- Peahead Walker
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Douglas Clyde "Peahead" Walker (1899 in Alabama – July 17, 1970 in Charlotte, North Carolina) was a former head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and of the Montreal Alouettes.
Walker's coaching career began in 1926 at Atlantic Christian College, Wilson, North Carolina, (today known as Barton College) where he also played professional baseball for the Wilson Bugs of the Virginia League. In his one year as head football coach, Walker was 6-1-1 and his "Little Christians" (later, "Bulldogs") were scored upon only once. He also had success with the Atlantic Christian basketball and baseball teams.
Next, in 1927, Walker accepted the position of head coach of all three major teams at Elon College (now Elon University) near Burlington, North Carolina. He coached at Elon for ten seasons, earning a 45-40-4 record and winning four North State Conference Championships.[1]
Peahead Walker coached at Wake Forest from 1937 to 1950. Focusing on recruiting, blocking, tackling, kicking, discipline, strength, and conditioning he established a brilliant coaching career at WFU. He compiled a record of 77-51-6 during his fourteen year at the school and led the Deacons to two bowl games, a win over South Carolina in the 1946 inaugural Gator Bowl[2] and a 20-7 loss to Baylor in the 1949 Dixie Bowl. He is the school's winningest head coach.
After quiting Wake Forest, Walker sought a higher paying job and joined longtime friend and former assistant Herman Hickman at Yale. After one year at Yale, he replaced the retiring Lew Hayman as the second head coach of the CFL's Montreal Alouettes. There he had a 59-48-1 record in eight seasons and won four division titles before retiring after 1959 season. After his retirement he became a scout for the New York Giants. He was elected into the Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame after his death in 1971.[3]
One of Walker's longtime friends was Arnold Palmer, who Walker tried to recruit to his football team while Palmer was at Wake Forest.
References
- ^ "Douglas Clyde "Pea Head" Walker Records by Year". cfbdatawarehouse.com. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=2415. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "Gator Bowl Hall of Fame Class of 2005". Gator Bowl Association. 2005-12-30. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928000509/http://www.gatorbowl.com/pressroom/12302005.asp. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "Athletics Hall of Fame". Traditions. Wake Forest Athletics. http://wakeforestsports.cstv.com/trads/wake-trads-halloffame.html. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
External links
Atlantic Christian Bulldogs head football coaches Blackburn • Grant • Barclay • D. Walker • P. Walker • Tweddale • Anthony • Spangler • Crutchfield
Elon Phoenix head football coaches Reddy Rowe (1909) • No team (1910–1918) • Jack Johnson (1919) • Frank Corboy (1920–1925) • A. R. VanCleave (1926) • Peahead Walker (1927–1936) • Horace Hendrickson (1937–1941) • No team (1942–1945) • Hap Perry (1946–1947) • James Mallory (1948–1952) • Sid Varney (1953–1959) • George Tucker (1960–1964) • Gary Mattocks (1965–1966) • Shirley Wilson (1967–1976) • Jerry Tolley (1977–1981) • Wright Anderson (1982–1983) • Macky Carden (1984–1988) • Leon Hart (1989–1995) • Al Seagraves (1996–2003) • Paul Hamilton (2004–2005) • Pete Lembo (2006–2010) • Jason Swepson (2011– )
Elon Phoenix men's basketball head coaches Bob Doak (1911–1915) • Jack Johnson (1915–1920) • Frank Corboy (1920–1926) • William Jay (1926–1927) • Peahead Walker (1927–1937) • Horace Hendrickson (1937–1942) • No team (1942–1944) • Lacy Adcox (1944–1946) • Hap Perry (1946–1947) • Garland Causey (1947–1948) • Harold Pope (1948–1949) • Doc Mathis (1949–1959) • Bill Miller (1959–1979) • Bill Morningstar (1979–1986) • Bob Burton (1986–1993) • Mark Simons (1993–2003) • Ernie Nestor (2003–2009) • Matt Matheny (2009– )
Elon Phoenix head baseball coaches Unknown (1900–1901) • No team (1902) • Unknown (1903–1906) • Ralph McLaurin (1907) • M. B. Morrow (1908) • Hoffman (1909) • L. L. Hobbs, Jr. (1910) • Bunn Hearne (1911) • Bob Doak (1912–1915) • C. C. Johnson (1916–1920) • Frank Corboy (1921–1926) • Charlie Carroll (1927) • Peahead Walker (1928–1937) • Horace Hendrickson (1938–1941) • Joe Brunansky (1942) • No team (1943–1945) • Jet Pierce (1946) • Hap Perry (1947) • James Mallory (1948–1953) • Graham Mathis (1954–1956) • Jack Sanford (1957–1966) • Jerry Drake (1967–1974) • Bill Miller (1975) • Bobby Jones (1976) • Bob McBee (1977–1984) • Rick Jones (1985–1989) • Mike Hardin (1990–1993) • Billy Best (1994–1996) • Mike Kennedy (1997– )
Wake Forest Demon Deacons head football coaches W. C. Dowd & W. C. Riddick (1888) • W. C. Riddick (1889) • W. E. Sikes (1891–1893) • No team (1894) • No coach (1895) • No team (1896–1907) • A. P. Hall, Jr. (1908) • A. T. Myers (1909) • Reddy Rowe (1910) • Freddy Thompson (1911–1913) • W. C. Smith (1914–1915) • G. M. Billings (1916) • E. T. MacDonnell (1917) • Harry Rabenhorst (1918–1919) • James L. White (1920–1921) • George Levene (1922) • Hank Garrity (1923–1925) • James A. Baldwin (1926–1927) • Stan Cofall (1928) • F. S. Miller (1929–1932) • Jim Weaver (1933–1936) • Peahead Walker (1937–1950) • Tom Rogers (1951–1955) • Paul Amen (1956–1959) • Billy Hildebrand (1960–1963) • Bill Tate (1964–1968) • Cal Stoll (1969–1971) • Tom Harper (1972) • Chuck Mills (1973–1977) • John Mackovic (1978–1980) • Al Groh (1981–1986) • Bill Dooley (1987–1992) • Jim Caldwell (1993–2000) • Jim Grobe (2001– )
Categories:- Atlantic Christian Bulldogs football coaches
- 1899 births
- 1970 deaths
- Elon Phoenix baseball coaches
- Elon Phoenix football coaches
- Elon Phoenix men's basketball coaches
- Montreal Alouettes coaches
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches
- Yale Bulldogs football coaches
- Sportspeople from Alabama
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