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Royce Purinton

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Royce Purinton
Biographical details
Born(1877-10-27)October 27, 1877
West Bowdoin, Maine, U.S.
DiedMarch 25, 1919(1919-03-25) (aged 41)
Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Alma materBates (1900)
Playing career
Football
1896–1899Bates
PositionsHalfback, quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1901Carleton
1902Bates
1904–1917Bates
Baseball
1902–1917Bates
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1906–1919Bates

Royce Davis Purinton (October 27, 1877 – March 25, 1919) was an American college football coach.[1] He served as the head football coach at Bates College in 1902 and from 1904 to 1917.[2] He also coached the Bates baseball team from 1902 to 1917.[3]

Biography

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Purinton was born in West Bowdoin, Maine to Nathaniel S. and Jennie (Williams) Purinton. His father was the private secretary to three governors of Maine.[4]

Purinton was captain of the Bates football in 1899. After graduating, he worked for the Pejepscot Paper Company.[4] in 1901, Purington coached the football team at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.[5][6] He began his coaching career at Bates in 1902.[7] He did not return the following season, but was brought back in 1904.[8] In 1906, he was named physical director of the college. In February 1918, he went to France to work as a physical director for the YMCA. He returned to Bates in January 1919.[4]

Purinton died of heart failure, on March 25, 1919, in Lewiston, Maine.[9] He was survived by his wife, the former Rena A. Dresser of Turner, Maine and a son, Royce Jr. Their daughter, Frances, died of the spanish flu in 1918.[4]

References

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  1. Who's Who in New England. A.N. Marquis. 1915. p. 881. Retrieved July 10, 2018 via Internet Archive.
  2. "Bates Student". Class of 1907 Bates College. April 1, 1906. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  3. "Baseball Year-by-Year Records". Bates Athletics. Bates College. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Sudden Death of Royce Purinton". Lewiston Evening Journal. March 26, 1916. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  5. "Miscellaneous Sport; Carleton Has a New Coach". The Minneapolis Times. Minneapolis, Minnesota. September 12, 1901. p. 7. Retrieved May 15, 2026 via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  6. "[illegible]". Lewiston Evening Journal. Lewiston, Maine. November 20, 1901. p. 5. Retrieved May 15, 2026 via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  7. "Football At Bates". The Lewiston Daily Sun. September 19, 1902. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  8. "Football At Bates". The Lewiston Daily Sun. September 16, 1904. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  9. "Royce D. Purinton, Director Of Athletics At Bates, Dead". Norwich Bulletin. Norwich, Connecticut. March 26, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved March 13, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
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