Charles Austin was born on June 3, 1892, in Bellingham, Washington, the son of William Charles Austin.[2] Austin attended Berkeley High School, where he played for the school's rugby team[3] and was named to a regional all-star team following the 1911 season.[4] By 1912, he had joined the Olympic Club[5] and played in the team's match against Australia during their 1912 tour of the United States and Canada.[6] On November 16, 1912, Austin played for the United States at center in its first capped match—a 12–8 loss to Australia.[7]
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.[8] While with the Stanford team, he competed against New Zealand during their 1913 tour of the United States and Canada.[9] 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.[10]
In 1916, Austin became the coach of the rugby team at Santa Clara University.[11] It was originally announced that he would return to coach the team for the 1917 season,[12] but he did not.[13] Also during the 1916 rugby season, Austin served as head linesman for the California high school state championship game.[14] 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.[15]
^"United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5Y-XWCW : March 16, 2018), Charles Allphin Austin, 1924; citing Passport Application, California, United States, source certificate #384043, Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 2453, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
