View source for Gus Welch

{{short description|American football player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
| name = Gus Welch
| image = Gus Welch.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Welch during his college football days at Carlisle
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|12|18}}
| birth_place = [[Spooner, Wisconsin]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1970|1|29|1892|12|18}}
| death_place = [[Bedford, Virginia]], U.S.
| team = 
| number = 
| status = 
| position1 = [[Quarterback]]
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 152
| college = [[Carlisle Indian School|Carlisle Indian]]<br>[[Dickinson School of Law|Dickinson]]
| coaching_years1 = 1919–1922
| coaching_team1 = [[Washington State Cougars football|Washington State]]
| coaching_years2 = 1923–1928
| coaching_team2 = [[Randolph Macon College|Randolph Macon]]
| coaching_years3 = 1930–1932
| coaching_team3 = [[University of Virginia|Virginia]]
| coaching_years4 = 1933–1934
| coaching_team4 = [[Haskell Indian Nations University|Haskell]]
| coaching_years5 = 1937–1938
| coaching_team5 = [[American University|American]]
| playing_years1 = 1912–1914
| playing_team1 = [[Canton Bulldogs|Canton Professionals]]
| playing_years2 = 1915–1917
| playing_team2 = [[Canton Bulldogs]]
| career_highlights = * 3x [[Ohio League]] champion ([[1915 Canton Bulldogs season|1915]], [[1916 Canton Bulldogs season|1916]], [[1917 Canton Bulldogs season|1917]])
* American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame (1973)
* Second Team All-American Quarterback (1913)
* Ranked as 1 of the 3 best quarterbacks in the USA (1913)
| CollegeHOF = 1265
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
|allegiance           = {{flagicon|United States}} [[United States of America|United States]]
|branch               = [[File:United States Department of the Army Seal.svg|20px|United States Army seal]] [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]
|serviceyears         = 1917–1919
|rank                 = [[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|20px]] [[Captain (United States)|Captain]]
|unit                 = [[American Expeditionary Forces]]
|battles              = [[World War I]]
|awards               = 
}}
}}
'''Gustavius A.''' "'''Gus'''" '''Welch''' (December 18, 1892 – January 29, 1970) was an [[American football]] player, [[track and field]] athlete, coach of football and [[lacrosse]], and college athletics administrator.

==Early life==
Welch was a full-blood [[Chippewa]] born in [[Spooner, Wisconsin]]. He attended the [[Carlisle Indian School]], located in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]] and graduated in 1911. Gus was one of Carlisle's first honor students. While at Carlisle, Welch was the [[quarterback]] for the school’s football team, which featured [[Jim Thorpe]] and was coached by [[Pop Warner]]. He was a member of the USA Track and Field team during the [[1912 Summer Olympics]], although an illness prevented him from competing. After 1912, Welch played professional football for the [[Canton Bulldogs]], coached by Thorpe. In 1917, Welch graduated from the [[Dickinson School of Law]].

==Military==
In 1917, he entered the [[American Expeditionary Force]] during World War I as a [[Second Lieutenant#United States|Second Lieutenant]], 808th Pioneer Infantry, under [[John J. Pershing]]. During his time in the military he achieved the rank of [[Captain (United States)|captain]]. He left the service in 1919.

==Coaching career==
From 1923 to 1929, Welch was the athletic director and head football coach at [[Randolph Macon College]]. From 1930 to 1934, he served as the head [[lacrosse]] coach at the [[University of Virginia]]. From 1935 until 1937, Welch served as the director of athletics and head football coach at [[Haskell Indian Nations University]], located in [[Lawrence, Kansas]]. Afterwards he served as the head coach at Georgetown Prep School.  From 1937 to 1938, he served as head football coach at [[American University]] where he compiled an overall record of two wins, ten losses and one tie.

During World War II he was in charge of Physical Fitness at [[Georgetown University]]; and by 1947 taught physical education at Lyndon Hill Junior High School, located in [[Prince George County, Virginia]].

==Camps==
In 1929, Welch purchased a boys' camp near the Peaks of the Otter in [[Bedford County, Virginia]], which he operated during the next 30 summers as Camp Kewanzee for young people. In 1939, some of his land was condemned by the [[US Department of the Interior]] to extend the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]], a seizure Welch fought vigorously. He then purchased a farm near [[Bedford, Virginia]], and continued to work with young athletes. Gus finally served as athletic director at [[American University]] in Washington, D.C. prior to his 1970 death.

==Honors==
In 1973, Welch was named to the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame and in 1975 to [[National Football Foundation]]'s [[College Football Hall of Fame]].  In the late 1960s, Welch's help was sought by both the Jim Thorpe Project of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the Jim Thorpe Athletic Award Committee of [[Yale, Oklahoma]].

==Family==
In 1923, Welch married Julia Carter, daughter of [[Charles David Carter]], Oklahoma Congressman from [[Boggy Depot, Oklahoma|Boggy Depot]]. A [[Chickasaw]], Carter descended from David Carter, a white man captured in [[Connecticut]] and raised as an Indian who elected to remain with them as an adult, married an Indian woman, and for a time edited The Phoenix, an Indian newspaper. The Welchs had no children but adopted a niece, Serena, who became the model for the figure portrayed on the canning labels of Pocahontas Foods.

Carter's family was also close to [[Vinnie Ream]], after whom [[Vinita, Oklahoma]] is named. Ream became a sculptor of several statues in Washington, D.C., including one of [[Abraham Lincoln]] placed in the [[United States Capitol rotunda]].

==Death==
Welch died on January 29, 1970, of a heart attack, at Bedford Memorial Hospital in [[Bedford, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Gus Welch, Last Survivor Of Carlisle Indian School Teams, Succumbs at 78 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59947385/the-times-record/ |newspaper=[[The Record (Troy)|The Record]] |location=[[Troy, New York]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=January 30, 1970 |page=21 |access-date=September 25, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{Open access}} }}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
===Football===
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Washington State Cougars football|Washington State Cougars]]
 | conf      = [[Northwest Conference (1908–1925)|Northwest Conference]] / [[Pacific Coast Conference]]
 | startyear = 1919
 | endyear   = 1922
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1919 college football season|1919]]
 | name         = [[1919 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]]
 | overall      = 5–2
 | conference   = 3–1 / 2–2
 | confstanding = 1st / T–3rd
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1920 college football season|1920]]
 | name         = [[1920 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]]
 | overall      = 5–1
 | conference   = 3–0 / 1–1
 | confstanding = 1st / T–3rd
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1921 college football season|1921]]
 | name         = [[1921 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]]
 | overall      = 4–2–1
 | conference   = 2–0–1 / 2–1–1
 | confstanding = 2nd / 2nd
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1922 college football season|1922]]
 | name         = [[1922 Washington State Cougars football team|Washington State]]
 | overall      = 2–5
 | conference   = 1–3 / 1–5
 | confstanding = 6th / 7th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Washington State
 | overall    = 16–10–1
 | confrecord = 11–9–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets football|Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets]]
 | conf      = Independent
 | startyear = 1923
 | endyear   = 1926
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1923 college football season|1923]]
 | name         = Randolph–Macon
 | overall      = 0–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1924 college football season|1924]]
 | name         = Randolph–Macon
 | overall      = 1–6–2
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1925 college football season|1925]]
 | name         = Randolph–Macon
 | overall      = 0–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1926 college football season|1926]]
 | name         = Randolph–Macon
 | overall      = 1–7
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets football|Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets]]
 | conf      = [[Virginia Conference]]
 | startyear = 1927
 | endyear   = 1928
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1927 college football season|1927]]
 | name         = Randolph–Macon
 | overall      = 2–3
 | conference   = 1–2
 | confstanding = 5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1928 college football season|1928]]
 | name         = Randolph–Macon
 | overall      = 0–7–1
 | conference   = 0–4–1
 | confstanding = 8th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Randolph–Macon
 | overall    = 4–39–3
 | confrecord = 1–6–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Haskell Indians football|Haskell Indians]]
 | conf      = Independent
 | startyear = 1933
 | endyear   = 1934
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1933 college football season|1933]]
 | name         = [[1933 Haskell Indians football team|Haskell]]
 | overall      = 2–6–3
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1934 college football season|1934]]
 | name         = [[1934 Haskell Indians football team|Haskell]]
 | overall      = 3–6–1
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Haskell
 | overall    = 5–12–4
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[American Eagles football|American Eagles]]
 | conf      = Independent
 | startyear = 1937
 | endyear   = 1938
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1937 college football season|1937]]
 | name         = American
 | overall      = 1–6–1
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1938 college football season|1938]]
 | name         = American
 | overall      = 1–4
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = no
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = American
 | overall    = 2–10–1
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
 | overall  = 27–71–9
 | bowls    = no
 | poll     = no
 | polltype = 
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cfbhof|id=1265|name=Gus Welch}}
* [https://utulsa.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/870 Gus Welch papers, 1911-1979, Department of Special Collections and University Archives, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa]

{{navboxes|list=
{{Carlisle Indians quarterback navbox}}
{{Washington State Cougars football coach navbox}}
{{Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets football coach navbox}}
{{Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse coach navbox}}
{{Haskell Indian Nations Fighting Indians football coach navbox}}
{{American Eagles athletic director navbox}}
{{American Eagles football coach navbox}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Gus}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:American Eagles athletic directors]]
[[Category:American Eagles football coaches]]
[[Category:Carlisle Indians football players]]
[[Category:Carlisle Indians football coaches]]
[[Category:Canton Bulldogs (Ohio League) players]]
[[Category:Canton Professionals players]]
[[Category:Dickinson Red Devils football players]]
[[Category:Haskell Indian Nations Fighting Indians athletic directors]]
[[Category:Haskell Indian Nations Fighting Indians football coaches]]
[[Category:Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets athletic directors]]
[[Category:Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets football coaches]]
[[Category:Virginia Cavaliers football coaches]]
[[Category:Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse coaches]]
[[Category:Washington State Cougars football coaches]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:People from Spooner, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Native American players of American football]]
[[Category:American Ojibwe people]]
[[Category:Native American United States military personnel]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Wisconsin]]