William G. Kline
Kline from 1919 Cornhusker
Biographical details
Born	(1882-06-21)June 21, 1882 Salem, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Unknown
Playing career
?–1905	Illinois

Position(s)	Halfback (football) Hurdler (track & field)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1911–1917	Nebraska Wesleyan
1918	Nebraska
1919	Cotner
1920–1922	Florida
1920–1922	Florida
1926	Hastings
Basketball
1911–1918	Nebraska Wesleyan
1920–1922	Florida
1923–1925	Nebraska
Baseball
1912	Nebraska Wesleyan
1917	Nebraska Wesleyan
1921	Florida
1924–1925	Nebraska

Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1911–1918	Nebraska Wesleyan
1920–1923	Florida

Head coaching record
Overall	125–54 (basketball) 37–27 (baseball)

Professor, coach and author

Kline was a professor at the former Hedding College in Abingdon, Illinois from 1908 to 1911.^[1] From 1911 to 1918, he was the athletic director at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska.^[1] He attended law school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1917, and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.^[3]

In 1918, Kline was a professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and he became the head coach of the war-time depleted Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.^[4] Because of World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic, the 1918 Huskers did not play their usual Missouri Valley Conference schedule, and, in fact, played the teams from two military training installations.^[4] Kline's Huskers posted a 2–3–1 record.^[5] The highlight of his season coaching Nebraska came when the Huskers played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team to a scoreless tie.^[5]

In 1919, Kline was the head football coach at Cotner College in Bethany, Nebraska.^[6] From 1919 to 1923, Kline was a law professor at the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville, Florida,^[7] while also serving as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team in 1920, 1921 and 1922.^[8] While teaching U.S. Constitutional Law, Federal Procedure and Bankruptcy, and several other commercial law classes,^[9] he compiled a 19–8–2 record in three seasons as the Gators football coach.^[5]^[8] During his time at Florida, he also coached the Gators baseball team for one 4–10 season in 1921,^[10] and the Gators basketball team from 1920 to 1922, tallying an overall record in two seasons of 10–11.^[11]

In 1923, he returned to the University of Nebraska, where he became the Cornhuskers basketball coach and compiled a 23–12 record in his two seasons there, finishing third and second in the conference standings.^[12] In 1924 and 1925, he also coached the Cornhuskers baseball team, and posted an 18–15 record.^[13]

Kline wrote several sports-related books, including The All-American Football Coaching Course (1929), The Varsity Football Play Set (1933), The All-America Basketball Coaching Course (1933), and Football for Fans (1934).^[14]

Head coaching record

Football


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing
Nebraska Wesleyan Coyotes (Independent) (1911–1917)
1911	Nebraska Wesleyan	7–0
1912	Nebraska Wesleyan	5–2–1
1913	Nebraska Wesleyan	4–3–1
1914	Nebraska Wesleyan	7–1
1915	Nebraska Wesleyan	6–3
1916	Nebraska Wesleyan	5–4–1
1917	Nebraska Wesleyan	3–5
Nebraska Wesleyan:		37–18–3
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1918)
1918	Nebraska	2–3–1	0–0
Nebraska:		2–3–1	0–0
Cotner Bulldogs (Nebraska Intercollegiate Conference) (1919)
1919	Cotner		2–4	T–5th
Cotner:			2–4
Florida Gators (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1920–1921)
1920	Florida	6–3	1–3	T–14th
1921	Florida	6–3–2	4–1–2	6th
Florida Gators (Southern Conference) (1922)
1922	Florida	7–2	2–0	5th
Florida:		19–8–2	7–4–2^[15]
Hastings Broncos (Nebraska College Athletic Conference) (1926)
1926	Hastings	4–4	4–3	T–6th
Hastings:		4–4	4–3
Total:

^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Franklin W. Scott, ed., Semi-Centennial Alumni Record of the University of Illinois, R.H. Donnelley & Sons Company, Chicago, Illinois, p. 255 (1918).
^ Tom McEwen, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama, p. 74 (1974).
^ University of Florida Catalog 1921–22, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, p. 7 (1921).
^ ^a ^b 2009 Cornhusker Football Media Guide, History, University of Nebraska Athletic Department, Lincoln, Nebraska, p. 183 (2009). Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records, William G. Kline Records By Year. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
^ "York Nebraska Champion". Sioux City Journal. Sioux City, Iowa. December 4, 1919. p. 14. Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ University of Florida, Levin College of Law, History: Faculty Members from 1909 to 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
^ ^a ^b 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 107, 115, 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012.
^ University of Florida Catalog 1921–22, pp. 135–140.
^ 2009 Florida Gators Baseball Media Guide, History, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 106 (2009). Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ 2009–10 Florida Gators Men's Basketball Media Guide, History, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 132 & 134 (2009). Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ 2008–09 Cornhusker Basketball Media Guide, Records, University of Nebraska Athletic Department, Lincoln, Nebraska, p. 180 (2008). Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ 2008 Cornhusker Baseball Media Guide, History, University of Nebraska Athletic Department, Lincoln, Nebraska, p. 80 (2008). Retrieved May 2, 2010.
^ Huskers.com, Football, William G. Kline. Retrieved May 3, 2010. Also Catalog of Copyright Entries, Library of Congress Copyright Office, Washington, D.C., p. 1200 (1934). Retrieved May 3, 2010.
^ 2009 Southern Conference Football Media Guide, Year-by-Year Standings, pp. 74–77 (2009). Retrieved March 16, 2010.

Bibliography

2012 Florida Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2012).
Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN 0-87397-025-X.
Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). ISBN 0-938637-00-2.