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William Melvin "Bill" Libby
William Melvin "Bill" Libby
Born	November 14, 1927; Atlantic City, New Jersey
Died	June 16, 1984; Westminster, California
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Indiana University
Notable works	Champions of College Football
Notable awards	National Magazine Sportswriter of the Year (1964); Bill Libby Memorial Award (eponymous) (1968); Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (2004);
Spouse	Sharon
Children	Allyson, Laurie Libby

William Melvin "Bill" Libby (November 14, 1927 – June 17, 1984) was an American writer and biographer best known for books on sports including 65 on sports figures.^[3]^[4]

Early years

Libby graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, also attended by several notable authors including Kurt Vonnegut.^[4] He served in the United States Navy from September 1945 to October 1948.^[1]^[4] He attended Indiana University from 1948 to 1951. Libby was sports editor of the Herald Statesman then later worked for the New York Post.^[3]

Works

Libby wrote several books on sports figures including Rod Carew, Wilt Chamberlain, Phil Esposito, A. J. Foyt, Catfish Hunter, Fred Lynn, Rocky Marciano, Pete Rose, O. J. Simpson, Willie Stargell, and Fran Tarkenton as well as books on hockey, auto racing, professional football, and college football.

He also co-wrote several books on celebrities and sports people including Nancy Reagan, the Roosevelt family, Rick Barry, Vida Blue, Monty Hall, Richard Petty, John Roseboro, Nolan Ryan, and Jerry West.

Libby national champions

Libby's 1975 book Champions of College Football selected a single college football national champion from the 1900 to 1974 college football seasons.^[5] As the highest level of college football does not have an official national champion, Libby's selections are often referenced by the athletic department of the selected university.^{[citation needed]}

Six of Libby's champions, for the years (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1931, 1936), were not selected for that year as national champion by any NCAA-designated "major selector".^[6]

Season	Champion	Record	Coach
1900	Yale	12–0	Malcolm McBride
1901	Michigan	11–0	Fielding H. Yost
1902	Michigan	11–0	Fielding H. Yost
1903	Princeton	11–0	Art Hillebrand
1904	Minnesota	13–0	Henry Williams
1905	Chicago	10–0	Amos Alonzo Stagg
1906	Princeton	9–0–1	William Roper
1907	Yale	9–0–1	William F. Knox
1908	Penn	11–0–1	Sol Metzger
1909	Yale	10–0	Howard Jones
1910 †	Washington	6–0	Gil Dobie
1911 †	Carlisle	11–1	Glenn "Pop" Warner
1912	Harvard	9–0	Percy Haughton
1913 †	Notre Dame	7–0	Jesse Harper
1914	Illinois	7–0	Robert Zuppke
1915	Pittsburgh	8–0	Glenn "Pop" Warner
1916	Army	9–0	Charles Daly
1917	Georgia Tech	9–0	John Heisman
1918	Pittsburgh	4–1	Glenn "Pop" Warner
1919	Notre Dame	9–0	Knute Rockne
1920	California	9–0	Andy Smith
1921	Iowa	7–0	Howard Jones
1922	Cornell	8–0	Gil Dobie
1923	Illinois	8–0	Robert Zuppke
1924	Notre Dame	10–0	Knute Rockne
1925	Alabama	10–0	Wallace Wade
1926	Navy	9–0–1	Bill Ingram
1927	Texas A&M	8–0–1	Dana X. Bible
1928	Georgia Tech	10–0	William Alexander
1929 †	Tulane	9–0	Bernie Bierman
1930	Notre Dame	10–0	Knute Rockne
1931 †	Tennessee	9–0–1	Robert Neyland
1932	USC	10–0	Howard Jones
1933	Princeton	9–0	Fritz Crisler
1934	Alabama	10–0	Frank Thomas
1935	Minnesota	8–0	Bernie Bierman
1936 †	Northwestern	7–1	Pappy Waldorf
1937	Pittsburgh	9–0–1	Jock Sutherland
1938	Tennessee	11–0	Robert Neyland
1939	Texas A&M	11–0	Homer Norton
1940	Stanford	10–0	Clark Shaughnessy
1941	Minnesota	8–0	Bernie Bierman
1942	Georgia	11–1	Wally Butts
1943	Notre Dame	9–1	Frank Leahy
1944	Army	9–0	Earl Blaik
1945	Army	9–0	Earl Blaik
1946	Notre Dame	8–0–1	Frank Leahy
1947	Michigan	10–0	Fritz Crisler
1948	Michigan	9–0	Bennie Oosterbaan
1949	Notre Dame	10–0	Frank Leahy
1950	Kentucky	11–1	Paul "Bear" Bryant
1951	Maryland	10–0	Jim Tatum
1952	Michigan State	9–0	Biggie Munn
1953	Notre Dame	9–0–1	Frank Leahy
1954	UCLA	9–0	Henry Sanders
1955	Oklahoma	11–0	Bud Wilkinson
1956	Oklahoma	10–0	Bud Wilkinson
1957	Auburn	10–0	Ralph Jordan
1958	LSU	11–0	Paul Dietzel
1959	Syracuse	11–0	Ben Schwartzwalder
1960	Ole Miss	10–0–1	Johnny Vaught
1961	Alabama	11–0	Paul "Bear" Bryant
1962	USC	11–0	John McKay
1963	Texas	11–0	Darrell Royal
1964	Arkansas	11–0	Frank Broyles
1965	Michigan State	10–1	Duffy Daugherty
1966	Notre Dame	9–0–1	Ara Parseghian
1967	USC	10–1	John McKay
1968	Ohio State	10–0	Woody Hayes
1969	Texas	11–0	Darrell Royal
1970	Nebraska	11–0–1	Bob Devaney
1971	Nebraska	13–0	Bob Devaney
1972	USC	12–0	John McKay
1973	Notre Dame	11–0	Ara Parseghian
1974	Oklahoma	11–0	Barry Switzer

† Champion not selected by any NCAA-designated "major selector".^[6]

Awards

In 1964, Libby was named National Magazine Sportswriter of the Year. He was named to the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.^[7]

Family

Libby and wife Sharon had two daughters, Allyson and Laurie Libby.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Index Record for William Libby (1927) Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem Death File", available online at Fold3 by Ancestry.com website. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
^ AP. "BILL LIBBY". Retrieved 2018-10-03.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bill Libby". The New York Times. 18 June 1984.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana on June 17, 1984 · Page 30". 17 June 1984.
^ Libby, Bill (1975). Champions of College Football. Hawthorne Books, Inc. pp. 11–14. ISBN 0-8015-1196-8.
^ ^a ^b 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
^ "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". www.scjewishsportshof.com.