Pyle was director of physical culture of Transylvania University in 1904.[1]
Pyle replaced Jack Forsythe as the Florida head football coach and held that position for five seasons, from 1909 to 1913.[2][3] During that period, he accumulated a 26–7–3 record and a .764 winning percentage. In 1911, Pyle led Florida to its first and only undefeated season when the newly named Gators posted a 5–0–1 record.[4]
In 1912, Florida posted a 5–2–1 record.[2] After the season, the team participated in its first post-season game, the Bacardi Bowl held in Havana, Cuba. It was actually a two-game series against different Cuban athletic clubs. The first game was played on December 25 under the so-called "old rules" that existed before the American football reforms of 1906. In that game, Florida defeated the Vedado Tennis Club, 28–0.[5] On December 30, Florida played the Cuban Athletic Club of Havana under the "new rules". According to one source, the game's referee was a former coach for the Cuban team, and the officiating was blatantly biased. After two Florida touchdowns were nullified by questionable officiating, Pyle protested a fifteen-yard penalty. When the referee offered a five-yard penalty instead, Pyle and his team left the game in protest.[6] Another source states that the game ended late in the first quarter after a fight broke out between the teams; Florida accused the Cuban team of still playing under "the old rules".[6] Regardless of the reason for the forfeiture, Pyle was arrested by the Cuban authorities.[4] He was charged with violating a law that prohibited a game's suspension after money had been collected.[7] After his trial was delayed, Pyle and the Gators left Cuba.
After leaving college athletics, Pyle worked as an insurance agent in Bristol, Tennessee.[10] He died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on August 23, 1949, at the age of 63.[11]
^2012 Florida Football Media Guide(PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. 2011. pp. 107, 115, 116. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 27, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN0-7948-2298-3.
Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN0-9650782-1-3.
McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN0-87397-025-X.
Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). ISBN0-938637-00-2.
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