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Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
player, official, and sportswriter for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
''. He played for the
Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...
of the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951. Eckersall was selected as the
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
for Walter Camp's "All-Time
All-America Team The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
" honoring the greatest college football players during the sport's formative years. He was selected to Camp's All-American teams in 1904, 1905, and 1906.


Early life

Walter Eckersall was born in Chicago on June 17, 1883. He grew up in its Woodlawn neighborhood just south of the University of Chicago. His talent emerged at Hyde Park High School, where he dashed in 10.0 seconds, an Illinois record for 25 years, and excelled on the football field. In 1903, he quarterbacked Hyde Park to an undefeated season and then led the squad to a 105–0 trouncing of
Brooklyn Polytechnic The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
at Marshall Field on December 5 to claim the unofficial national
high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...
championship. Eckersall later wrote about his years at Hyde Park in a column picked up for national syndication in 1918."Sam Ransom Fearless in War or Sport" by Walter Eckersall - Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Montana, Sunday, July 21, 1918, Page 2, Columns 1 to 3
/ref> Much of the article was about
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
player and
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
veteran Lieutenant Samuel Ransom. Eckersall was highly recruited out of high school by both Fielding Yost of
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
and Amos Alonzo Stagg of Chicago. Stagg resorted to chicanery, snatching Eckersall off a train platform to keep him from attending a recruitment rendezvous arranged by Michigan coaches in Ann Arbor in 1904.


College career

In Eckersall, Stagg saw the promise of "a selfless performer, marked by complete dedication" to victory. During his career, Eckersall led Chicago to a record, outscoring their opponents The two losses were to
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
in 1904 and to
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
in 1906. The tie was a stalemate with
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
in 1904.


1905

In 1905, the sophomore quarterback led the Maroons to a national championship. In the final game of the season on Thursday, November 30, Chicago and
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
met in a battle of undefeated, Western Conference powerhouses in front of 27,000 spectators, at that time the largest crowd to view a football game, at Chicago's Marshall Field. Michigan was with no points allowed and had a undefeated streak on the line; while Chicago was and had allowed only five points all season. The game was a punting duel between Eckersall and Michigan's
John Garrels John Carlyle Garrels (November 18, 1885 – October 21, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in the 110 metres hurdles, discus throw, shot put, and as a fullback and end in American football. Garrels won the silver medal in ...
; and was scoreless until early in the third quarter when a Michigan punt and Chicago penalty pinned Chicago inside its own 10-yard line. On third down, as Eckersall attempted to punt, he encountered a fearsome rush, but evaded the Michigan tacklers and was able to scramble to the 22-yard line and a first down. After three more first downs, the drive stalled and Chicago was forced to punt again. Eckersall's booming punt carried into the end zone where it was caught by Michigan's William Dennison Clark who attempted to run the ball out. He advanced the ball forward to the one-yard line, but was hit hard by Art Badenoch and then was brought back inside his own end zone by
Mark Catlin Mark Seavey Catlin Sr. (November 12, 1882 – May 16, 1956) was an American football player, track athlete, coach, lawyer, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Iowa from 1906 to 1908, and at Lawrence Universi ...
for a two-point safety. Under the rules of the time, forward progress was not credited, and a ball carrier could be carried backwards or forwards until he was down. The rest of the third and fourth quarters continued as a defensive stalemate. Chicago's victory snapped Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and gave Chicago the national championship for 1905. It is one of the first game's referred to as a "Game of the Century." As a tragic note to this game, Clark received the blame for the Michigan loss, and in 1932 he shot himself through the heart. In a suicide note to his wife he reportedly expressed the hope that his "final play" would be of some benefit in atoning for his error at Marshall Field.


Later life

After his playing days, Eckersall remained a prominent figure in football. He had a successful dual career as a sportswriter for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' and as a game official. As a referee, Eckersall was considered one of the best and officiated at many high-profile games. Highly regarded as an authority on football, he selected the ''Chicago Tribunes all star team; his "All Western" eleven carried prestige. Eckersall is also a footnote in the story of Knute Rockne, and the well-documented history of Notre Dame, because of his presence at many of their games. Eckersall was an idol of Rockne, who grew up in Chicago and watched Eckersall play in high school and in college. Rockne was quoted as saying "The first time I learned a football was not only something to kick, but something to think with, was when I saw a great football player in action."


Death

Eckersall's boozing and carousing often contradicted Stagg's prescription of football as a surefire builder of moral character. Stagg gradually distanced himself from his greatest player, especially when Eckersall reneged on a $20 debt and was later featured in a national ad campaign for cigarettes—a habit Stagg regarded as sinful. In March 1930, Eckersall was hospitalized for illnesses associated with his hard living, Stagg came to his bedside with the firm advice to "turn over a new leaf." "Eckie" promised his old coach that he would; however, the former football star died of cirrhosis of the liver and
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
on March 24 at the age of 43. The cause of death was reported as a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
in the ''Chicago Tribune'' the next day. Eckersall's funeral on March 27 at Holy Cross Church, five blocks south of the university, was attended by fifteen hundred. At 65th & Maryland, the parish church was built on the site where he first played sandlot football as a child. ()   He was buried at nearby
Oak Woods Cemetery Oak Woods Cemetery is a large lawn cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 1035 E. 67th Street, in the Greater Grand Crossing area of Chicago's South Side. Established on February 12, 1853, it covers . Oak Woods is the final resting place ...
, next to his parents.


Legacy

In 1949, The
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
constructed a sporting facility in South Chicago at 2423 East 82nd Street, named "Walter Eckersall Stadium." ()


References


External links

*
University of Chicago Magazine, October 1995, Legends of the Fall 3
at magazine.uchicago.edu

at www.lib.uchicago.edu
Chicago Park District
– Eckersall Playground Park {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckersall, Walter 1883 births 1930 deaths American football drop kickers American football officials American football punters American football quarterbacks Chicago Maroons football players St. Viator Irish football coaches All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago Deaths from cirrhosis Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois Sportswriters from Illinois Hyde Park Academy High School alumni