Sport(s) | Football |
---|---|
Biographical details | |
Born |
Rochester, New York |
May 12, 1888
Died | May 17, 1963 Westerville, Ohio |
(aged 75)
Playing career | |
1907–1909 | Wisconsin |
Position(s) | Fullback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1911–1912 | Wisconsin (assistant) |
1913–1928 | Ohio State |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 78–33–9 |
Bowls | 0–1 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
3 Big Ten (1916–1917, 1920) | |
Awards | |
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1959) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1954 (profile) |
John Woodworth "Jack" Wilce (May 12, 1888 – May 17, 1963) was an American football player and coach, physician, and university professor. He served as the head football coach at Ohio State University from 1913 to 1928, compiling a record of 78–33–9. Wilce is best known for coaching the great Chic Harley and leading Ohio State to their first win over archrival Michigan in 1919. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.
Wilce was born in Rochester, New York. He lettered in three sports while attending the University of Wisconsin. In football, Wilce was an all-conference fullback and captain of the 1909 team.
Following his graduation from Wisconsin, Wilce coached high school football in La Crosse, Wisconsin and then became both an assistant football coach and assistant professor of physical education at Wisconsin.
In 1913, Ohio State began play in the Western Conference, later the Big Ten Conference, and hired Wilce as its head football coach. Wilce's teams won a conference championship in 1916 with a 7–0 record, and repeated in 1917 (8–0–1) and in 1920 (7–1) when Ohio State played its first bowl game, losing the 1921 Rose Bowl to California, 28–0. Wilce coached the Ohio State Buckeyes football team for sixteen seasons, the second longest tenure in school history after Woody Hayes, compiling a career record of 78–33–9.