He was also once vice-president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was notably director of affairs on the Tennessee Centennial Exposition executive committee.

Early in Dudley's career, he and John Holland developed a method for refining iridium that paved the way for commercial applications of the metal.

Dudley also discovered that carbon monoxide was a major injurious component of tobacco smoke; and was one of the first to publish the physiological effects of X-rays with fellow Vanderbilt professor John Daniel.

[9] President Grover Cleveland appointed Dudley a member of the Assay Commission of 1887 to examine the weight and fineness of coins.

[10] In 1880, one John Holland of Cincinnati discovered the ability to melt and make castings of iridium by fusing the white-hot ore with phosphorus,[11] and patented the process in the United States.

[14] Dudley was credited with discovering that a toxic component of tobacco smoke is carbon monoxide (which poisons the blood by interfering with oxygen's ability to bind to hemoglobin).

[15] Dudley rejected the popularly held opinion that cigarette smoke was harmful due to the adulteration of the tobacco, e. g. with opium.

Daniel reported that 21 days after taking a picture of Dudley's skull (with an exposure time of one hour), he noticed a bald spot 2 inches (5.1 cm) in diameter on the part of his head nearest the X-ray tube.

[21] In 1909, Dudley hypothesized that the excitation of neon, at the time a recently discovered noble gas, was responsible for the appearance of the aurora borealis.

[6] Dudley also served as Director of Affairs of the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition in 1897[24] "and handled it with such care that no deficit appeared at its end".

After Nashville challenged Vanderbilt to play a Thanksgiving Day football game, Dudley sent out for the Athletic Association to meet.

[25] "Too much cannot be said about William L. Dudley in connection with early football at Vanderbilt", said first team captain and fullback Elliott Jones.

Dudley's picture adorned the wall of Jones' Kansas City office, and when asked who it was he would respond "The best friend of myself and every other student at Vanderbilt.

Since there was not enough room to expand old Dudley Field at its site near Kirkland Hall, the Vanderbilt administrators purchased land adjacent to the present 25th Avenue South for the new facility.

[32][33] In the first game at the new stadium in 1922, against Michigan on October 14, the two teams played to a scoreless tie, which features prominently in the school's history.