Norman G. Wann
American football, basketball, baseball, and tennis coach
About Norman G. Wann
Lived 1882 – 1957 (aged 75). Norman G. Wann was an American basketball coach and athletics competitor.
Norman Gillespie "Happy" Wann (July 8, 1882 – July 23, 1957) was an American college football player, track athlete, coach of multiple sports, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas (1908–1909), Millikin College (1915–1917, 1919–1922), Earlham College (1923–1924), Ball Teachers College, Eastern Division, Indiana State Normal School—now Ball State University (1926–1927), and the College of the City of Detroit—now Wayne State University (1929–1931), compiling a career college football head coaching record of 74–40–10. Wann was also the head basketball coach at Ottawa (1908–1910), Millikin (1915–1918, 1919–1923), and Earlham (1923–1925), amassing a career college basketball record of 128–79. In addition, he was the head baseball coach at Ottawa (1909–1910), Millikin (1916–1918, 1920–1921), Ball Teachers College, tallying a career college baseball mark of 43–39.
Wann attended Earlham College, where he played football as a lineman and ran track. He left campus in 1908 one credit short of his BBS degree, which he did not receive until 1922. Earlham served with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I. In 1929, he earned a master's degree in physical education from the University of Wisconsin. After his retirement from coaching, he moved to Eagle Harbor Township, Michigan. He died there on July 23, 1957. Three years earlier, in 1954, he was inducted into Earlham's Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1986, he was inducted into the Wayne State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Head coaching record Football
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Norman G. Wann's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Norman G. Wann?
American football, basketball, baseball, and tennis coach
When was Norman G. Wann born?
Norman G. Wann was born on 8 July 1882 in Silverwood.
When did Norman G. Wann die?
Norman G. Wann died on 23 July 1957 in Eagle Harbor Township.
What was Norman G. Wann's occupation?
Norman G. Wann was a basketball coach and athletics competitor.
What nationality was Norman G. Wann?
Norman G. Wann was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Norman G. Wann. https://biography.guide/norman-g-wann/
MLA: "Norman G. Wann." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/norman-g-wann/.
Chicago: "Norman G. Wann." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/norman-g-wann/.
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