W. J. Monilaw
American football coach and administrator (1874–1964)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William James Monilaw (July 22, 1874 – July 18, 1964) was an American football and track and field coach and college athletics administrator. He served at the head football coach at Drake University from 1903 to 1904 and at the University of Missouri from 1906 to 1908, compiling a career college football record of 28–13–1. Every year he coached, his teams posted a winning record.[1] Later, he became a physician who advocated for the health and safety of children in athletics.
Monilaw from The Savitar, 1907 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 22, 1874 |
| Died | July 18, 1964 (aged 89) Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| ? | Drake |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1903–1904 | Drake |
| 1906–1908 | Missouri |
| Track and field | |
| 1907–1910 | Missouri |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1897 | Drake |
| 1909–1910 | Missouri |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 28–13–1 (football) |
Early life
Molinaw attended Cedar Rapids High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was later accepted into Drake University.
Coaching career
Drake
Monilaw got his first coaching job as the seventh head coach for his alma mater, Drake University, for two seasons, from 1903 until 1904. His coaching record at Drake was 10–7.[2]
Missouri
From 1906 to 1908, he served as the head football coach at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where he compiled an 18–6–1 record.[3] Monilaw was the 12th head coach for Mizzou.
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake Bulldogs (Independent) (1903–1904) | |||||||||
| 1903 | Drake | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1904 | Drake | 5–4 | |||||||
| Drake: | 10–7 | ||||||||
| Missouri Tigers (Independent) (1906) | |||||||||
| 1906 | Missouri | 5–2–1 | |||||||
| Missouri Tigers (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1907–1908) | |||||||||
| 1907 | Missouri | 7–2 | 1–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1908 | Missouri | 6–2 | 3–2 | 4th | |||||
| Missouri: | 18–6–1 | 4–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 28–13–1 | ||||||||
Medical School and Post at University of Chicago
Dr. William "Doc" Monilaw completed medical school at Drake University, where he decided to coach football rather than pursue a career in medicine. In 1909, he was recruited to the University of Chicago where he served as Medical Examiner and Physical Director at the University of Chicago Laboratory School (U-high) from 1910-1925.[4] He continued coaching and advocating for health and sportsmanship for students when in 1917, he wrote an article for the University of Chicago Press titled The Effects of Training Down in Weight on the Growing Boy and How to Control or Abolish the Practice.[5] To this day, we are still battling for safe practices in weight class sports.
The Monilaw Medal was created by him in 1916 and awarded to the senior boy rated highest by the physical education faculty in athletic ability, citizenship and scholarship. It was the highest possible achievement for male athletes at the high-school and the legacy lives on in the students who remember how they learned to appreciate sports and sportsmanship while in high school.[6]
