Bill Armstrong (coach)

Bill Armstrong
Biographical details
Born(1873-07-16)July 16, 1873
Saybrook, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedAugust 4, 1938(1938-08-04) (aged 65)
Hampton, Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1892–1894Yale
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1896William & Mary
1897–1899Navy
1912Hampton
Rowing
1897–1899Navy
Head coaching record
Overall24–8 (football)

Richard "Bill" Armstrong (July 16, 1873 – August 4, 1938) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary in 1896, the United States Naval Academy from 1897 to 1899 and the Hampton Institute—now known as Hampton University—in 1912, compiling a career college football coaching record of 24–8. At the Naval Academy, Armstrong also coached rowing from 1897 to 1899.[1]

Armstrong was born on July 16, 1873, at his grandfather's home in Saybrook, Connecticut. His parents, William Nevins Armstrong and Frances Morgan Armstrong, were residents of Hampton, Virginia. His uncle, Samuel C. Armstrong, was an American Civil War general who founded Hampton University. Armstrong attended the Banner School in Hampton and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, before moving on to Yale University from which he graduated from Sheffield Scientific School in 1895.[2]

Armstrong married Rosa Fairfax Lee in Hampton, on April 21, 1906. He later worked in the oyster growing, farming and real estate professions.[3][4]

In May 1938, Armstrong was treated for a serious illness at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He returned to his home in Hampton in June, where he died on August 4, 1938, after suffering a paralytic stroke.[5][6]

  1. ^ Fife, G. B. (1920). The Passing Legions: How the American Red Cross Met the American Army in Great Britain, the Gateway to France. Macmillan Publishers. p. 252. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  2. ^ Yale University. Sheffield Scientific School. Class of 1895; Parsons, W.U. (1912). Quindecennial Record of the Class of 1895 Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. Class Secretaries Bureau through the Yale University Press. Retrieved March 8, 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Armstrong in Hawaii (Genealogical Query by JRD)". homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Yale University. Alumni University Fund Association (1938). Annual Report. The Association. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Richard Armstrong, Ex-State Fisheries Commissioner, Dies". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. August 5, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  6. ^ "Richard Armstrong, Former State Fisheries Head, Dies (continued)". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. August 5, 1938. p. 11. Retrieved July 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.