John H. Outland
John Henry Outland was an American college football player and coach. He played football at Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the University of Kansas, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was twice named an All-American while playing for the Penn Quakers, in 1897 as a tackle and in 1898 as a halfback. After playing, Outland coached at Franklin & Marshall College in 1900, the University of Kansas in 1901, Haskell Institute in 1902 and 1906, and Washburn University from 1904 to 1905, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 31–22–3. He is the namesake of the Outland Trophy, an annual award established in 1946 and given to the best interior lineman in college football. Outland was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2001.
Early life and playing career
Outland was born in Hesper, Kansas to Thomas Outland and Mahala Outland into a Quaker family who settled in Kansas from Indiana around 1860 during the Bleeding Kansas period as part of a larger Quaker immigration to Kansas in support of the Free State cause. He grew up mostly in Johnson County, Kansas in the towns of Lexington, Kansas and Edgerton, Kansas though. He was a member of the first football team at Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa in 1891. Outland captained the team in 1892, scoring 32 of the team's 36 points. After starring in football and baseball at the University of Kansas in 1895 and 1896, Outland went to Philadelphia to complete his medical education at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. There he became one of the few men ever to win All-American football honors as both lineman and the backfield player. He was picked by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American in 1897, as a tackle. In 1898, he was selected again, this time as a halfback. He was captain of the 1898 Pennsylvania team and was voted "Most Popular Man" at the University of Pennsylvania.Outland worked his way through college and spent his last two summers as a companion to rich young men who were alcoholics. To keep them away from alcohol, Outland took them on camping trips in the Wyoming mountains.
Coaching career
Franklin and Marshall
In 1900, Outland coached the football team at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for one season. His team produced a record of 4–5.Kansas
Outland was the eighth head football coach for the University of Kansas Jayhawks located in Lawrence, Kansas and he held that position for the 1901 season. His overall coaching record at Kansas was 3–5–2.Haskell
In February 1902, Outland was selected as the football coach at Haskell Institute—now known as Haskell Indian Nations University—in Lawrence. The 1902 [Haskell Indians football team] compiled a record 8–2–1 with victories over 1902 [Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri], 1902 [Texas Longhorns football team|Texas], and 1902 [Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas]. After the victory over Missouri, Outland said his team could "beat 1902 [Carlisle Indians football team|Carlisle] and some of the Eastern colleges also."Washburn
Outland also coached at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He was the ninth head football coach for Washburn and he held that position for two seasons, from 1904 until 1905. His overall coaching record at Washburn was 14–5.Outland's 1905 season ended with an experimental game with, where a new rule forcing the offense to earn a first down in three plays instead of four was in effect. The experiment was considered a failure.