George Erwin Gullett Stephens (April 8, 1873 – April 1, 1946) was a college football player. He caught the first

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...

in the history of the sport. He was later a journalist who also sold insurance and real estate.

University of North Carolina

He was a prominent

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. He was selected third-team for an all-time Carolina football team of Dr. R. B. Lawson in 1934. Joel Whitaker selected him first-team for his all-time UNC squad.

1895

It is thought that the first

in football occurred on October 26,

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

in a game between

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and North Carolina when, out of desperation, the ball was thrown by the North Carolina back

Joel Whitaker Joel D. Whitaker (October 5, 1877 – October 13, 1947) was an American Ophthalmology, ophthalmologist and college football player and coach. He was hired as one of the first coaches of the Guilford Quakers football, Guilford Quakers in 1897, post ...

instead of punted. Stephens caught the ball and ran 70 yards for a touchdown. He was selected All-Southern.

Myers Park

Stephens was much involved in the expansion of Myers Park.

Journalist

He was joint president and publisher of the '' Charlotte Observer'' and joint owner and publisher of the ''Asheville Citizen''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, George 1873 births 1946 deaths American football halfbacks American male journalists American real estate brokers 19th-century players of American football North Carolina Tar Heels football players All-Southern college football players Sportspeople from Asheville, North Carolina People from Summerfield, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina