Carter from the official 1882 Navy football team portrait
Biographical details
Born
August 14, 1863[Note 1] Davidson County, Tennessee, U.S.
Died
Before 1930
Playing career
1882
Navy
Position(s)
Rusher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1882
Navy
Head coaching record
Overall
1–0
Signature
Vaulx Carter[Note 2] (August 14, 1863 – before 1930) was an American naval officer, athlete, and engineer associated with the United States Naval Academy football program. Carter was born in Tennessee, a member of the Carter family of Davidson County, and included among his siblings Medal of Honor recipient William Harding Carter and New Age religious figure Laura Carter Holloway. Raised in Brooklyn following the deaths of his parents, Carter was admitted into the Naval Academy at the age of 17. While there, he revived the school's football program and led it as player and coach, later earning the epithet "father of Navy football". An accident in 1883 left Carter permanently disabled and forced him to resign from the Naval Academy.
Information about Carter following his resignation from the academy is scarce. One Navy football historian described him as having "disappeared from the historical record".[2] He attended some classes at Swarthmore College in 1883, but he did not complete a course. During the late 1880s, Carter was an instructor at the Hebrew Technical Institute and also worked as an engineer; he designed a parachute and a model of a plan for the Nicaragua Canal, both of which attracted media attention. During the 1890s, he was an assignee for several corporations in New York City. Carter later served as a lieutenant in the New York Naval Militia and worked for the New York City government. During the 1920s, he lived with his sister Laura on a farm in upstate New York, managing her accounts and occasionally contributing articles to a magazine she edited. According to census records, Carter died sometime before 1930.
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^Naval Academy Athletics Association (2020), pg. 160
VaulxCarter (August 14, 1863 – before 1930) was an American naval officer, athlete, and engineer associated with the United States Naval Academy football...
Nashville, Tennessee, one of fourteen children of Samuel Jefferson and Anne VaulxCarter. She attended school at the highly-regarded Nashville Female Academy...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
and the first who was independent of the program. The previous coach, VaulxCarter, attended the academy, and had revived the program. Crosby's strategy...
Academy, and the first since 1879. The team was coached by player-coach VaulxCarter, and was entirely student-operated. It was captained by squad member...
American Civil War. His siblings included Laura Carter Holloway and VaulxCarter. Accepted into West Point, Carter graduated with a commission as a second lieutenant...
Bill Ingram, has led the school to a recognized national championship. VaulxCarter, the program's first coach, is the all-time leader in win percentage...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina. On November 30, 1882, cadet VaulxCarter organized a game between the Naval Academy and the Clifton Athletic Club...
Naval Academy. Cadet VaulxCarter reintroduced football to the United States Naval Academy. Acting as both a player and a coach, Carter procured a single...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...
Midshipmen head football coaches No coach (1879) No team (1880–1881) VaulxCarter (1882) No coach (1883–1891) Ben Crosby (1892) John A. Hartwell (1893)...