William Henry Dietz
Dietz, as a member of the Carlisle football team between 1909 and 1912
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| Sport(s) | Football, baseball |
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| Biographical details | |
| Born |
August 17, 1884 Rice Lake, Wisconsin |
| Died | July 20, 1964 (aged 79) Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1909–1912 | Carlisle Indian |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1915–1917 | Washington State |
| 1921 | Purdue |
| 1922–1923 | Louisiana Tech |
| 1924–1926 | Wyoming |
| 1929–1932 | Haskell |
| 1933–1934 | Boston Redskins |
| 1936 | Ole Miss (assistant) |
| 1937–1942 | Albright |
| Baseball | |
| 1923 | Louisiana Tech |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 96–62–8 (college football) 16–6 (college baseball) 11–11–2 (NFL) |
| Bowls | 1–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 PCC (1917) |
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College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2012 (profile) |
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William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz (August 17, 1884 – July 20, 1964) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Washington State University (1915–1917), Purdue University (1921), Louisiana Tech University (1922–1923), University of Wyoming (1924–1926), Haskell Institute—now Haskell Indian Nations University (1929–1932), and Albright College (1937–1942). From 1933 to 1934, Dietz was the head coach of the National Football League's Boston Redskins, where he tallied a mark of 11–11–2. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012.
Dietz's true identity remains highly controversial. Although he is recognized as an "Indian athlete" by Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, Indian Country Today Media Network ran a series of articles in 2004 exposing Dietz as a white man masquerading as an Indian. In 1988, the National Congress of American Indians attempted to meet and discuss the issue with the team's former owner, Jack Kent Cooke, but Cooke refused a meeting.
Dietz played at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with teammate Jim Thorpe, under famed coach Pop Warner.
George Preston Marshall, owner and founder of the Boston Braves sought to rename the franchise in 1933 after leaving the stadium they shared with the baseball team of the same name. Marshall was said to have named the Redskins in honor of Dietz, who claimed to be of the Sioux Nation, by analogy with the Red Sox who shared the team's new home, Fenway Park. A 1933 news article quotes Marshall as saying he named the team because of real Indians on the team. However, Marshall is only talking about why he specifically chose Redskins. Dietz was hired before the name change and is cited in many articles and by Marshall as being a reason he kept the Native American theme when changing the team name.
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