Elmer Mitchell
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| Sport(s) | Football, basketball, baseball |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 6, 1889 |
| Died | June 15, 1983 (aged 93) Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Playing career | |
| 1910-1912 | Michigan Wolverines baseball |
| Position(s) | Center field, occasionally first base |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1915–1919 | Michigan State Normal, Michigan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | Football: 5–4–2 (.545) Basketball: 47–25 (.653) |
Elmer D. Mitchell (September 6, 1889 – June 15, 1983) was an American football and basketball coach in Michigan who is considered the father of intramural sports. He was the first varsity basketball coach at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the founder of that school's intramural sports program. Through 2010, he has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball history.
Mitchell also coached at Union High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and received a Medal of Honor from Czechoslovakia for his work in the field of intramural athletics.
Mitchell attended the University of Michigan, where he played on the varsity baseball team for three years, under head coach and eventual Baseball Hall of Fame member Branch Rickey. He usually played center field, or occasionally first base, and he was the team captain in 1912, his senior year.
Immediately after graduating from Michigan, Mitchell managed the Negaunee baseball team, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, for a summer. In the fall of 1912, he was hired as a teacher and coach at Union High School, where "[h]e developed state title contenders in baseball, football, and basketball". In the 1914-1915 season, his last at the high school, the basketball team posted a 14-1 record.
In 1915, Mitchell was hired as an assistant professor of physical education at Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University), in Ypsilanti, Michigan. While at MSNC, Mitchell taught physical education courses geared toward the school's future teachers, covering such topics as playground direction and athletic coaching, and he co-wrote a book about basketball. He was also a successful coach in basketball, football, and baseball.
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