Andrew W. Smith

Andrew W. Smith
Biographical details
Born(1886-12-09)December 9, 1886
Fredonia, Kansas, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 1959(1959-09-06) (aged 72)
Corona del Mar, California, U.S.
Playing career
1909Michigan
Position(s)Guard, center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1911–1912Michigan (assistant)
1914Throop
1915California (assistant)
1916Throop
1918Camp Greenleaf
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1914–?Throop

Andrew William Smith (December 9, 1886 – September 6, 1959) was an American football player and coach, college athletics administrator, United States Army officer, and physician.

Smith grew up in Fredonia, Kansas and enrolled at the Homeopathic Medical School at the University of Michigan, receiving his degree in 1912.[1] While attending medical school, he played football for the 1909 Michigan Wolverines football team.[2] He was selected by Walter Eckersall in the Chicago Tribune as the first-team center on their 1909 All-Western college football team,[3] and by E. C. Patterson in Collier's Weekly as the second-team center.[4]

Throop football team, c. 1917, Smith back row left.

Smith was an assistant coach for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1911 and 1912.[5][6][7] In August 1914, Smith was hired as the athletic director head football coach at Throop College of Technology (now known as California Institute of Technology) in Pasadena, California.[8][9] Upon his hiring, The Lancet-Clinic reported that the school had "procured the services of a 'medical coach'" who would "both teach the Throop students how to pay football and attend them in case of injury."[10] In 1915, Smith worked as a football coach at the University of California, Berkeley, assisting head football coach Jimmie Schaeffer.[11] In 1916, he returned to Throop as head football coach.[12] Smith continued to coach the Throop football team through at least 1917.[13]

Smith organized a Red Cross Medical Corps in California at the beginning of the United States' involvement in World War I. He was sent to officer's training school at Camp Funston and was then stationed at Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia. Ranking as a lieutenant, he coached the 1918 Camp Greenleaf football team at Fort Oglethorpe until he was sent overseas in November 1918.[14] However, the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed before he reached France. Smith was then promoted to captain in the medical reserve corps of the regular United States Army.[15]

In the early 1920s, Smith was stationed at Crissy Field, an army airfield in San Francisco. In late 1922, he was sent to France Field in the Panama Canal Zone.[16]

  1. ^ 1912 Michiganensian, p. 185.
  2. ^ "1909 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  3. ^ "Plan A 'Big Five' For West In 1910". Bismarck Daily Tribune. December 5, 1909. p. 10.
  4. ^ E. C. Patterson (December 25, 1909). "The All-Western Football Team". Collier's. p. 17.
  5. ^ 1912 Michiganensian, p. 219.
  6. ^ "1911 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  7. ^ "1912 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
  8. ^ "News from the Classes". The Michigan Alumnus. October 1915. p. 60.
  9. ^ "Medical News". JAMA.: The Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 63. 1914. p. 1039.
  10. ^ "News Notes". The Lancet-Clinic. August 22, 1914. p. 201.
  11. ^ "Throop Men Start Gridiron Work Under Herd". Los Angeles Express. Los Angeles, California. September 20, 1915. p. 17. Retrieved September 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  12. ^ Angus, Howard (October 7, 1916). "Trojans And Indians To Play Football Today". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 7. Retrieved September 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  13. ^ Intercollegiate Athletic Calendar. 1917. p. 204.
  14. ^ "Coach Leaves: Greenleaf Team Loses Manager and Mentor, Too". The Chattanooga News. November 14, 1918. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Andrew Smith Now A Captain". The Neodesha Daily Sun. Neodesha, Kansas. December 17, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved September 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  16. ^ "Dr. Andrew Smith To Panama". The Neodesha Daily Sun. Neodesha, Kansas. November 23, 1922. p. 3. Retrieved September 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.