William Ayres Reynolds (December 30, 1872 or December 30, 1874 – August 10, 1928)[1][2] was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He played scrub football at Princeton University, serving as team captain in 1894,[3] and served as the head football coach at Rutgers University (1895),[3] Sewanee: The University of the South (1895),[4] the University of Cincinnati (1896), the University of North Carolina (1897–1900), and the University of Georgia (1901–1902), compiling a career record of 38–21–9. Reynolds was also the head baseball coach at North Carolina (1898–1899) and Georgia (1902–1903), tallying a career mark of 24–14–2.
 Reynolds pictured in The Cincinnatian 1896, Cincinnati yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 30, 1872 Oxford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 10, 1928 (aged 53) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1893–1894 | Princeton Scrub Team |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1895 | Rutgers |
| 1895 | Sewanee |
| 1896 | Cincinnati |
| 1897–1900 | North Carolina |
| 1901–1902 | Georgia |
| Baseball | |
| 1898–1899 | North Carolina |
| 1902–1903 | Georgia |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 38–21–9 (football) 34–14–2 (baseball) |
As North Carolina's football coach, he coached the Tar Heels to an undefeated season in 1898 (9–0) and had an overall record of 27–7–4 during his four seasons. As a baseball coach, Reynolds compiled a 21–5–1 record in two seasons at North Carolina.
Reynolds did not enjoy the same level of success at Georgia in either sport. As the Georgia football head coach, he compiled a record of just 5–7–3 during his two-year stay. As a baseball coach, Reynolds fared better, posting a 13–9–1 record over two seasons.
Reynolds left Georgia in 1903 to pursue a business opportunity in Canada.[5] He was later the vice president of the Southern Cotton Oil Co, original manufacturers of Wesson cooking oil. He died on August 10, 1928, at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina.[6]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers Queensmen (Independent) (1895) | |||||||||
| 1895 | Rutgers | 0–2 | |||||||
| Rutgers: | 0–2 | ||||||||
| Sewanee (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1895) | |||||||||
| 1895 | Sewanee | 2–2–1 | 0–2 | ||||||
| Sewanee: | 2–2–1 | 0–2 | |||||||
| Cincinnati (Independent) (1896) | |||||||||
| 1896 | Cincinnati | 4–3–1 | |||||||
| Cincinnati: | 4–3–1 | ||||||||
| North Carolina Tar Heels (Independent) (1897–1898) | |||||||||
| 1897 | North Carolina | 7–3 | |||||||
| 1898 | North Carolina | 9–0 | |||||||
| North Carolina Tar Heels (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1899–1900) | |||||||||
| 1899 | North Carolina | 7–3–1 | 1–1 | ||||||
| 1900 | North Carolina | 4–1–3 | 3–0–1 | ||||||
| North Carolina: | 27–7–4 | 4–1–1 | |||||||
| Georgia Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1901–1902) | |||||||||
| 1901 | Georgia | 1–5–2 | 0–3–2 | ||||||
| 1902 | Georgia | 4–2–1 | 3–2–1 | ||||||
| Georgia: | 5–7–3 | 3–5–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 38–21–9 | ||||||||