Walter Driskill
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Walter Driskill
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
|birth_date={{Birth date|1913|09|20}}
|birth_place =Austin, Texas, U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1998|7|25|1913|09|20}}
|death_place =Delray Beach, Florida, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 196
| college = Colorado
| pastcoaching =
- Colorado (1936–1940)
Assistant coach - Wyoming (1941)
Assistant coach - Oklahoma (1946)
Assistant coach - Maryland (1947)
Assistant coach - Baltimore Colts (1949)
Interim head coach
| pastadmin =
- Maryland Terrapins (1947–1948)
Athletic director - Baltimore Colts (1948–{{NFL Year|1950}})
General manager - Baltimore Colts (1949)
President
| highlights =
}}
Walter Scott Driskill (September 20, 1913 – July 25, 1998) was an American football coach and administrator for the University of Maryland and the Baltimore Colts. After leaving football he worked in the brewing industry. He founded his own company, Dribeck Importers, that was the sole American importer of Beck's beer.
Playing
Driskill earned his bachelor's in history from the University of Colorado in 1936 and his master's in history in 1940. He also played football for the school from 1931 until 1935, where he lettered three times as a tackle and was a teammate of Byron "Whizzer" White.
Coaching
Driskill coached at Colorado for five seasons then moved to Wyoming. He served in the United States Navy during World War II as an officer assigned to the Navy's pre-flight educational program.{{cite news |last1=Atchison |first1=Lewis F. |title=Maryland to Have Coaching Clinic This Summer |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1947-05-19/ed-1/seq-13/ |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=Evening Star |date=May 19, 1947}}
Driskill returned to coaching as an assistant to Jim Tatum at Oklahoma. He followed Tatum to Maryland in 1947.{{cite news |title=Leaving Oklahoma for Five-Year Guarantee as Mentor of Terrapins, He Is Replaced by Wilkinson in Sooner Post |work=The New York Times |date=January 19, 1947}} Before the season started, Driskill replaced Tatum, who wanted to focus on his duties as head football coach, as Maryland's athletic director.{{cite news |title=Maryland Names Driskill |work=The New York Times |date=May 15, 1947}}
In 1948, Driskill became the general manager of the Baltimore Colts. He became the team's president in 1949 and took over as head coach after the Colts got off to a poor start that year.{{cite news |title=Driskill Takes Over as Colts' New Chief |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1949-03-02/ed-1/seq-23/ |access-date=16 May 2023 |work=Evening Star |date=March 2, 1949}} He stepped down as head coach and president after the season, but remained as general manager.{{cite news |title=Watner to Head Colts |work=The New York Times |date=December 18, 1949}}
Head coaching record
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" | |||||
| rowspan="2" | Team
! rowspan="2" | Year ! colspan="5" | Regular season ! Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Result |
| BAL || 1949
|| 1 || 7 || 0 || {{Winpct|1|7}} || 7th in AAFC || | |||||
| colspan="2" | Total{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/DrisWa0.htm |title=Walt Driskoll Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks |publisher=Pro-football-reference.com |access-date=March 24, 2023}} || 1 || 7 || 0 || {{Winpct|1|7}} || || |
Brewing
Driskill left football after the Colts folded. He was director of marketing of Ruppert Brewing Company and vice president of Gunther Brewing Company. In 1961 he became the director of marketing for Miller Brewing Company.{{cite book |last1=Maxymuk |first1=John |title=NFL Head Coaches: A Biographical Dictionary, 1920-2011 |date=2012 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gw3_obTNh4QC |access-date=16 May 2023}} He was fired by Miller in 1964 and started his own company, Dribeck Importers, which was the sole American importer of Beck's.{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=John |title=Beer Lovers Spread The Word: Beck's |work=Chicago Tribune |date=May 17, 1985}} He sold Dribeck to Beck's in 1989 for $28 million.{{cite news |last1=Behar |first1=Hank |title=Reinventing Beck's North America |work=Beverage World Preview publication details |date=November 15, 2003}}
In 2009, Driskill's estate donated $750,000 to the University of Colorado's history department.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailycamera.com/births/ci_13320452|title=CU history department to get boost from German beer importer|work=dailycamera.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Maryland Terrapins athletic director navbox}}
{{Baltimore Colts coach navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Driskill, Walt}}
Category:American drink industry businesspeople
Category:American football tackles
Category:Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) coaches
Category:Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) executives
Category:Colorado Buffaloes football coaches
Category:Colorado Buffaloes football players
Category:Maryland Terrapins athletic directors
Category:Maryland Terrapins football coaches
Category:Oklahoma Sooners football coaches
Category:Wyoming Cowboys football coaches