Bill Morley William Raymond " Bill " Morley , Jr . ( March 17 , 1876 – May 27 , 1932 ) was an American football player , coach , and rancher . Born in New Mexico , he played college football for the University of Michigan and Columbia University and was selected as an All - American in 1900 and 1901 . Morley served as the head coach of the Columbia Lions football team from 1902 to 1905 . He later returned to New Mexico where he was a successful cattle and sheep rancher . He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1971 . Early years . Morley was born in 1876 at Cimarron in Colfax County , New Mexico . His parents were William Raymond Morley , Sr . ( 1846 – 1883 ) , and Ada ( McPherson ) Morley ( 1852 – 1917 ) . His father was the chief engineer for the Santa Fe Railroad and later edited " The Cimarron News " and managed the Maxwell land grant in Cimarron . Morley ' s father was killed in 1883 from an accidental shooting in Mexico . Morley was six years old at the time of his father ' s death . His father left extensive land holdings in the Datil Mountains near Datil , New Mexico . After his father ' s death , his mother remarried , and moved with her three young children ( one boy and two girls ) and her new husband , Floyd Jarrett , to the Datil Mountains . Jarrett abandoned the family in approximately 1889 , and Morley ' s mother raised her children in a log house roofed with adobe sod . Morley ' s sister , Agnes Morley Cleaveland ( 1874 – 1958 ) , later wrote a best - selling book titled " No Life for a Lady " about their life in the Datil Mountains . Football player . Morley was sent east to be educated and reportedly attended school in 18 states . He received a civil engineering degree from the Pennsylvania Military Academy in Chester , Pennsylvania . He first played football at the military academy . Morley later attended the University of Michigan where he received a bachelor of science degree in 1896 . While attending Michigan , he was the backup quarterback on the 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team that laid claim to the Western football championship . He was five feet , six inches tall and weighed 147 pounds as a football player at Michigan . Morley ' s sister , Agnes , was also a student at Michigan during the 1895 – 96 academic year . After graduating from Michigan , Morely worked for the Santa Fe Railroad . Some reports indicate that he also worked for a time as the sheriff of Socorro County , New Mexico . Morley subsequently enrolled at Columbia University School of Mines . He played at the halfback and quarterback positions for the 1899 , 1900 and 1901 Columbia Lions football teams . He was selected as a first - team All - American in 1900 by Walter Camp and " Leslie ' s Weekly " . Caspar Whitney , owner and editor - in - chief of the monthly " Outing " magazine , chose Morley as the captain and first - team halfback for his 1901 College Football All - America Team . In his review of the 1901 football season , Charles Edward Patterson wrote : " Morley , stocky , muscular , not to be denied his two yards help or no help ( and three times two means six , or a first down , you know ! ) able to repeat indefinitely , the best interferer in present day football , a forty yard punter and a drop - kicker who can actually score . " In 1905 , " The New York Times " recalled Morley ' s playing style at Columbia : " Morley was one of the most aggressive men who ever represented Columbia on the gridiron . As a plunging back he made an enviable reputation , and the same was true when he played quarter back . " Morley was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971 . Morley ' s Hall of Fame biography emphasizes his accomplishments as a player for Columbia : " The Columbia backfield of 1899 could strike from every position , often with electrifying results . It was that backfield which became the first Lion squad to beat Yale , and the 5 – 0 victory over the Elis was carried off through the efforts of this Hall of Famer , Bill Morley . Morley ' s exciting gains and devastating blocks took the heart out of the Eli defense . " Coaching career . In February 1902 , Morley was hired as the head football coach at Columbia . During the 1903 season , Morley ' s team began the season with seven consecutive shutouts and finished with a 9 – 1 record , outscoring opponents 148 to 43 . He served as Columbia ' s head football coach from 1902 to 1905 . Morley compiled an overall record of 26 – 11 – 3 as the head coach at Columbia . Cattle and sheep rancher . Morley later returned to New Mexico where he operated an extensive cattle and sheep ranch at Datil , New Mexico , known as the " Drag A ranch . " Morley reportedly owned 200 sections of 640 acres each and " controlled several times that number because of control of watering places , and additional sections under Forest Service permits . " Morley was one of the leading figures in western New Mexico . He was reported to be a " story teller of no mean ability , " a skilled hunter , and " a hated foe of cattle rustlers . " An account published in the " Albuquerque Journal " described him as follows : " He was a man of picturesque appearance with a reddish beard that he wore in styles to suit his whim . Three years ago [ 1929 ] , in an effort to procure aid for New Mexico livestock men who had lost heavily in the postwar period , he let his hair grow to his shoulders and his beard to his waist , and marched in the inaugural parade at Washington , where he attracted wide attention and publicity . " Morley was one of the founders of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association . He also owned several properties and business in Magdalena , New Mexico , and was the president and one of the principal shareholders of the First National Bank of Magadalena . Family and death . Morley was married to Bessie Crason , with whom he had a son William Raymond Morley III ( born 1902 ) . Morley was remarried to Nancy Brown ( 1878 – 1932 ) in 1908 . They had three daughters , named Margaratta Hope , Milicent Faith and Love ( sometimes referred to as Faith , Hope and Love ) , born on December 25 , 1908 . Love died in infancy , and Hope died in approximately 1910 . At the time of the 1910 United States Census , Morley was living in Datil , New Mexico , with his wife , Nancy ( age 27 ) , and their two surviving daughters ( age 1 ) . His occupation was listed as a cattle rancher . In a September 1918 draft registration card , Morley indicated that he was living in Datil and employed in the cattle and sheep ranching business . At the time of the 1920 United States Census , Morley was living at Santa Rita , New Mexico , with his wife Nancy ( age 40 ) and their daughter Milicent Faith Morley ( age 11 ) . His occupation was listed as a farmer on a general farm . At the time of the 1930 United States Census , Morley was living in Datil with his wife Nancy B . Morley ( age 53 ) and a daughter , M . Faith Morley ( age 21 ) . His occupation was listed as stock raising on a stock ranch . Morley ' s nephew , Norman Cleaveland , won a gold medal in rugby at the 1924 Summer Olympics . In approximately 1930 , Morley moved to Pasadena , California . He was forced to move to a lower altitude due to heart disease . Morley died from heart disease in May 1932 . He suffered a " severe attack " while at his home in Pasadena . He lived for a week after the attack , though he did not regain consciousness .