Alpha Brumage

Alpha Brumage
	Brumage pictured in The Bomb 1913, VMI yearbook
Biographical details
Born	March 16, 1880; Mitchell County, Kansas, U.S.
Died	March 11, 1963 (aged 82); San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1901–1903	Kansas
Position(s)	Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1904–1907	Ottawa
1908–1909	William Jewell
1910	Nebraska State Normal
1911–1912	VMI
1913–1914	Kentucky
Basketball
1908–1910	William Jewell
1911–1913	VMI
1913–1915	Kentucky
Baseball
1909–1910	William Jewell
1914–1915	Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall	51–29–3 (football); 49–26 (basketball); 34–24–1 (baseball)

Alpha Brumage (March 16, 1880 – March 11, 1963) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball.

Early life and playing career

Brumage was a native of Beloit, Kansas and graduated from Beloit High School. He attended the University of Kansas, where he played college football from 1901 to 1903 as a fullback and captained the 1903 Kansas Jayhawks football team. Brumage also participated in track and field as Kansas, running the hurdles in 1902–03.^[1]

Coaching career

Ottawa

Brumage was the second head football at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas and he held that position for four seasons, from 1904 until 1907. His coaching record at Ottawa was 14–16–1.^[2] Brumage took over the team after a one-year hiatus because the school was attempting to purge professionalism from their college sports teams.

VMI

After coaching at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and Nebraska State Normal School—now known as Peru State College—Brumage moved to Lexington, Virginia to become the tenth head football coach at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).^[3] He held that position for two seasons, from 1911 until 1912. His career coaching record at VMI was 13–2.

Kentucky

Brumage then went to Kentucky where he was football coach from 1913 to 1914, compiling an 11–5 record, and basketball coach from 1913 to 1915, compiling a 19–7 record.

Late life and death

In September 1915, Brumage was appointed as the physical director of the Birmingham Athletic Club in Birmingham, Alabama.^[1] During World War I, Brumage attended officer's training school and was promoted to the rank of major in the United States Army. He served in France with the 322nd Field Artillery Regiment of the 83rd Infantry Division.^[4]

Brumage retired to San Antonio in the early 1940s. He died there on March 11, 1963.^[5]

Head coaching record

Football


Year	Team	Overall	Conference
Ottawa Braves (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1904–1907)
1904	Ottawa	3–5
1905	Ottawa	2–6–1
1906	Ottawa	5–2
1907	Ottawa	4–3
Ottawa:		14–16–1
William Jewell Baptists (Independent) (1908–1909)
1908	William Jewell	4–2
1909	William Jewell	7–2
William Jewell:		11–4
Nebraska State Normal (Independent) (1910)
1910	Nebraska State Normal	2–2–2
Nebraska State Normal:		2–2–2
VMI Keydets (Independent) (1911–1912)
1911	VMI	7–1
1912	VMI	6–1
VMI:		13–2
Kentucky Wildcats (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1913–1914)
1913	Kentucky	6–2	0–1
1914	Kentucky	5–3	1–1
Kentucky:		11–5	1–2
Total:		51–29–3

Basketball

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall
William Jewell Baptists (Independent) (1908–1910)
1908–09	William Jewell	6–7
1909–10	William Jewell	10–3
William Jewell:		16–10
VMI Keydets (Independent) (1911–1913)
1911–12	VMI	6–5
1912–13	VMI	8–4
VMI:		14–9
Kentucky Wildcats (Independent) (1913–1915)
1913–14	Kentucky	12–2
1914–15	Kentucky	7–5
Kentucky:		19–7
Total:		49–26

^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Alpha Brumage Chosen As Clow's B. A. C. Successor". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. September 15, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Ottawa Braves Football – All-time Results
^ "Alpha Brumage Goes East". The Salina Daily Union. Salina, Kansas. May 26, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved December 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Maj. Alpha Brumage Across". The Beloit Gazette. Beloit, Kansas. August 7, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Former Coach Dies. Col. Brumage Was Coach at Ottawa, William Jewell". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press. March 12, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved May 15, 2016 – via Newspapers.com .
^ 2013–14 VMI Basketball Fact Book
^ "Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball – All-time results". Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2014.

External links

Alpha Brumage at Find a Grave

[bac-1] "Alpha Brumage Chosen As Clow's B. A. C. Successor". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. September 15, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .

[2] Ottawa Braves Football – All-time Results

[3] "Alpha Brumage Goes East". The Salina Daily Union. Salina, Kansas. May 26, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved December 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com .

[4] "Maj. Alpha Brumage Across". The Beloit Gazette. Beloit, Kansas. August 7, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .

[5] "Former Coach Dies. Col. Brumage Was Coach at Ottawa, William Jewell". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press. March 12, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved May 15, 2016 – via Newspapers.com .

[6] 2013–14 VMI Basketball Fact Book

[7] "Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball – All-time results". Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2014.

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