Herbert Carl Sturhahn (July 29, 1902 – January 10, 1979), nicknamed "Cobbles", was an American gridiron football player. He was a first-team All-American

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1925 and 1926, and was posthumously inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Early years

Sturhahn was born in 1902 at

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

, New York City. He was the son of Carl F. Sturhahn (1871–1939), an immigrant from Germany and president of the Rossia Insurance Company. The younger Sturhahn grew up on Long Island and attended William Howard Taft High School and the

New York Military Academy New York Military Academy (NYMA) is a college preparatory, co-ed boarding school in the rural town of Cornwall, north of New York City, and one of the oldest military schools in the United States. Originally a boys' school, it started admitting ...

Yale

Sturhahn enrolled at

, where he played college football at the

position for the

Yale Bulldogs football The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competi ...

teams. As a sophomore, he helped lead the 1924 Yale football team to an undefeated 6–0–2 season. As a junior and again as a senior, he was selected by the All-America Board as a first-team guard on their

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

and 1926 All-America teams. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

named him a first-team selection to their 1925 All-America team, as well as their 1925 All-Eastern team. During the 1926

Harvard–Yale football rivalry The Harvard–Yale football rivalry is renewed annually with The Game, an American college football match between the Harvard Crimson football team of Harvard University and the Yale Bulldogs football team of Yale University. Though the winner d ...

game, his final game for the Bulldogs, Sturhahn recovered a blocked punt for a Yale touchdown, the winning margin in a 12–7 victory. One sportswriter credited Sturhahn with being "half of Eli's team" and described his contributions:

But lest we . . . overlook the hero of the game on the field, let us pause a moment to salute one "Cobbles" Sturhahn. . . . A guard, no matter how loyally and brilliantly he may labor, is compelled by the nature of his job to wage his mimic warfare under a pile of rival jerseys, hidden from the crowd. And the courageous work he did was lost upon the thoughtless. But Saturday "Cobbles" was at least three Sturhahns of the yesteryears.
He made Yale's touchdown. It would have been a
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...
but for his quick eye and impetuous dive to grasp his golden opportunity. And having put his team in the lead, it was he who held it there. . . . He was everywhere, playing a roving guard. He ducked the pile of rival jerseys and shone in the brightest rays of light that pierced the black clouds overhead and filled the
Bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...
with a blue ray of burning will to win. Yale owes that game to Sturhahn and the more one examines and analyses the play-by-play account, the taller looms Sturhahn's part in the famous victory.

Sturhahn was an all-around athlete who also competed for Yale in

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

, track, and golf.

Post-Yale

In June 1927, Sturhahn married Etienne Lawrence, a foster daughter of journalist David Lawrence. A son, Lawrence (1928–1997), had a career working on motion pictures, serving as producer of the 1971 George Lucas movie ''

THX 1138 ''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence, wi ...

''. Sturhahn became an insurance broker in New Jersey. In the late 1930s, he served as president of the Indoor Polo Association of America. Sturhahn died in 1979 and was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturhahn, Herbert 1902 births 1979 deaths People from Far Rockaway, Queens Players of American football from New York City American football guards Yale Bulldogs football players Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey players College Football Hall of Fame inductees American people of German descent