Charles Austin was born on June 3, 1892, in
Bellingham, Washington, the son of William Charles Austin. Austin attended
Berkeley High School, where he played for the school's rugby team and was named to a regional all-star team following the 1911 season. By 1912, he had joined the
Olympic Club and played in the team's match against
Australia during their
1912 tour of the United States and Canada. On November 16, 1912, Austin played for the United States at center in its first capped match—a 12–8 loss to Australia. In 1913, Austin began attending
Stanford University, where he and
Daniel Carroll were among the members of the freshman class that played for the university's rugby team. While with the Stanford team, he competed against
New Zealand during their
1913 tour of the United States and Canada. On November 15, 1913, Austin returned to the United States team and played again at center in its first test match against New Zealand—a 51–3 defeat. In 1916, Austin became the coach of the rugby team at
Santa Clara University. It was originally announced that he would return to coach the team for the 1917 season, but he did not. Also during the 1916 rugby season, Austin served as
head linesman for the
California high school state championship game. In 1924, Austin coached the United States national team at the Summer Olympics in Paris—
a competition in which the Americans won the gold medal for a second consecutive Games. On March 15, 1980, Charles Austin died in
Marin, California at the age of 87. ==References==