame.[4]

Orwig died of cancer on July 30, 1994, in St. Joseph, Michigan.[23]

Head coaching record

College football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Toledo Rockets (Ohio Athletic Conference) (1946–1947)
1946 Toledo 6–2–2 4–0 T–2nd W Glass
1947 Toledo 9–2 3–1 T–5th W Glass
Toledo: 15–4–2 7–1
Total: 15–4–2

References

  1. ^ a b "Bill Orwig Is New Coach of Michigan Ends: Ex-Tiger Mentor Succeeds Valpey At Wolverine Job". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor). April 12, 1948.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-312-28257-5
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e "Indiana University Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on March 15, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Varsity 'T' Hall of Fame - Alphabetical List".
  5. ^ "Bentley Library - UM Athletic Hall of Honor".
  6. ^ "M Club Site for Hall of Honor". Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Orwig Gets Athletic Administration Honor". The Herald-Palladium (Benton Harbor). June 2, 1978.
  8. ^
    ISBN 1-57167-115-3
    .
  9. ^ "University of Michigan Athletics: 1928 Football Team".
  10. ^ a b c "Coach Orwig and Miss Jane Anderson Marry At Ceremonies Today". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor). May 20, 1933.
  11. ^ "Sign James Orwig, Michigan Star, As Varsity Coach Here: Will Direct Tiger Grid, Cage Squads; Expected This Week To Inspect Local Athletic Plant". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor). May 11, 1931.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Bill Orwig Name Athletic Director at U. of Nebraska". The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor). March 24, 1954.
  13. ^ "University of Michigan Athletics: 1951 Football Team".
  14. ^ "University of Michigan Athletics: 1953 Football Team".
  15. ^ a b "Bill Orwig Helped Mold NU Program". Lincoln Evening Journal. February 13, 1961.
  16. ^ "Pete Elliott".
  17. ^ a b c Becker, Dick (February 13, 1961). "Orwig Accepts Indiana Position". Lincoln Evening Journal.
  18. ^ "NU Coaches Praise Departing Director: Jennings Says Nebraska's Loss Is Indiana's Gain". Lincoln Evening Journal. February 13, 1961.
  19. ISBN 1-58261-068-1
    .
  20. ^ "National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics: James J. Corbett Luncheon". Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  21. ^ "Indiana University Alumni Association: Bill Orwig Medal". Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  22. ^ "Sweet Selected as Recipient of the 40th Corbett Award". May 3, 2006. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007.
  23. ^ "Deaths". The Washington Post. August 4, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
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