Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach, who served at both the collegiate and professional levels. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where was a three-time All-American at quarterback, and led the Centre Praying Colonels to a historic upset victory over Harvard in 1921. After graduating from Centre, McMillin played professionally with the Milwaukee Badgers and Cleveland Indians, two early teams of the NFL, in 1922 and 1923.

McMillin served as the head football coach at Centenary College of Louisiana (1922–1924), Geneva College (1925–1927), Kansas State University (1928–1933), and Indiana University (1934–1947), compiling a career college football coaching record of 140–77–13. He then returned to the NFL, coaching the Detroit Lions from 1948 to 1950 and the Philadelphia Eagles for the first two games of the 1951 season before he succumbed to a fatal illness. His career NFL coaching mark was 14–24. McMillin's legendary "poor mouthing", pronounced in his distinctive Texas drawl, was in sharp contrast to his teams' successes. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1951.

Playing career[link]

Early years[link]

McMillin played high school football at North Side High School in Fort Worth, Texas and Somerset High School in Somerset, Kentucky, before beginning a Hall-of-Fame collegiate career at Centre College in Kentucky, under coaches Charley Moran and Robert "Chief" Meyers. McMillin began playing football at Centre in 1917, making a major impact as a freshman when his 17-yard drop kick beat the University of Kentucky. During his freshman year McMillin was also on the track team. On April 27, 1917 he won the 220 yard dash at a Center Interscholastic track meet.

• 

  Track medal won by McMillin on April 27, 1917

• 

  Detail of medal

The following year, McMillin missed the season, serving instead in the United States Navy during the final year of World War I, then returned to Centre for the first of three consecutive All-American seasons. McMillin failed all his courses at Centre during his senior year. He eventually received his A.B. from Centre in 1937 after taking courses post-Centre and with credit given for his military service and training.^[1]

1919 and 1920 seasons[link]

In 1919, McMillin was selected to the Walter Camp All-America first team at quarterback, after helping the Praying Colonels to a 9–0 record, including upsets over Indiana and West Virginia. In 1920, McMillin garnered second team honors as Centre posted another successful season, although it included a disappointing 31–14 loss to defending national champion Harvard.

1921 season[link]

1921 was a most remarkable season for McMillin and Centre College. McMillin was a consensus All-American, and his extraordinary effort against Harvard on October 29 cemented his legend. After the loss the year before, McMillin had promised that Centre would beat Harvard in 1921, despite the fact that the Crimson had not lost since 1918. Then, in front of 43,000 fans, McMillin dashed 32 yards for the lone score of a 6–0 Centre victory, breaking Harvard's 25-game winning streak. MIT students who attended the game to cheer against Harvard tore down the goalposts and hoisted McMillin on their shoulders. For decades afterward, this was called "football's upset of the century."

Coaching career[link]

Centenary College[link]

Building upon his success as a player, McMillin entered the coaching arena, where he spent the next quarter century compiling a mark of 146–77–13. Using a combination of eloquence and determination, the teetotaling McMillin enjoyed nothing but success at the college level, beginning at Centenary College of Louisiana in 1922. Over a three-year period, McMillin lost only three of 28 games.

Geneva College[link]

McMillin's success in Louisiana allowed him to move on to Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he was the 13th head college football coach. He held that position for three seasons, from 1925 until 1927. His coaching record at Geneva was 22 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie. As of completion of the 2007 season, this ranks him sixth at Geneva in total wins and second at Geneva in winning percentage (.776).^[2] Geneva College fans generally consider him among the best coaches in the history of the school.^[3] McMillin's Geneva team was renowned for playing some of the best teams in college football and sought to set up a challenging schedule.^[4]

McMillan coached Cal Hubbard at Geneva, the only person to be in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kansas State University[link]

In 1928, McMillin was hired by Kansas State University to replace Hall of Fame coach Charlie Bachman. McMillin coached at Kansas State for six successful years, including an 8–2 season in 1931^[5] that vaulted Kansas State to the cusp of the Rose Bowl. Elden Auker, McMillin's all-conference quarterback at Kansas State, wrote in his book Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms: "McMillin was a great psychologist. He really knew how to give us talks that fired us up... The normal routine for McMillin was to bring us out onto the field to loosen up and then take us back into the locker room for a pep talk. By the time he was through talking, we believed we could take on the world."

Indiana University[link]

McMillin's success at Kansas State propelled him into his most noteworthy achievements at Indiana University. For 14 years, beginning in 1934, McMillin helped elevate the nondescript program to new heights, topped by an undefeated season in 1945. That year marked the first time ever that the Hoosiers had captured the Big Nine Conference, as well as the school's only outright conference title. He even enjoyed success at the annual College All-Star game, winning the 1938 and 1946 clashes against the defending NFL champions.

Detroit Lions[link]

Despite having become the school's athletic director and seemingly earning lifetime security with seven years remaining on his most recent contract, the 53-year-old McMillin sought new challenges following the 1947 campaign. He accepted a five-year contract to coach the National Football League's Detroit Lions on February 19, 1948.

However, the coaching success he had always enjoyed disappeared with the Lions, as the team dropped its first five games in 1948 and finished with a 2–10 mark. In addition to the many on-field changes he had implemented, McMillin also briefly changed the team's colors from the now-familiar Hawaiian blue to maroon, similar to the color of his teams at Indiana.

The team also struggled in 1949 at 4–8, but picked up the rights to future star Doak Walker. The team then brought in quarterback Bobby Layne and Heisman Trophy winner Leon Hart the following year. Continued conflict with players, though, led to McMillin's departure after the end of the 1950 NFL season, which saw the Lions finish with a 6–6 record.

Philadelphia Eagles[link]

McMillin then took on the challenge of returning the Philadelphia Eagles to their previous glory when he was hired on February 8, 1951. However, after just two games (both wins), McMillin underwent surgery for what was believed to be ulcer troubles. The verdict was far worse: stomach cancer, which ended his coaching career.

On the final day of March 1952, McMillin suffered a fatal heart attack and was buried days later with many fellow coaches and former players in attendance.

Awards and accolades[link]

In November 1951, in the final months of his life, McMillin was selected for induction in the College Football Hall of Fame for his noteworthy successes as a player. Two months later, McMillin was also awarded the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for his contributions to the sport by the American Football Coaches Association.

In 1923 a horse named Bo McMillin (owned by J. Pendergast) ran in America’s most famous horse race; the Kentucky Derby. Out of a field of 21 starters the horse finished 12th. The odds were 11.95 to $1. The jockey was D. Connelly. ^[6]

Head coaching record[link]

College[link]

References[link]

Additional sources[link]

• Auker, Elden (2001). Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms (ISBN 1-892049-25-2)
• Goldstein, Richard (1996). Ivy League Autumns (ISBN 0-312-14629-9)

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Bo McMillin at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Bo McMillin at the College Football Data Warehouse
• Bo McMillin at Pro-Football-Reference.com
• Bo McMillin Photos – A collection of photos of Bo McMillin and Centre College Football from the era

Billy Van Heusen
Born	(1946-08-27) August 27, 1946 (age 65) New Rochelle, New York
Position(s)	Punter, Wide Receiver
College	Maryland
Common Draft	1968
Statistics
DatabaseFootball
Teams
1968-1969 1970-1976	AFL Denver Broncos NFL Denver Broncos

Billy Van Heusen (born August 27, 1946) was a professional football punter and wide receiver who played for the Denver Broncos from 1968 to 1976.

See also[link]

• Other American Football League players

This biographical article relating to an American football punter is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

William Allan Van Evera, (1934 – 8 January 2003), known by the stage name Billy Van, was a Canadian comedian, actor and singer.

Biography[link]

Van was born in Toronto, Ontario and dropped out of Bloor Collegiate Institute in Grade 11 to pursue a career as an entertainer. Starting as a youth, he and his four brothers toured North America as a singing act called the Van Evera Brothers. After leaving his brothers and dropping "Evera" from his name, Van was initially known as a singer, leading The Billy Van Four and later The Billy Van Singers and making frequent appearances on Canadian variety television shows such as Fancy Free.^[1] The single "I Miss You" / "The Last Sunrise" by the Billy Van Four, released on the Rodeo International label, peaked at number 29 on the CHUM Chart in Toronto in March 1961.^[2]

As a comedian, Van first gained national attention in 1963 as a performer on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's late-night satire programme Nightcap. He threatened to quit the show after three seasons when the CBC wouldn't give him a requested raise from $400 to $500 an episode. At that time, a columnist in The Globe and Mail called Van "perhaps the most talented variety performer ever developed by the CBC."^[3] After the dispute became public, the CBC capitulated and Van continued on the show for one final season. Van appeared in a six-part spinoff series, Flemingdon Park, based on a recurring Nightcap skit, that aired at the beginning of 1967. Nightcap was cancelled in May 1967.

Through the 1970s, Van was a regular member of the "home team" on the CHCH-TV charades series Party Game. In 1971, he began making The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, also for CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario. It is this show for which he is most well known, and it has subsequently developed a cult following. A total of 130 episodes were produced, with Van playing almost every lead character.^[4]

Van was a regular performer on The Ray Stevens Show, The Ken Berry "Wow" Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Bobby Vinton Show, and the Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, most of which were co-produced by Chris Bearde, who had been a writer-performer on Nightcap. Van also appeared many commercials, including Colt 45 Malt Liquor commercials for 15 years, where he won a Clio Award in 1975.^[5]

In 1982, he hosted TVOntario's Bits and Bytes, a show devoted to the usage of early (mostly 8-bit) personal computers, a role returned to 1991 in Bits in Bytes 2. Van also narrated the animated program Eureka!, which taught children about physics. Van also appeared occasionally in the Canadian TV show Bizarre, hosted by John Byner.

He had a triple heart bypass in 1998.^[6]

Van supported the Canadian Comedy Awards with promotional appearances from the awards' inception in 2000.^[7]

After first being diagnosed in December 2001, Van died of esophageal cancer at age 68 on 8 January 2003 at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.^[6][8] He was survived by his wife Susan and two daughters, Tracy and Robyn, from a previous marriage.^[7]

One of Van's brothers, Jack Van Evera, also became an actor and appeared on many Canadian television series such as The Forest Rangers and Adventures in Rainbow Country.

Discography[link]

Billy Van Four[link]

• 1961: The Last Sunrise/I Miss You, Rodeo

Billy Van Singers[link]

• 1968: Polydor Presents The Billy Van Singers, Polydor
• 1969: “Fall In” A Fun Fashion Musical (EP), Capitol

Filmography[link]

Television series[link]

• 1960: Fancy Free (with The Billy Van Four)
• 1960-1961: Country Hoedown
• 1963-1967: Nightcap
• 1970: The Ray Stevens Show
• 1970-1980: Party Game
• 1971: Rollin' on the River (with Kenny Rogers and The First Edition)
• 1971: The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
• 1972: The Ken Berry "Wow" Show
• 1972-1973: Waterville Gang (voice)
• 1973-1974: The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour
• 1974: The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show
• 1974: Shh! It's the News
• 1975-1976: The Bobby Vinton Show
• 1976: The Sonny and Cher Show
• 1978: Eureka! (voice)
• 1980: Bizarre
• 1983: Bits and Bytes (host)
• 1984: The Littlest Hobo (TV Series) Episode FireHorse (part 1 & 2) (Guest Star as Fire Chief Danford)
• 1987: I'll Take Manhattan (mini-series)
• 1991: Bits and Bytes series 2 (host)

Television movies[link]

• 1985: The Hearst and Davies Affair
• 1986: A Deadly Business
• 1992: The Trial of Red Riding Hood
• 1995: Net Worth

Movies[link]

• 1982: The Wizard of Oz (voice)
• 1988: Family Reunion
• 1992: This Is My Life
• 2005: Return to Transylvania (documentary)

References[link]

1. ^ "Billy Van Four To Be Regulars On Fancy Free". http://www.tvarchive.ca/database/18691/swing_easy/articles/. Retrieved 2009-11-10. 
2. ^ Ron Hall, The Chum Chart Book: 1957-1983, 1984, p. 190.
3. ^ "Thanks for nothing," Dennis Braithwaite, The Globe and Mail, September 6, 1966, p. 25.
4. ^ "CH TV Hamilton History". http://www.canada.com/chtv/hamilton/info/history.html. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
5. ^ "Clio Awards". http://www.clioawards.com/archive/. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Sorenson, Chris (9 January 2003). "Billy Van was able to see funny side of Canadian TV ; Versatile comic dies at 68 after battle with cancer Returned home after '70s success on U.S. television". Toronto Star. p. A17. 
7. ^ ^{a b} The Canadian Press (9 January 2003). "Veteran comic Billy Van dies of cancer at age 68". Sudbury Star. p. A8. 
8. ^ Clark, Andrew (23 March 2005). "Inductee: Billy Van". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/walkoffame/billyvan.html. Retrieved 2009-11-08. 

External links[link]

• Northern Stars: Billy Van
• Billy Van at the Internet Movie Database
• Return to Transylvania: A Short Documentary about Billy Van

Billy Orchard (9 August 1888 – 22 July 1965) was an Australian rules football player for the Geelong Football Club between 1906 and 1915. He captained the club for two seasons in 1914 and 1915. He was also playing coach in 1914.^[1] He was a field umpire in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1920s. Orchard was also an outstanding cricketer taking 264 wickets at 12.6 between 1903–1936 in the Geelong Cricket Association.

See also[link]

• "Pioneer Exhibition Game" in London (1916)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Billy Orchard's statistics from AFL Tables

This Australian rules football biography of a person born in the 1880s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e