He was the organizer, head coach, and player on first football team at Georgia Tech.
[1] West was born in Rome, Georgia in 1867 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1888.
[2] In 1892, he organized Georgia Tech's first football team, acted as coach and captain, and played halfback.
[2] On June 14, 1914, during custody dispute over his nine-year-old daughter, West was found in a Chattanooga, Tennessee hotel room with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
[2] He survived his injuries, but died of kidney failure in Rhea Springs, Tennessee on July 17, 1914.