Wallace Wade (1892-1986) is considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football. He is credited with promoting southern football nationwide by building powerhouses at the University of Alabama and Duke University in North Carolina. Wade led three Alabama teams to national championships and took three Alabama teams and two Duke teams to the prestigious Rose Bowl.
Wade was born in Trenton, Tennessee, on June 15, 1892, into a farming family. His parents were Robert Bruce Wade and Sallie Ann Mitchell, and he had five brothers and three sisters. Wade attended Peabody High School in Trenton, where he played football for the first time under coach Tuck Faucett. Wallace Wade entered Brown University in 1913, where he played guard for the Brown Bruins (now the Bears). The successful team played in the 1916 Rose Bowl
game.
In 1921, Wade was hired as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. During his two years there, the football team won two Southern Conference championships and never lost a game, finishing 15-0-2. This record led other southern schools to become interested in Wade, and eventually both the University of Kentucky and the University of Alabama (UA) offered him jobs as head coach.
Wade chose UA and became the head football coach there in 1923. During his tenure, the Alabama Crimson Tide established itself in national football circles, winning 61 games against only 13 losses. Wade also led the team to its first four conference championships and first three national titles. In 1925, Alabama finished the regular season 9-0 and outscored its opponents 277-7. The following year, Alabama was invited to play in the 1926 Rose Bowl against the University of Washington. Alabama was a heavy underdog but won 20-19. Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, later the most famous name in Alabama football history, credited Wade for establishing the University Alabama as a football powerhouse.
Many college football historians agree that Alabama's Rose Bowl victory was the most important game in southern football history. Before 1925, football programs in the South were considered mediocre in comparison with those in other parts of the country. A stigma of inferiority was attached to southern teams because the South had a historical legacy of military defeat, poverty, and cultural
alienation from the rest of the country. This victory raised the profile of the South as a region that was on the move.
Wade led Alabama to a national championship and Rose Bowl tie in 1927 and won another national title in 1930. During that same season, Alabama outscored its nine regular-season opponents 247-13 and defeated Washington State 24-0 in the
1931 Rose Bowl. Bear Bryant, who grew up in Arkansas, chose to attend and play football for UA largely because of what Wade had accomplished. The prestige gained from the 1926 and 1927 Rose Bowl wins enabled the school to collect enough funds to construct Denny Stadium (now Bryant-Denny Stadium). Wade also picked his successor, Frank Thomas, who went on to coaching greatness at Alabama.
Shortly after the 1942 Rose Bowl, Wade resigned as Duke coach to volunteer for the U.S. Army at age 49. He eventually was promoted to lieutenant colonel and led the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge and during the Ninth Army's drive through Germany. Wade was awarded a Bronze Star and four battle stars, and the French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with Palm, a very high honor for heroism.
Wade returned to his coaching job at Duke in 1946 after World War II ended. Wade's first wife, Frances Bell, died in 1947, and he was remarried in 1950 to Virginia Jones. He coached the Blue Devils through the 1950 season and then was appointed commissioner of the Southern Conference, a position he held until 1960. Duke's football stadium was renamed in his honor as Wallace Wade Stadium in 1967.
Having grown up on a farm, Wade retired to his cattle farm in Durham in 1960. In 1970, Wade was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Wade compiled a career college football record of 171-49-10.
Wade died on September 23, 1986, in Durham, North Carolina, at the age of 94. Wallace Wade Drive now runs alongside Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama and a statue of Coach Wade was erected in front of the stadium in 2006 along with those of Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, and Gene Stallings. Wallace Wade Stadium is now the home football field for Duke University, and Coach Wade is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, receiving his just due as one of the greatest football coaches in college football history.
Contributed by: Greg Blackmon (FAG #47661804)
∼Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Football
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Alabama and Duke Head Coach
Military service: US Army (Cavalry, WWI, Capt., also WWII, 1942-45)
Wife: (one daughter, one son)
Daughter: Frances Margaret
Son: Wallace, Jr.
University: Brown University
Coach: Assistant Coach, Vanderbilt University (1921-22)
Coach: Head Coach, University of Alabama (1923-30)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1931-41)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1946-50)
College Football Hall of Fame
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 1970
Wade was born in Trenton, Tennessee, on June 15, 1892, into a farming family. His parents were Robert Bruce Wade and Sallie Ann Mitchell, and he had five brothers and three sisters. Wade attended Peabody High School in Trenton, where he played football for the first time under coach Tuck Faucett. Wallace Wade entered Brown University in 1913, where he played guard for the Brown Bruins (now the Bears). The successful team played in the 1916 Rose Bowl
game.
In 1921, Wade was hired as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. During his two years there, the football team won two Southern Conference championships and never lost a game, finishing 15-0-2. This record led other southern schools to become interested in Wade, and eventually both the University of Kentucky and the University of Alabama (UA) offered him jobs as head coach.
Wade chose UA and became the head football coach there in 1923. During his tenure, the Alabama Crimson Tide established itself in national football circles, winning 61 games against only 13 losses. Wade also led the team to its first four conference championships and first three national titles. In 1925, Alabama finished the regular season 9-0 and outscored its opponents 277-7. The following year, Alabama was invited to play in the 1926 Rose Bowl against the University of Washington. Alabama was a heavy underdog but won 20-19. Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, later the most famous name in Alabama football history, credited Wade for establishing the University Alabama as a football powerhouse.
Many college football historians agree that Alabama's Rose Bowl victory was the most important game in southern football history. Before 1925, football programs in the South were considered mediocre in comparison with those in other parts of the country. A stigma of inferiority was attached to southern teams because the South had a historical legacy of military defeat, poverty, and cultural
alienation from the rest of the country. This victory raised the profile of the South as a region that was on the move.
Wade led Alabama to a national championship and Rose Bowl tie in 1927 and won another national title in 1930. During that same season, Alabama outscored its nine regular-season opponents 247-13 and defeated Washington State 24-0 in the
1931 Rose Bowl. Bear Bryant, who grew up in Arkansas, chose to attend and play football for UA largely because of what Wade had accomplished. The prestige gained from the 1926 and 1927 Rose Bowl wins enabled the school to collect enough funds to construct Denny Stadium (now Bryant-Denny Stadium). Wade also picked his successor, Frank Thomas, who went on to coaching greatness at Alabama.
Shortly after the 1942 Rose Bowl, Wade resigned as Duke coach to volunteer for the U.S. Army at age 49. He eventually was promoted to lieutenant colonel and led the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge and during the Ninth Army's drive through Germany. Wade was awarded a Bronze Star and four battle stars, and the French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with Palm, a very high honor for heroism.
Wade returned to his coaching job at Duke in 1946 after World War II ended. Wade's first wife, Frances Bell, died in 1947, and he was remarried in 1950 to Virginia Jones. He coached the Blue Devils through the 1950 season and then was appointed commissioner of the Southern Conference, a position he held until 1960. Duke's football stadium was renamed in his honor as Wallace Wade Stadium in 1967.
Having grown up on a farm, Wade retired to his cattle farm in Durham in 1960. In 1970, Wade was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Wade compiled a career college football record of 171-49-10.
Wade died on September 23, 1986, in Durham, North Carolina, at the age of 94. Wallace Wade Drive now runs alongside Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama and a statue of Coach Wade was erected in front of the stadium in 2006 along with those of Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, and Gene Stallings. Wallace Wade Stadium is now the home football field for Duke University, and Coach Wade is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, receiving his just due as one of the greatest football coaches in college football history.
Contributed by: Greg Blackmon (FAG #47661804)
∼Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Football
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Alabama and Duke Head Coach
Military service: US Army (Cavalry, WWI, Capt., also WWII, 1942-45)
Wife: (one daughter, one son)
Daughter: Frances Margaret
Son: Wallace, Jr.
University: Brown University
Coach: Assistant Coach, Vanderbilt University (1921-22)
Coach: Head Coach, University of Alabama (1923-30)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1931-41)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1946-50)
College Football Hall of Fame
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 1970
Wallace Wade (1892-1986) is considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football. He is credited with promoting southern football nationwide by building powerhouses at the University of Alabama and Duke University in North Carolina. Wade led three Alabama teams to national championships and took three Alabama teams and two Duke teams to the prestigious Rose Bowl.
Wade was born in Trenton, Tennessee, on June 15, 1892, into a farming family. His parents were Robert Bruce Wade and Sallie Ann Mitchell, and he had five brothers and three sisters. Wade attended Peabody High School in Trenton, where he played football for the first time under coach Tuck Faucett. Wallace Wade entered Brown University in 1913, where he played guard for the Brown Bruins (now the Bears). The successful team played in the 1916 Rose Bowl
game.
In 1921, Wade was hired as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. During his two years there, the football team won two Southern Conference championships and never lost a game, finishing 15-0-2. This record led other southern schools to become interested in Wade, and eventually both the University of Kentucky and the University of Alabama (UA) offered him jobs as head coach.
Wade chose UA and became the head football coach there in 1923. During his tenure, the Alabama Crimson Tide established itself in national football circles, winning 61 games against only 13 losses. Wade also led the team to its first four conference championships and first three national titles. In 1925, Alabama finished the regular season 9-0 and outscored its opponents 277-7. The following year, Alabama was invited to play in the 1926 Rose Bowl against the University of Washington. Alabama was a heavy underdog but won 20-19. Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, later the most famous name in Alabama football history, credited Wade for establishing the University Alabama as a football powerhouse.
Many college football historians agree that Alabama's Rose Bowl victory was the most important game in southern football history. Before 1925, football programs in the South were considered mediocre in comparison with those in other parts of the country. A stigma of inferiority was attached to southern teams because the South had a historical legacy of military defeat, poverty, and cultural
alienation from the rest of the country. This victory raised the profile of the South as a region that was on the move.
Wade led Alabama to a national championship and Rose Bowl tie in 1927 and won another national title in 1930. During that same season, Alabama outscored its nine regular-season opponents 247-13 and defeated Washington State 24-0 in the
1931 Rose Bowl. Bear Bryant, who grew up in Arkansas, chose to attend and play football for UA largely because of what Wade had accomplished. The prestige gained from the 1926 and 1927 Rose Bowl wins enabled the school to collect enough funds to construct Denny Stadium (now Bryant-Denny Stadium). Wade also picked his successor, Frank Thomas, who went on to coaching greatness at Alabama.
Shortly after the 1942 Rose Bowl, Wade resigned as Duke coach to volunteer for the U.S. Army at age 49. He eventually was promoted to lieutenant colonel and led the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge and during the Ninth Army's drive through Germany. Wade was awarded a Bronze Star and four battle stars, and the French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with Palm, a very high honor for heroism.
Wade returned to his coaching job at Duke in 1946 after World War II ended. Wade's first wife, Frances Bell, died in 1947, and he was remarried in 1950 to Virginia Jones. He coached the Blue Devils through the 1950 season and then was appointed commissioner of the Southern Conference, a position he held until 1960. Duke's football stadium was renamed in his honor as Wallace Wade Stadium in 1967.
Having grown up on a farm, Wade retired to his cattle farm in Durham in 1960. In 1970, Wade was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Wade compiled a career college football record of 171-49-10.
Wade died on September 23, 1986, in Durham, North Carolina, at the age of 94. Wallace Wade Drive now runs alongside Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama and a statue of Coach Wade was erected in front of the stadium in 2006 along with those of Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, and Gene Stallings. Wallace Wade Stadium is now the home football field for Duke University, and Coach Wade is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, receiving his just due as one of the greatest football coaches in college football history.
Contributed by: Greg Blackmon (FAG #47661804)
∼Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Football
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Alabama and Duke Head Coach
Military service: US Army (Cavalry, WWI, Capt., also WWII, 1942-45)
Wife: (one daughter, one son)
Daughter: Frances Margaret
Son: Wallace, Jr.
University: Brown University
Coach: Assistant Coach, Vanderbilt University (1921-22)
Coach: Head Coach, University of Alabama (1923-30)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1931-41)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1946-50)
College Football Hall of Fame
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 1970
Wade was born in Trenton, Tennessee, on June 15, 1892, into a farming family. His parents were Robert Bruce Wade and Sallie Ann Mitchell, and he had five brothers and three sisters. Wade attended Peabody High School in Trenton, where he played football for the first time under coach Tuck Faucett. Wallace Wade entered Brown University in 1913, where he played guard for the Brown Bruins (now the Bears). The successful team played in the 1916 Rose Bowl
game.
In 1921, Wade was hired as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. During his two years there, the football team won two Southern Conference championships and never lost a game, finishing 15-0-2. This record led other southern schools to become interested in Wade, and eventually both the University of Kentucky and the University of Alabama (UA) offered him jobs as head coach.
Wade chose UA and became the head football coach there in 1923. During his tenure, the Alabama Crimson Tide established itself in national football circles, winning 61 games against only 13 losses. Wade also led the team to its first four conference championships and first three national titles. In 1925, Alabama finished the regular season 9-0 and outscored its opponents 277-7. The following year, Alabama was invited to play in the 1926 Rose Bowl against the University of Washington. Alabama was a heavy underdog but won 20-19. Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, later the most famous name in Alabama football history, credited Wade for establishing the University Alabama as a football powerhouse.
Many college football historians agree that Alabama's Rose Bowl victory was the most important game in southern football history. Before 1925, football programs in the South were considered mediocre in comparison with those in other parts of the country. A stigma of inferiority was attached to southern teams because the South had a historical legacy of military defeat, poverty, and cultural
alienation from the rest of the country. This victory raised the profile of the South as a region that was on the move.
Wade led Alabama to a national championship and Rose Bowl tie in 1927 and won another national title in 1930. During that same season, Alabama outscored its nine regular-season opponents 247-13 and defeated Washington State 24-0 in the
1931 Rose Bowl. Bear Bryant, who grew up in Arkansas, chose to attend and play football for UA largely because of what Wade had accomplished. The prestige gained from the 1926 and 1927 Rose Bowl wins enabled the school to collect enough funds to construct Denny Stadium (now Bryant-Denny Stadium). Wade also picked his successor, Frank Thomas, who went on to coaching greatness at Alabama.
Shortly after the 1942 Rose Bowl, Wade resigned as Duke coach to volunteer for the U.S. Army at age 49. He eventually was promoted to lieutenant colonel and led the 272nd Field Artillery Battalion in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge and during the Ninth Army's drive through Germany. Wade was awarded a Bronze Star and four battle stars, and the French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with Palm, a very high honor for heroism.
Wade returned to his coaching job at Duke in 1946 after World War II ended. Wade's first wife, Frances Bell, died in 1947, and he was remarried in 1950 to Virginia Jones. He coached the Blue Devils through the 1950 season and then was appointed commissioner of the Southern Conference, a position he held until 1960. Duke's football stadium was renamed in his honor as Wallace Wade Stadium in 1967.
Having grown up on a farm, Wade retired to his cattle farm in Durham in 1960. In 1970, Wade was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Wade compiled a career college football record of 171-49-10.
Wade died on September 23, 1986, in Durham, North Carolina, at the age of 94. Wallace Wade Drive now runs alongside Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama and a statue of Coach Wade was erected in front of the stadium in 2006 along with those of Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, and Gene Stallings. Wallace Wade Stadium is now the home football field for Duke University, and Coach Wade is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, receiving his just due as one of the greatest football coaches in college football history.
Contributed by: Greg Blackmon (FAG #47661804)
∼Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Football
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Alabama and Duke Head Coach
Military service: US Army (Cavalry, WWI, Capt., also WWII, 1942-45)
Wife: (one daughter, one son)
Daughter: Frances Margaret
Son: Wallace, Jr.
University: Brown University
Coach: Assistant Coach, Vanderbilt University (1921-22)
Coach: Head Coach, University of Alabama (1923-30)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1931-41)
Coach: Head Coach, Duke University (1946-50)
College Football Hall of Fame
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 1970
Family Members
Spouse
