Ted Coy Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSSP_1007

Staff Only
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Content Description

The Ted Coy Papers document the football career and life of Edward H. "Ted" Coy (1888-1935), best known for being a two-time All-American football player at Yale University. One scrapbooks and two photo albums contain materials, including photographs, correspondence, school records and ephemera, related to Coy's athletic, academic, and social activities at the Hotchkiss School. One scrapbook includes mainly newspaper clippings documents the 1909 Yale football season. One scrapbook contains materials (1928-29) pertaining to Coy's marriage to his third wife, Lottie Bruhn. The collection also includes a copy of the 1907 Yale University Potpourri yearbook and miscellanous loose clippings, photographs, and ephemera.

Dates

Creation: 1902-1932
Creation: Majority of material found within 1902-1909; 1928-1929

Conditions Governing Access

PARTIALLY PROCESSED -- This collection has been physically stabilized for safe handling by users. Existing archival description may provide minimal information about the material or information for large aggregations/groupings of materials, and these collections may require more mediation by staff and users to find specific resources. This collection is available to patrons, however curatorial permission and advance notice are required for access. Contact the repository for more information or to request an appointment.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Edward Harris "Ted" Coy (1888-1935) was the son of the first Headmaster of the prestigious Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. Coy graduated from Hotchkiss in 1906, and he was a noted athlete during his prep school years playing on the football, baseball, and track teams. After Hotchkiss, Coy matriculated at Yale University. During his first year on campus he captained the Yale freshman football team, and then played varsity football for the next three years. A talented fullback, Coy received All-American honors in 1907, 1908, and 1909. He captained the 1909 Yale national champion football team that went 10-0 and outscored its opponents 209-0.

In the years after his graduation Coy was widely hailed as one of the all-time great players of college football. Walter Camp named him to his All-Time All-American team in 1910, writing "Coy of Yale has the most remarkable combination of qualities that have ever been gathered in any player on the gridon" (). That same year, Walter Eckersall, of the Chicago Tribune, named Coy "the greatest football player of all time" . Coy was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1951.

In 1910, Coy was the Head Coach of the Yale varsity football team, which posted a 6-2-2 record. Coy then left football for a long career as a Well Street financier. During these years, he also often wrote article about college football for New York newspapers and magazines.

Coy married Sophie Mildrem in 1913, and the couple divorced in 1925. Soon after, Coy married actress Jeanne Eagels, who divorced him in 1928. Coy married his third wife Lottie Bruhn of El Paso in 1928. Coy died of a heart attack while at his sister's house in New York City in 1935 at the age of 47.

++++ Sources cited:

Walter Camp, "An All-Time All-America Foot-Ball Team," Century Magazine vol. 79, no. 4 (Feb, 1910): 594-606.

Walter Eckersall, "Coy is Greatest Football Player of All Time," Chicago Tribune May 8, 1910: C1.

Extent

1.8875 Cubic Feet (1 document case legal (misc. loose material) 1 flat letter box (Hotchkiss scrapbook) 1 document case letter (2 Hotchkiss photo albums) 1 F1 box (Yale 1909 scrapbook) 1 document case legal (Yale yearbook; 1928-29 scrapbook))