George Washington Scott left a rich legacy of athletic achievement and a dedicated regard for human values through a coaching career spanning many decades. He touched the lives of so many youngsters in their formative years, he became known as the “father of high school athletics.”
It was during Scott’s tenure at Fort Collins High School that he enjoyed success unmatched in Colorado prep annals. His track teams won three national championships, while earning eighteen consecutive state titles. His football team won eight straight titles, winning 116 and losing six.
Scott became athletic director at the Colorado School of Mines and coached football, track and swimming in 1935 and 1936. In 1937, he was named Dean at Trinidad Junior College and assumed coaching duties in football and track. In 1939, his team finished second in the National Junior College track meet and two years later won the JC championship. The school honored him by dedicating its athletic facility as the George W. Scott Gymnasium.
In 1956, he was designated the year’s “Community Builder” in Fort Collins.
Born in Rapid City, South Dakota, he attended Spearfish Normal and then graduated from Colorado College, where he captained the football and track teams for two years.
A commercial mineralogist upon retirement, Scott passed away in 1969, and was survived by two sons and two daughters. He was inducted posthumously into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
George Washington Scott left a rich legacy of athletic achievement.