:William W. Church

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1874–1966)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = William W. Church

| image = William ChurchPurdue.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Church cropped from 1897 Purdue team photo

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|12|17}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1966|3|28|1874|12|17}}

| death_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.

| alma_mater = Princeton University (1897)

| player_years1 = 1896

| player_team1 = Princeton

| player_years2 = 1898

| player_team2 = Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

| player_years3 = 1900

| player_team3 = Homestead Library & Athletic Club

| player_positions = Tackle

| coach_years1 = 1897

| coach_team1 = Purdue

| coach_years2 = 1899, 1901

| coach_team2 = Georgetown

| overall_record = 13–8–4

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

| awards =

• Consensus All-American (1896)

| coaching_records =

}}

William Wells Church (December 17, 1874 – March 28, 1966) was an American football player and coach. A native of Chicago,{{cite book|title=American Ancestry: Embracing lineages from the whole of the United States. 1888[-1898. Ed. by Frank Munsell|author1=Hughes, T.P.|author2=Munsell, F.|date=1898|publisher=J. Munsell's sons|url=https://archive.org/details/americanancestr01munsgoog|access-date=December 14, 2014}} he played college football at Princeton University, where he was selected as an All-American at tackle in 1896.{{cite book|last=Leitch|first=Alexander|title=A Princeton Companion|year=1978|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=196|isbn=9781400870011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYR9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA196}} He served as the head football coach at Purdue University for one season, in 1897, and at Georgetown University for two seasons, in 1899 and 1901, compiling a career college football record of 5–3–1. Church participated in early professional football: He played tackle for the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in 1898{{cite web|author=PFRA Research|title=The Worst Season Ever: Pittsburgh Pro Teams Find Hard Times: 1900|page=1|publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association|url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/articles/Worst_Season_Ever.pdf|access-date=December 9, 2022}} and the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in 1900, also coaching the latter team.{{cite web|author=PFRA Research|title=Stars Over All-Stars: An All-Star Team: 1898|page=2|publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association|url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/articles/Stars_Over_All_Stars.pdf|access-date=December 9, 2022}} He married Mary Myrtle Brock in 1902.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/duodecennialreco00prin#page/n47/mode/2up|title=Duodecennial record of the class of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven ... number four, 1909 ...|access-date=December 14, 2014}}

He later resided in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he died in 1966.