William T. Van de Graaff was born October 25, 1895, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He played football at the University of Alabama from 1912 to 1915. He was the first Southerner to be named All-American by Parke Davis and by Walter Camp in 1915. He was a punter, a kicker, and a tackle of high regard. He went to West Point and after World War I, "Bully" coached for Xen Scott and Wallace Wade. He went to Colorado College as head football coach in 1926 and stayed through 1939. Then he went on to a distinguished army career and retired as a colonel. He passed away April 26, 1977, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.