Sprint Football | September 16, 2026

Celebrate the entire Class XIV at the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner on Friday, September 25. Tickets are still available. Click here to register and learn more. 

ON THE PLAQUE: The face of Penn sprint football for half a century, "Wags" spent 50 seasons as head coach. He led the Quakers to five CSFL championships and 141 victories, including undefeated seasons in 2000 and 2016, and in recognition of his extraordinary contributions, the annual trophy awarded to the highest-finishing Ivy League sprint football program now bears his name. He also served as Penn baseball's pitching coach for 34 seasons, contributing to six no-hitters, the program's first EIBL championship in 1975, three consecutive EIBL championships from 1988–90, the 1995 Ivy League title, and an NCAA Regional appearance. In 1988, Penn's earned run average of 2.72 led the nation. Through more than 775 combined victories and the mentorship of more than 1,500 Penn student-athletes, he left an indelible mark on the University of Pennsylvania and generations of Quakers.

By Marc Narducci

Longevity and excellence describe the coaching career of Bill Wagner at Penn. Both traits have landed "Wags" into the Penn Athletic Hall of Fame Class XIV. The class will be inducted on Friday, Sept. 25 in a ceremony at The Inn at Penn.

Wagner was first hired as the head coach of Penn's lightweight football program, now referred to as sprint football, in 1970. He guided the program through the 2019 season, an even 50 years. 

Wagner, 87-years-old on August 13, was also hired as an assistant coach in baseball, where he stayed for 34 years from 1971-2005, serving first as the freshman coach, but spending most of his tenure as pitching coach. 

This longevity has extended into his personal life. Wagner has been married to his wife Connie for 46 years. They have three adult children and nine grandchildren.

Not only was he a big part of both programs, but Wagner remained a teacher at Cherry Hill East High School until retiring in 1996.

That is appropriate because as a coach he was known as an outstanding teacher.

"He was a great football coach but an even greater leader of young men and that relationship did not end when we walked off the sideline on the field in the last game against Cornell and those relationships have continued for decades," said Bob "Mongo" Mongeluzzi W'78, who was a four-year varsity performer in sprint football and lacrosse for the Quakers. "There are literally hundreds and hundreds of young men he influenced, and I am one of them."

A successful trial attorney, Mongeluzzi was a hard-hitting linebacker who fed off the enthusiasm of his head coach.

"He was a joy to play for and if I had a single word to describe him it was passionate," Mongeluzzi said. "He was passionate about the game, passionate about his players and he just exuded this exuberance to the game that you couldn't help but be moved by and have that passion seep into you."

When Wagner took over, Penn competed in the Eastern Lightweight Football league (ELFL). In 1998, it became known as the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL).

Penn has a long history in sprint football. The first lightweight football team at Penn was formed in 1931. When Wagner took over in 1970, Army and Navy dominated the league. Army won the five consecutive ELFL championships during Wagner's first five years from 1970-74. In fact, Army and Navy remain dominant teams today in the CSFL. 

Still, Penn under Wagner chipped away at the dominance of the service academies.

Wagner guided Penn to five championships. Penn shared the ELFL title in 1996 with Army and Navy. In 1998 the Quakers were co-champions of the CSFL with Army. The 2000 team not only won the CSFL title but went 6-0 for the program's first perfect season since 1931. It was also the first year that Penn beat Army and Navy in the same season. The 2010 team shared the title with Army, and Wagner's final title came in 2016 when the Quakers went 7-0.

"That first championship in 1996 was special," Wagner said. "My dad opened up a t-shirt that said 'Beat Army' and the kids went nuts." 

In 2017 the CSFL split into two divisions, North and South, which also created a league championship game between the two division champions.

That season, Penn won the South Division with a 4-0 mark and Army was 3-0 to win the North Division. Army then won the championship, 10-0. 

In 2002, Wagner earned a prestigious honor when his name was put on the trophy that goes to the highest Ivy League finisher in the CSFL each year, the William R. Wagner Trophy. Wagner's teams won the trophy 11 times.

An all-star athlete in high school, Wagner loved being the head coach in sprint football.

"It gave me the opportunity to be a head coach," he said. "I made the offense, defense, the practices and it was something I enjoyed all those years."

Wagner did it all and was truly a hands-on coach.     In fact, defensive back John Winter C'78, said that Wagner would insist on being the scout team quarterback in practice.

He had a good arm back then and it made practices fun," Winter recalled.

Those who played for him got much more than just football knowledge.

"He is genuinely invested in all of his players in a way that is hard to comprehend," Winter said. "Everything he did and put into his days was all directed toward helping his players be better men and better people." 
  
While Wagner's title was pitching coach with the Penn baseball program, he was much more than that during his tenure.

"He called the pitches and ran the pitching staff, and he was like an associate coach," said former Penn head coach Bob Seddon who Wagner worked for all 34 years. "He had a lot to say on what was going on the field and we also split coaching third base."

In 1988, Wagner's pitching staff won the national ERA title (2.72). 

Yet, Wagner's influence carried well beyond the pitching staff. 

"Wags was the steady voice of teaching and always taught much more than baseball or sports," said outfielder Doug Glanville ENG'92, a former first round draft choice of the Chicago Cubs out of Penn who enjoyed a nine-year Major League Baseball career. "He felt it was his duty to build on our lives and give us lessons to carry on and off the field."

The Quakers advanced to the NCAA tournament five times. They competed in the NCAA tournament after winning the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League (EIBL) in 1975 and from1988-90. Penn also won the Ivy League title in 1995. (In 1993 for baseball, the Ivy League replaced the EIBL).

"Players loved him and bought into his philosophy," Seddon said. "He was a fundamentalist." 

Coaching with Seddon was a true partnership and the head coach was more than happy to delegate plenty of authority to Wagner.

 "He had a lot of responsibility and he thrived on responsibility," Seddon said. "He could still coach now."

Glanville also says the chemistry between Wagner and Seddon was clearly evident.

"Bob Seddon and Bill were a great team," Glanville said. "I think of Daryl Hall and John Oates."

Yes, the two coaches made good music together.

"Bob was doing the recruiting and personable and happy and positive, and Wags was behind the scenes doing the grunt work," Glanville said. "He seemed to be the guy who executed the teaching and instruction, and I thought it was a great combination"

The fact that Wagner became such a pitching guru was a little surprising because while he did some pitching in high school at Woodrow Wilson in Camden (now named Camden Eastside), he hung his hat as an infielder. 

He was moved to centerfield in college at Trenton State (now The College of New Jersey). Wagner hit a three-run home run in his first varsity game at Trenton State and took off from there. He eventually became a four-time all-conference centerfielder. 

Wagner also played football and basketball at Trenton State, earning 11 varsity letters. In 1989, he was inducted into the Trenton State Athletic Hall of Fame. 

After graduating from Trenton State in 1961, he had a chance to sign a baseball contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"The Los Angeles Dodgers offered me $3,400 to go to (their minor league team in) Spokane," Wagner said.

He opted to turn to teaching instead. 

After six years at Woodrow Wilson, Wagner went to Cherry Hill East as a teacher. At Cherry Hill East, he served as interim head football coach, freshman basketball coach and the head baseball coach. He also spent a year as an assistant football coach at the since-closed St. Joseph of Camden.

In 1970 he was hired for both of his coaching jobs at Penn.   

In addition to the aforementioned five titles, Wagner earned 141 wins in sprint football. He was part of 634 wins as a baseball assistant coach. More than 1,500 Penn alums played for him in the two sports and one of his favorite parts of coaching has been the relationships he has established with the players.

What is most impressive is that all these years later, how many lives Wagner has impacted in such a positive way.

"One of the reasons I became a trial lawyer, I wanted to continue to be in a competitive environment where you win or lose," Mongeluzzi said. "So, I continue to compete the way he taught us to compete which is full out, 100 percent effort, but when the game is over to be respectful and friendly to the other side."

Glanville, an analyst for MLB games on ESPN radio, says that when he is in Philadelphia, he usually tries to touch base with Wagner, that is how much he cherishes their relationship. 

"There is something timeless about Wags that transcends everything in sports," Glanville said. "He can reach people in a universal way and that explains why he was able to do it for so long and he always felt he had so much to give and that was always the case."

Wagner remains involved in baseball as he was inducted to the Hot Stovers Hall of Fame in 1999, was president of the club from 2001-14 and currently is the chairman of their Hall of Fame.