J. Wilder Tasker

Joshua Wilder Tasker (June 25, 1887 – March 14, 1974) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Connecticut Agricultural College—now known as the University of Connecticut—from 1921 to 1922, the College of William & Mary from 1923 to 1927, and Rutgers University from 1931 to 1937, compiling a career college football record of 67–52–11. Wilder was also the head basketball coach at Connecticut from 1921 to 1923 and William & Mary from 1923 to 1928, tallying a career college basketball mark of 66–49. In addition he served as the head baseball coach at Connecticut (1922–1923), William & Mary (1924–1928), and Rutgers (1932–1937), amassing a career college baseball record of 88–108–4.

J. Wilder Tasker

Tasker pictured in The Colonial Echo 1924, William & Mary yearbook
Biographical details
Born	(1887-06-25)June 25, 1887 Richmond, Maine, U.S.
Died	March 14, 1974(1974-03-14) (aged 86) Kilmarnock, Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1907–1911	Syracuse
1912–1913	Union (NY)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1921–1922	Connecticut
1924–1927	William & Mary
1931–1937	Rutgers
Basketball
1921–1923	Connecticut
1923–1928	William & Mary
Baseball
1922–1923	Connecticut
1924–1928	William & Mary
1932–1937	Rutgers
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1923–1928	William & Mary
Head coaching record
Overall	67–52–11 (football) 66–49 (basketball) 88–108–4 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football 1 Virginia Conference (1927) 4 Middle Three (1932–1935) Basketball 1 Virginia Conference (1928)

Coaching career

Tasker became athletic coach at Connecticut Agricultural College—now known as the University of Connecticut—in 1921.^[1] He resigned as coach at Connecticut in January 1923.^[2] Connecticut's athletic director, Roy J. Guyer, took over coaching of the Connecticut Aggies men's basketball team.^[3]

In March 1923, Tasker was hired at athletic director and coach at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.^[4]

Later life and death

After leaving from coaching, Tasker ran an insurance business in Orange, New Jersey. He retired in the 1960s and moved to Kilmarnock, Virginia, where he died at his home, on March 14, 1974.^[5]

Head coaching record

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Connecticut Aggies (Athletic League of New England State Colleges) (1921–1922)
1921	Connecticut	3–2–3	0–2
1922	Connecticut	2–6–1	0–3
Connecticut:		5–8–4	0–5
William & Mary Indians (Independent) (1923–1926)
1923	William & Mary	7–3
1924	William & Mary	5–2–1
1925	William & Mary	7–4
1926	William & Mary	7–3
William & Mary Indians (Virginia Conference) (1927)
1927	William & Mary	4–5–1	2–0–1	1st
William and Mary:		30–17–2	2–0–1
Rutgers Queensmen (Middle Three Conference) (1931–1937)
1931	Rutgers	4–3–1	1–1	2nd
1932	Rutgers	6–3–1	2–0	1st
1933	Rutgers	6–3–1	2–0	1st
1934	Rutgers	5–3–1	2–0	1st
1935	Rutgers	4–5	2–0	1st
1936	Rutgers	1–6–1	0–1	T–2nd
1937	Rutgers	5–4	1–1	2nd
Rutgers:		31–27–5	10–3
Total:		66–52–11
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Basketball

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Connecticut Aggies (Athletic League of New England State Colleges) (1921–1923)
1921–22	Connecticut	15–4	6–1
1922–23	Connecticut	0–1[n 1]	0–0[n 1]	[n 1]
Connecticut:		15–5	6–1
William & Mary Indians (Virginia Conference) (1923–1928)
1923–24	William & Mary	8–16	3–8
1924–25	William & Mary	13–6	7–2
1925–26	William & Mary	8–9	3–3
1926–27	William & Mary	7–8	4–4
1927–28	William & Mary	15–5	9–0	1st
William & Mary:		51–44	26–17
Total:		66–49
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Baseball

The following table depicts Tasker's record as head baseball coach at Connecticut.^[6]

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Connecticut Aggies (1922–1923)
1922	Connecticut	8–9
1923	Connecticut	4–9
Total:		12–18

Notes

1. Tasker resigned in January 1923 after the first game of the season, before the start of conference play. Roy J. Guyer coached the remainder of the season. Connecticut finished 8–7 overall and 2–1 in conference play