John Livingston "Honus" Craig (November 30, 1881 – April 18, 1942) was an American college football player and coach.

Early years

John Livingston Craig was born on November 30, 1881, in

Culleoka, Tennessee Culleoka is an unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Mos ...

, to Thompson Sloan Craig and Ella Cline.

Playing career

Vanderbilt

Craig was a prominent halfback for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

teams which won four SIAA titles. He was also selected All-Southern four times. McGugin once called him the South's greatest athlete and Vanderbilt's greatest halfback. One report says "When Craig was confronted with the above formidable title yesterday by a reporter whose business it is to know such things, he blushed like a girl and tried to show why Dan McGugin's judgment is not always to be trusted." In Craig's opinion, Bob Blake was the South's greatest player. Craig stood 5 feet 9 inches and weighed 165 pounds. He was nominated though not selected for an ''Associated Press'' All-Time Southeast 1920-1969 era team.

1906

Vanderbilt had a major intersection for the first time when it defeated Carlisle in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

by a single Bob Blake drop kick, "the crowning feat of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association season." Craig called this his hardest game, giving special praise to Albert Exendine as "the fastest

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

I ever saw."

1907

Craig went over for the touchdown to beat Sewanee in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

, after the play which

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

called the greatest thrill he ever witnessed in his years of watching sports, the double-pass play ending with a pass from Bob Blake to Stein Stone. Earlier in the game Craig caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Blake.

Coaching career

Craig once coached at the

Columbia Military Academy The campus of Columbia Military Academy was built as an arsenal for the US Army in 1891 and closed after the Spanish–American War. The arsenal was declared surplus property in 1901 and in 1904 the land was formally turned over to the Columbia M ...

Polytechnic College

Craig was coach and athletic director at

Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is t ...

(then called Polytechnic College).

Death

Craig died on April 18, 1942, in Maury County, Tennessee, while on a fishing trip. At the time of his death he was safety director for the Tennessee State Highway Department.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Honus 1881 births 1942 deaths American football halfbacks Texas Wesleyan Rams athletic directors Texas Wesleyan Rams football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football players All-Southern college football players People from Culleoka, Tennessee Coaches of American football from Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee