William James Forbes (August 24, 1874 – June 18, 1900) was an American football and baseball coach. He served as the first ever head football coach at Colorado Agricultural College — now known as Colorado State University — in 1899, compiling a record of 0–2–1. Forbes was also the head baseball coach at the University of Vermont for one season in 1898, tallying a mark of 9–7. He was a native of Shoreham, Vermont. During Forbes' single season at the school, he led the Colorado Agricultural team in an infamous Thanksgiving Day game against Wyoming that began the Border War rivalry series.