Millard Albert Naylor (December 19, 1901 – April 16, 1979) was an American sports coach. He had a 32-season stint as football coach at Howard High School in Wilmington, Delaware, and was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 1979.
![]() Naylor in a 1951 illustration | |
Biographical details | |
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Born | Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. | December 19, 1901
Died | April 16, 1979 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. | (aged 77)
Playing career | |
Football | |
1920–1923 | Lincoln |
Baseball | |
late 1910s | Wilmington Giants |
c. 1920 | Wilmington Black Sox |
1920–1923 | Lincoln |
Position(s) | Center, fullback (football) Second baseman, shortstop (baseball) |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1926–1957 | Howard HS (DE) |
Baseball | |
? | Howard HS (DE) |
Basketball | |
? | Howard HS (DE) |
Track and field | |
? | Howard HS (DE) |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
c. 1920 | Wilmington Black Sox (BM) |
1958–1960 | Howard HS (DE) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
Early life
editNaylor was born on December 19, 1901, in Wilmington, Delaware.[1][2] He attended Howard High School in Wilmington, graduating in 1920.[3] Howard had no athletic program at the time, and Naylor played baseball as a second baseman and shortstop for the local Wilmington Giants and Wilmington Black Sox.[3] With the Black Sox, he also served as business manager in addition to playing.[4]
Naylor began attending Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1920, where he played football and baseball for four years.[3] In football, he began as a center before switching to fullback as a sophomore, starting in the position for his last three seasons; as a freshman, he was coached by the legendary Fritz Pollard.[3] He graduated from Lincoln in 1924 with a bachelor's degree.[3]
Naylor received the nickname "Steamy" because he "would run like a steam engine wherever he would go."[5]
Career
editIn 1925, Naylor was a teacher at the Booker T. Washington School.[6] The following year, he returned to Howard High School as a teacher and created the football program. He went on to coach football, baseball, basketball and track and field.[5][7] When he started the team, they had no equipment, money, or even a football; Naylor was able to get a used football and some equipment from the University of Delaware.[3][5] For the first four years, the same football was used by the team, which Naylor took home every Thursday to polish.[5] His players had to go to the shoemaker "every night to have their equipment sewn to keep it from falling apart."[5] Until 1945, the team played out-of-state road games due to them being unable to play the white teams in Delaware's segregated school system.[5]
Naylor ultimately served as a coach at Howard for 32 seasons – from 1926 to 1957, including the first 14 seasons without pay.[8] He was known as the state's "dean of coaching" and was the longest-tenured coach in the state by his retirement following the 1957 season.[9] His overall record as football coach was 132–91–24, including 22 teams with winning records, two undefeated seasons (1926 and 1939) and six championships; Howard was the 1933 South Atlantic Conference champion, 1939, 1940 and 1941 North Division champions, 1948 city champions, 1952 city champions and 1952 county champions.[8] He coached many notable athletes and had a "legacy of outstanding players".[8][10] He remained a teacher and served as Howard's athletic director for three years after his retirement as football coach.[8]
Later life and family
editNaylor worked for the Latin American Drug Store in Wilmington after his retirement from Howard.[5] He married and had at least seven children.[5]
Death and legacy
editNaylor was selected to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame as part of the hall's fourth class in 1979.[8] He died on April 16, 1979, the day of his induction, at the age of 77.[8] He later was posthumously inducted into the Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, as part of the second class.[9] A youth football league based in Wilmington was named in his honor, and his Howard High School football wins record stood until 2019.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "Naylor". The Morning News. April 18, 1979. p. 44 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zabitka, Matt (April 23, 1978). "Just nobody would play Howard". The Morning News. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f Katzman, Izzy (November 21, 1957). "Naylor to Retire as Howard High Coach After Record 32 Seasons on Football Job". Journal-Every Evening. p. 50 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Who Wants This Game?". The Evening Journal. June 5, 1920. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Canavan, Kathy (April 17, 1979). "Ex-Howard Coach Naylor Is Dead at 77". The Evening Journal. p. 1, 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "American Legion Post Organized At New Castle". The Evening Journal. March 19, 1925. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zabitka, Matt (April 19, 1978). "Millard Naylor To Be Honored". The Evening Journal. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "Millard Naylor". Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame.
- ^ a b Hurlock, Buddy (April 14, 2000). "Afro-American Sports Hall to induct 12 in second class". The News Journal. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Veteran Howard Coach To Be Honored Nov. 2". Journal-Every Evening. October 17, 1951. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jasner, Andy (October 23, 2006). "Teaching, football, and a lot more". The News Journal. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Myers, Brad (September 20, 2019). "Ritter". The News Journal. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.