Matthew Henry McClung Jr. (December 1, 1868 – March 3, 1908), sometimes referred to as Dibby McClung, was an American college football player, coach and official. Born into a powerful southern family, McClung was raised in Memphis, Tennessee until he was accepted into Lehigh University. Immediately establishing himself as a skilled sportsman, McClung participated on both the school's football and baseball teams. He served as captain of the former in 1892 and is credited with turning it into one of the school's best ever football squads. McClung graduated from Lehigh in 1893 with degrees in metallurgy and mining engineering.
After graduating, McClung took a position as the coach of the Naval Academy football team. He served for one season, leading the team to a 5-2 record against a mediocre schedule. Following the season, he started his career as a college football referee which would span twelve years.
Early life and college
Matthew McClung was born on December 1, 1868, the fifth of seven children between Matthew McClung Sr. and Julia Frances Anderson. The younger McClung was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, where both of his parents' families were well established. McClung entered Lehigh University in 1889, majoring in mining engineering and metallurgy; the classes were held by students to be the hardest at the university. He joined the school's chapter of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, one of nine freshmen to be accepted In Universitate. He also became a member of one of the school's several clubs, the "Aetos Club", which he represented in intramural athletics. McClung immediately made his athletic presence at the school known, joining the lawn tennis team and the freshman baseball team as a left fielder; he also won the university's baseball-throwing competition. He was starting catcher for the 1889 baseball team that went 4-7-1 and played in approximately one quarter of a football game. McClung completed his first year by toasting for the university's fraternities at the year's freshman banquet.
McClung's sophomore year remained largely the same as his freshman one. He maintained membership with the Psi Upsilon and the Aetos Club, but he also joined the university's Southern Club, German club, and its Chemical and Natural History Society. He shifted from being the baseball team's catcher to center fielder, where he played in twelve out of twenty games. McClung had the third worst batting stats of anyone on the team, getting only nine hits on fifty-seven at-bats. He was also named starting quarterback of the school's football team and led the squad to a 6-4 record, which included two wins over rival Lafayette.
Career
Football coach
Following his graduation, McClung remained at Lehigh, assisting in coaching the school's 1894 season. In 1895, McClung was hired by the United States Naval Academy to replace William Wurtenburg as the head coach of their football program. McClung was the fifth football coach for the school in as many years. He took over during a period at the Academy when, according to historian Morris Allison Bealle, "football was waning in Annapolis" and that "there was no climax incentive to steam up players". McClung scheduled seven games for the 1895 season, three of which were simply squads from nearby athletic clubs. He hired Paul Dashiell, a former teammate of his at Lehigh, as his assistant coach for the year. His team played at home for the entire season, due to restrictions put forth by president Grover Cleveland following the bloody 1893 Army-Navy Game. McClung's squad began the season with wins over two of the athletic clubs by a combined score of 40-0. These wins were followed by consecutive shutouts of Franklin & Marshall and Carlisle. Virginia was the next team on Navy's schedule, but their opponents were forced to forfeit the match after a fire destroyed one of the campus's major structures. McClung's team finished their season with two consecutive close losses to the Orange Athletic Club and his former team, Lehigh. He did not return to coach the following year's squad; instead, the job went to Princeton dropout Johnny Poe. Because of McClung's scheduling, the Naval Academy in 1896 banned the football team from playing another athletic club.