Winchester Osgood

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Winchester Osgood
Osgood in 1889
Biographical details
Born(1870-04-12)April 12, 1870
Fort Barrancas, Florida, U.S.
DiedOctober 18, 1896(1896-10-18) (aged 26)
Cuba
Playing career
1888–89, 1891–92Cornell
1893–1894Penn
Position(s)Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1895Indiana
Head coaching record
Overall4–3–1
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1970 (profile)

Winchester Dana Osgood (April 12, 1870 – October 18, 1896) was a prominent American college athlete in the late 19th century at both

Indiana University for one season in 1895, compiling a record of 4–3–1. Osgood volunteered for the Cuban forces during Cuba’s fight for Independence from Spain. He was commissioned a major in artillery in the Cuban Army and was killed in combat. Osgood was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
as a player in 1970.

Early life

Born in Fort Barrancas, Florida, Osgood was one of five children of an American army officer Henry Brown Osgood Jr. and his wife, Harriet Mary (Hubbard) Osgood. Henry Osgood eventfully rose to the rank of brigadier general.[1]

College athlete

Osgood, nicknamed "Win", was one of the greatest college athletes of the 19th century. He was talented in many sports but is best known for his exploits as an All-American football player. Osgood stood 5–9, weighed 173, and was an elusive runner. Pudge Heffelfinger, the legendary All-American from Yale University, gave this description of Osgood: "It was downright uncanny to watch him run, opponents missed him by inches. His body undulated like a snake's. He was the Red Grange of the pioneer era."[2]

1892 Cornell varsity football team: Osgood is the second from the left in the front row.

Cornell

At Cornell, Osgood received a medal as the school's best all-around athlete. He ran the 440 and put the shot for the track team, was an accomplished

scull championship of the Cornell.[2] He left Cornell in the fall of 1892 to attend the University of Pennsylvania
.

Pennsylvania

At Pennsylvania, Osgood continued his exploits as a three-sport athlete, excelling at football, track and field, and wrestling. He lettered two seasons at halfback for the

football national champion. The highlight of the season was a 12–0 victory over Princeton, only Penn's second win in 30 meetings with the Tigers, and an 18–4 victory over Harvard.[10]

First college wrestling national champion

Osgood also excelled at wrestling. He became the first collegiate athlete to win a national championship when he won the 1895 National AAU title in the "heavyweight" class (for competitors over 158 pounds). At the time the sport was dominated by club teams.[11]

Indianapolis light Artillery

After a brief stint as an assistant coach for the University of Indiana's football team, Osgood joined the Indianapolis Light Artillery as both player and coach somewhere after their October 24th contest together. he would lead them to a record of 5–2, with an impressive win 18–0 over an undefeated Notre Dame and a 28-0 blank of Butler University on Thanksgiving.

Cuba’s fight for independence

When

Maximo Gomez joined forces and moved upon Guaimaro, which was strongly fortified and defended by the Spaniards. After much hard fighting and a brilliant charge led by Colonel Mario García Menocal, the largest fortification was taken.[2] During the battle, Major Osgood was in charge of shelling several blockhouses with a Hotchkiss rifle using 12-pound shells. Osgood's artillery unit was under steady fire from small arms. When Osgood stooped over the gun to adjust the sight to account for the wind, he made the remark, “think that will do.” At that moment, he was hit by a bullet fired by a sharp-shooter stationed in the church tower eleven hundred yards away. Osgood was carried from the location by his comrades and hurried down the hill to the aid station. Without re-sighting the artillery piece, Osgood’s second in command Major Frederick Funston gave the order to fire the gun and the shell hit one of the blockhouses. The bullet that hit Osgood had gone through his brain and he did not recover from his wounds.[12]

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Indiana Hoosiers (Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1895)
1895 Indiana 4–3–1
Indiana: 4–3–1
Indianapolis Light Artillery (Independent) (1895)
1895 Indianapolis Light Artillery 5–2
Indianapolis Light Artillery: 5–2
Total: 9–5–1

References

  1. ^ Fort MacArthur Museum
  2. ^ a b c "Cornell Alumni News VOL. XIX., No. 23 March 15, 1917" (PDF). Cornell University. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Winchester Osgood". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  4. ^ Cornell Alumni News VOL. XXIX, No. 18 FEBRUARY 3, 1927
  5. ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 145, accessed July 2, 2007
  6. ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 123,
  7. ^ Scott A. McQuilkin and Ronald A. Smith, “The Rise and Fall of the Flying Wedge: Football’s Most Controversial Play” Journal of Sport History, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring 1993), accessed April 2, 2007
  8. ^ Allison Danzig, "Oh, How They Played the Game," (The Macmillan Company, 1971), p. 114, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-163227
  9. ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 135,
  10. ^ 2006 University of Pennsylvania Football Media Guide, p. 137
  11. ^ "Wrestling Hall of Fame History". Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  12. ^ "Cornell Alumni News Vol. XHL 'No. 6, November 2, 1910" (PDF). Cornell University. Retrieved February 7, 2007.

External links

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