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Fenwick Watkins
Biographical details
Born	December 27, 1887; Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Died	August 8, 1943 (aged 55); Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Playing career
Football
c. 1907	Vermont
Basketball
1905–1908	Vermont
Baseball
c. 1907	Vermont
Position(s)	Forward, guard (basketball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1909–1914	Fargo
1916	Fargo
1919–1920	Fargo
1922–1925	Concordia (MN)
Basketball
c. 1910	Fargo
Baseball
c. 1910	Fargo
1922	North Dakota Agricultural

Fenwick Henri Watkins (December 27, 1887 – August 8, 1943) was an American athlete and coach. He attended the University of Vermont, where he starred in football, basketball, and baseball. He was a teammate on the baseball team of two future Major League Baseball players, Larry Gardner and Ray Collins. This trio and the rest of the 1908 Vermont team was one of the most talented in school history, winning a New England championship with a record of 15–9.

After graduating from Vermont, Watkins coached football, basketball, and baseball at Fargo College in Fargo, North Dakota, where he also led the athletic program.^[1]

Watkins was born on December 27, 1887, in Burlington, Vermont. He died on August 8, 1943, in Fargo.^[2]

In 1906, a local newspaper reported that he was the first black sports captain at the University of Vermont, a role he assumed in 1907 on the school's football team.^[3] However, after he moved to North Dakota, contemporaneous newspaper reports never mentioned his race as he appeared to be "passing as white".^[3]^[4] He was also listed as white on censuses while living in North Dakota.^[3] Nonetheless, he was the first black head coach in North Dakota.^[4]

Head coaching record

Football


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing
Concordia Cobbers (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1922–1925)
1922	Concordia	1–4	0–1	6th
1923	Concordia	2–3–1	1–3	T–6th
1924	Concordia	2–3–1	1–2	T–5th
1925	Concordia	2–2–1	1–2	T–4th
Concordia:		7–12–3	3–8
Total:

References

^ Bond, Gregory (2008). Jim Crow at play: Race, manliness, and the color line in American sports, 1876--1916. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin - Madison. p. 464. ISBN 9781109043426.
^ "Fenwick Watkins Dies at Age 56; Was Star Negro Athlete at UVM". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. August 10, 1943. p. 7. Retrieved April 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
^ ^a ^b ^c "Coach Fenwick Watkins". thefmextra.com. March 7, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Hoffbeck, Steve (May 29, 2022). "Fenwick H. Watkins". news.prairiepublic.org. Retrieved September 19, 2024.