William Alexander (American football)

William Alexander

Alexander from The 1944 Blue Print
Biographical details
Born	(1889-06-06)June 6, 1889 Mud River, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	April 23, 1950(1950-04-23) (aged 60) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Playing career
1911–1912	Georgia Tech
Position(s)	End,[1] quarterback[2]
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1920–1944	Georgia Tech
Basketball
1919–1920	Georgia Tech
1921–1924	Georgia Tech
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1920–1950	Georgia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	134–95–15 (football) 36–38 (basketball)
Bowls	3–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football 1 National (1928) 2 SIAA (1920–1921) 3 SoCon (1922, 1927–1928) 3 SEC (1939, 1943–1944)
Awards
Football AFCA Coach of the Year (1942) Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1947) SEC Coach of the Year (1939)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1951 (profile)

William Anderson Alexander (June 6, 1889 – April 23, 1950) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1920 to 1944, compiling a record of 134–95–15. Alexander has the second most victories of any Tech football coach. Alexander's 1928 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have been recognized as national champions by a number of selectors. Alexander was the first college football coach to place his teams in the four major post-season bowl games of the time: Sugar, Cotton, Orange and Rose. His teams won three of the four bowls. The 1929 Rose Bowl win, which earned his team the national championship, is the most celebrated because of the wrong-way run by California's Roy Riegels. Alexander was also the head basketball coach at Georgia Tech for four seasons from 1919 to 1924. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1951.