Willard Harvey Gildersleeve (September 17, 1886 – July 19, 1976) was an American college football coach.

[3] He graduated from Middletown High School in 1903, and attended college at Wesleyan University, where he played baseball and football.

The Pittsburgh Gazette Times criticized the law enforcement response to the incident:"The arrest of Gildersleeve appeared ridiculous, in that he was the only one of the crowd taken by the police.

He is a small man and two big policemen grabbed him and took him across the field in full view of the crowd.

"[8]In 1913, Meriden High School hired Gildersleeve as a teacher and head football coach.

[10] Gildersleeve married Gertrude Isabell née Sugden in 1909, and as of 1921, the couple had two children, a son and a daughter.