William Allen Brooks Jr. (August 15, 1864 – May 20, 1921) was an American surgeon, college football player, coach, referee, and rower. He played football and participated in rowing at Harvard and afterwards was a prominent surgeon as well as official, additionally serving one year as the Harvard football coach.
A native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Brooks graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy. He afterwards attended Harvard College from 1883 to 1886, playing football and being a member of their rowing team. He was team captain in football as a senior, and led them to a 12–2 record. Following his graduation from the college, Brooks enrolled at the Harvard Medical School, at which he received a Doctor of Medicine in 1891. In the next years, he received positions at several hospitals as a surgeon and became a faculty member of Harvard. During this time, he was also a highly-respected sports official and served one season as Harvard's head football coach, compiling an 11–2 record.
By the early 1900s, Brooks had become one of the most prominent surgeons in the area, serving for a time as the surgeon-in-chief at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and establishing his own hospital for appendicitis in 1912. Around that time, he also became a faculty member of the Tufts University School of Medicine and made several medical inventions. Brooks had built in 1915 a hospital bearing his name in Brookline, Massachusetts. During World War I, he served as the chief surgeon Massachusetts State Guard, the acting surgeon general of the state, and a medical director for the United States Shipping Board. He served as an important figure in the relief efforts of the Halifax Explosion in 1917.
When the Spanish flu pandemic began in 1918, Brooks devoted much time towards combating the virus and had established an emergency tent hospital in Brookline. His research showed that sunshine and fresh air were the best treatments for the disease, and his tent hospital had significantly lower death rates than most others, despite taking in most of the worst cases. He later had another hospital built the following year, making a permanent facility to apply the same treatment as the tent hospital. Brooks continued his practice until his death from heart failure in May 1921.
Early life and education
Brooks was born on August 15, 1864, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He began attending Phillips Exeter Academy at age 15 in 1880, and graduated in 1883. He played football there and was team captain in 1886. He also participated in rowing and was mentioned in The Phillips Exeter Academy: A History as one of the players in the declining era of school boating who went on to "shine as college oarsmen."
After graduating from Phillips Exeter, Brooks enrolled at Harvard College in 1883. "Gifted by nature for any sort of heavy work," he played football and rowing and served as "an immense help to both," according to the magazine Outing. He played on the freshman football team in 1883 before moving to the varsity team. His position was center.
Brooks became a very prominent Harvard student for his accomplishments in football and rowing, with one source writing that he "was one of the best known Harvard men of his time." He was elected second marshal at the school, which was the equivalent of vice class president. He was also active in several undergraduate matters.
In 1886, Brooks became the captain of the Harvard football team. He "set to work in dead earnest" in the fall, and helped develop a team that "did wonders" and "was the first in years to do real credit to Harvard." They went 12–2, were unscored upon with the exception of the games against Princeton and Yale, and included among their wins was a 158–0 defeat of Phillips Exeter Academy, Brooks' former school, which was the largest win in football history by that point. They also defeated Wesleyan in a championship game by a score of 110–0, and had eight additional matches where they won by over 40 points.
Brooks received much praise for his 1886 Harvard team, and was credited with "starting the ball a-rolling" at the school, according to Outing. They lost only two games, to Yale and Princeton, both considered national champions of the season. This Harvard team was said to have done the work of "raising Harvard's football and placing it among the best." Brooks was a member of the graduating class of 1887.
Brooks was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was also a member of the Harvard Hasty Pudding Club, Union, University, Athletic and Country Clubs, and was a founder and director of the "Varsity Club." He later was an officer for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, serving as its president for a time.
Later athletic career Officiating Brooks was highly regarded as an official for his knowledge of the game, with requests being made for him to referee an important Princeton–Yale match just days after his own final game in 1886. An article from 1892 wrote that Brooks "is to-day a favorite referee for all football matches–his firmness, knowledge of the game and honesty of purpose being proverbial."
Brooks was the head official for the Princeton–Yale game in 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, and 1893. He refused to officiate Yale games after what was considered dirty play in their 1894 match against Harvard. He also refereed several of his alma mater's games, including at least three in 1894 when he also served as their head coach. Other schools he officiated games for included Michigan, Andover, Penn, Cornell, MIT, Brown, Amherst, Williams, and Dartmouth, among others. Brooks additionally served as referee for several rowing matches.
Involvement at Harvard
Brooks was active in Harvard sports for years after his graduation. He occasionally served as the football team's trainer, was for a time their medical advisor, and was a member of several of Harvard's athletic boards, in addition to helping train the rowing team. He also served until at least 1906 as the physician for several of Harvard's teams. At the start of 1894, Brooks was appointed to serve on the college football rules committee, with a goal of improving how the sport was played (due to several accidents and severe injuries that occurred in 1893), along with Walter Camp (Yale), John C. Bell (Penn), and Alexander Moffat (Princeton), later being joined by P. J. Dashiell (Lehigh). The following is a report from The Philadelphia Times detailing the results of their meetings:
Brooks was also named Harvard's football head coach in 1894, a position in which he served for one season. The Brooks-led Crimson started the season by shutting out Dartmouth (22–0), Phillips Exeter (48–0), and Andover (46–0), followed by an 18–4 victory against Brown, which was considered a "big surprise" as they were expected to continue their shutout streak. Harvard then shutout the Orange Athletic Club (14–0), Amherst (30–0), and Williams (32–0), before allowing 12 points in their 22–12 victory over Cornell. Afterwards, they played the Boston Athletic Association, winning 40–0, the Chicago Athletic Association, winning 36–0, and re-matched Brown, whom they defeated 18–0.
Game against Yale Brooks' team by this point in the season was 11–0, having shutout all but two opponents. The next game on their schedule was an all-important match against the undefeated Yale Bulldogs, their biggest rival. The match was played before 25,000 fans in Springfield, Massachusetts, and despite the recent rule changes to make football safer, proved to be one of the most violent games in the history of the sport. Various newspaper reports described the violence in detail:
Yale eventually won, 12–4, but there was much debate over the violence of the game and some called for the sport to end altogether. The New York Times wrote that, "An ordinary rebellion in the South American or Central American States is as child's play compared with the destructiveness of [to]day's game." Brooks was disgusted by the state of the game and Yale's playing, and refused to referee the following week's Princeton–Yale game, declaring "No more serious blow has ever been delivered against the American game of football than the manner in which the Harvard–Yale game was played today ... I am convinced that unless representatives of both universities learn to play the game free from objectionable features, the game must stop." He admitted that his team had played violent as well, but stated that "If they had not adopted Yale's tactics there would not have been a Harvard player left." The controversy over this game, escalated by Brooks' criticisms of Yale and a published letter attacking Hinkey, led to all sports between the schools being discontinued.
Harvard finished the season with an 18–4 loss against Penn. Brooks' team ended with an overall record of 11–2, and he did not return in the position for the 1895 season. He remained active at Harvard, however, being named in 1895 graduate member of the athletic board. He was appointed in 1896 to the committee on the regulation of athletic sports, and re-appointed in 1897. Brooks eventually apologized for his criticisms of Yale and his attack letter of Hinkey, saying "That darn letter is the one thing I regret in my athletic career," and made peace with the school and their coach, Walter Camp. He and Camp signed an agreement in February 1897 resuming sports between Yale and Harvard.
Brooks was a strong supporter of the Harvard rowing team after graduating, with The Boston Globe describing him as "a Harvard crew supporter of the staunchest type," while writing he "has followed the ups and downs of Harvard boating from the day when he pulled in the shell that rowed away from the Yale crew in 85. Win or lose, the doctor has always been on hand, with his courage never failing and oftentimes scenting victory because of his deep loyalty to Harvard."
Career as a surgeon
After graduating from Harvard College, Brooks entered the Harvard Medical School in the fall of 1887. He took the optional course for four years there, and received in June 1891 his Doctor of Medicine, as well as a Master of Arts degree. One year later, he was appointed "Assistant of Anatomy" at the school, and served in the position through June 1895. He was appointed "Demonstrator of Anatomy" that year, succeeding Dr. Dexter, and later in June 1896 was re-appointed for five more years. Brooks' appointment to "Demonstrator of Anatomy" made him a member of the faculty. By 1901, he was the school's instructor in minor surgery and by 1903, became "Assistant in Surgery."
Brooks was named "House Pupil" (the same as an intern) at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1890. In June 1894, he was named one of their "Out Patient Surgeons," and was re-appointed to that role at least four times. He was named assistant surgeon in the light artillery in May 1895, being given the rank of first lieutenant. In the winter of 1897, Brooks was also appointed a surgeon at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. At the end of 1906, Brooks became one of the Massachusetts General Hospital's "Visiting Surgeons," being appointed to fill the vacancy left by John W. Elliot, who resigned.
By 1906, according to Munsey's Magazine, Brooks had become "one of the most prominent physicians of Boston, with a splendidly lucrative practi[c]e." In c. 1909, Brooks announced his resignation from the Massachusetts General Hospital, but continued his practice. About one year later, he became the surgeon-in-chief at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. In 1912, he was appointed assistant of the surgery department at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He also became assistant professor of clinical surgery and an instructor. Brooks additionally that year opened a hospital for appendicitis. The Medical Times described this as follows: