William John Disch (October 15, 1872 – February 3, 1953) was an American baseball player and coach. He served as the head baseball coach at the University of Texas at Austin from 1911 to 1939 and as an advisory coach for 12 seasons afterwards.

Career

Often called the Connie Mack of college baseball, Disch earned a 513–180–12 overall record at Texas, including a collegiate record of 465-115-9, and garnered 20 Southwest Conference titles with a conference record of 284-70-4. At the time he coached, there were no NCAA postseason playoffs for national honors. Along with Bibb Falk, Disch is one of the two namesakes of UFCU Disch–Falk Field.

Disch managed in minor league baseball, where he also was a player. He managed the 1911 Beeville Orange Growers to a 63–54 record and the Class D level Southwest Texas League championship. Disch also managed the 1903 Fort Worth Panthers of the Class D level Texas League and the 1915 Brenham Huskies of the Class D Middle Texas League for portions of their seasons.

He was listed as a scout for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball in 1948.

Honors

  • In 1947, Disch Field, the home to Austin's minor league teams (Austin Pioneers, 1947-1955; Austin Senators, 1956-1965; Austin Braves, 1966-1967) was named for him. Today, the University of Texas ballpark, UFCU Disch–Falk Field, is named for Disch and Bibb A. Falk.
  • Disch was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1954.
  • In 1957, Disch was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor at the University of Texas.
  • The College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inducted Disch in 1965.

Head coaching record

College baseball

The records shown below are only the collegiate record, not the overall record against non-collegiate teams.

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
St. Edward's (Independent) (1902–1908)
1902St. Edward's4–2
1903St. Edward's3–0
1904St. Edward's17–4
1905St. Edward's7–7
1906St. Edward's5–9
1907St. Edward's9–2
1908St. Edward's5–1–3
St. Edward's:50–25–3 (.660)
Texas Longhorns (Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1911–1914)
1911Texas13–10–1
1912Texas17–7–1
1913Texas24–4–21st
1914Texas28–41st
Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1915–1939)
1915Texas22–412–21st
1916Texas16–610–31st
1917Texas12–24–11st
1918Texas17–18–11st
1919Texas20–1–112–01st
1920Texas17–59–21st
1921Texas15–3–19–2–11st
1922Texas16–5–110–3–11st
1923Texas16–810–82nd
1924Texas28–122–11st
1925Texas16–4–111–2–11st
1926Texas13–28–21st
1927Texas16–416–41st
1928Texas17–416–41st
1929Texas18–4–116–4–11st
1930Texas20–416–41st
1931Texas10–28–22nd
1932Texas11–511–51st
1933Texas13–38–22nd
1934Texas8–57–52nd
1935Texas11–39–31st
1936Texas12–212–11st
1937Texas11–610–52nd
1938Texas12–412–21st
1939Texas16–215–01st
Texas:465–115–9 (.797)284–70–4 (.799)
Total:515–140–12 (.781)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

External links