W. A. Lambeth

William Alexander Lambeth (October 27, 1867 – June 24, 1944) was an American medical professor who was the first athletic director at the University of Virginia. He is often called "the father of intercollegiate athletics" at the university. and once a member of the Football Rules Committee. He was the namesake of Lambeth Field; the "Colonnades" where the university used to play football before the building of Scott Stadium. He was also a student of architecture. The Lambeth House, currently used by the Curry School of Education, used to be his residence.

Early years Lambeth was born October 27, 1867, in Thomasville, North Carolina, the son of a major in the Confederate Army. He was of English ancestry, with forebears from the part of London known as Lambeth.

University of Virginia faculty Lambeth was a professor of Materia Medica and Hygiene, Head of the Department of Physical Education, and Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds at his alma mater. He worked on the faculty in one capacity or another for 40 years. He and John Heisman were two who pushed for four quarters rather than two halves to avoid injuries.

In 1888, Lambeth was president of the American Athletic association, and in 1893 he was vice president of the department of physical education at the World's Fair. writing a study of the subject, and of various Italians. "He was interested in all things Italian."