Charles Fremont West

Charles Fremont "Pruner" West (January 25, 1899 – November 20, 1979) was an American track athlete, college football player and coach, and physician. He played football and ran track at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania. He was the first African American to play quarterback in a Rose Bowl. West served as the head football coach at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1928 and again from 1934 to 1935, compiling a record of 11–12–1.

Personal West was born in 1899 to William B. and Hannah Thomas from Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Career at Washington & Jefferson

In 1920, he entered Washington & Jefferson College, where he played football and threw javelin for the track and field team.

He was the halfback and the backup quarterback for the 1921 Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team, but took over the starting quarterback job after the game against Pittsburgh, a position he held the rest of the season. West succeeded Watson as head coach in 1928. West was in turn succeeded by Tom Verdell in 1929, but returned as head coach in 1934 and 1935. He practiced medicine in Alexandria, Virginia for many years.

West and his wife, Laverne, had two children: Linda West Nickens and Nathaniel West. He was an excellent skeet and trap shooter and loved hunting and fishing. In 1978, West was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from W&J.

In 2011, his role in the advancement of African Americans in collegiate sports was recognized in a joint W&J/West Virginia University ceremony at the U. Grant Miller Library. |group=n|name=1934season conference = 1–5