Andrew James "Swede" Oberlander (February 17, 1905 – January 1, 1968) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He was an All-American halfback for

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

undefeated and national championship football team in

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* January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

. Oberlander was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

as a player in 1954.

Dartmouth College

Oberlander was converted to halfback from the tackle position, and had a "terrific straight arm". In 1925, Oberlander passed for 14 touchdowns and ran for 12. Dartmouth defeated

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

32–9, its best victory to date over the Crimson. In a 62–13 victory over

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

, Oberlander had 477 yards in total offense, including six touchdown passes, a Dartmouth record which still stands. He was responsible for some 500 yards of total offense. Cornell coach

Gil Dobie Robert Gilmour Dobie (January 21, 1878 – December 23, 1948) was an American college football player and coach. Over a period of 33 years, he served as the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State Un ...

responded "We won the game 13–0, passing is not football." The season closed with a 33–7 victory over defending Big Ten champion

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Oberlander threw three touchdowns.

Coaching career

Oberlander was an assistant coach at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

from 1926 to 1929 and head coach at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

from 1930 to 1933. While at Wesleyan, he commuted to

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

and received his MD from

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

World War II

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as a Lt. Commander in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

, he was chief medical officer aboard the USS ''Samaritan'' (AH-10), in the Pacific Fleet. When the war ended, many U.S. troops remained in the Far East awaiting transportation back to the States. Oberlander was head coach of the Navy All-Stars team that beat the Army team 12–0 in the China Bowl on November 30, 1945, in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Insurance

Later, Oberlander served as Medical Director for National Life Insurance Company of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and

Prudential Insurance Company Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American financial services company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the Uni ...

and Newark.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oberlander, Andy 1905 births 1968 deaths American football halfbacks Dartmouth Big Green football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Wesleyan Cardinals football coaches All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy personnel of World War II Yale School of Medicine alumni Prudential Financial people American people of Swedish descent United States Navy Medical Corps officers Sportspeople from Chelsea, Massachusetts