Beaton Squires
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Beaton Hall Squires, LL.B, BA (December 16, 1881 – February 8, 1962) was an All-American football player and a noted Canadian lawyer. Born in rural
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, Squires became a star football player at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and was selected by
Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...
as his first-team All-American at the right guard position in 1905. Squires received his law degree from Harvard and later became one of the leading solicitors in the Canadian province of
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
.


Early life

Squires was born in Britannia, Newfoundland to Congregational minister John Squires and his wife Amelia (Hippisley) Squires. After graduating from Methodist College, he prepared for college at St. John's Academy.


Harvard

He came to Harvard on a fellowship given by the Canadian government. Squires received both BA and LL.B degrees from Harvard. Squires made the Harvard football team despite his inexperience with the American game, which was vastly different from the form football played in Newfoundland. He was a starting
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 gu ...
on the freshman team and a reserve tackle on the varsity squad his sophomore season. In 1904, he was the team's starting right guard. Coach
Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) also known as Iljuwas, was a Haida artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year car ...
described Squires as "a thoroughly respectable and decent fellow, although he is perhaps a little thick headed." According to Reid, Squires had a job in 1904 as a conductor on Boston's electric railway. When a drunk passenger refused to pay his fare, Squires grabbed him by the nape of the neck and the trousers and threw him to the ground. A lawsuit filed by the man was dismissed, but Squires was dismissed by the company with the comment, "You are too strong for us; come back next year." Squires became a star as a senior in 1905 and was selected as a consensus All-American at the end of the season. In the years prior to the establishment of professional football as a major sport, selection as one of the eleven players on the All-American team marked the highest level of accomplishment in the sport. Squires won the All-American honor despite having broken his thumb in a game against
Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...
. As a senior in 1905, Squires was also selected as the captain of the Harvard football team, the first time a citizen of a country other than the United States received the honor. At the time, the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' reported
Beaton H. Squires, Harvard's giant guard may be elected captain of the football eleven next year. It will be the first time that a man who is not a citizen of the United States will lead a Harvard football squad.
On the eve of his election as Harvard's captain, a New York newspaper noted that, despite growing up in rural Newfoundland and not being a society man, his skill and leadership on the field supported his candidacy
Born and reared in the country, the big fellow was proof against every accident. No matter how hard he was used he never seemed to mind it in the least, and fairly grew fat on the same diet which left others sprawling behind him on the ground. The reason undoubtedly was that the other men were nearly all city boys. Squires' steady and consistent work makes him a leading candidate for the captaincy next year, despite the fact that he is in no sense of the word a society man.
In its coverage of the 1905 Harvard-Yale game, the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' compared the "sturdy Squires" to a steam shovel smashing into the Yale line. During the 1905 season, while Squires was captain of the Harvard team, a national debate erupted over the violent nature of the sport of football. Harvard's president,
Charles William Eliot Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926) was an American academic who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909, the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family (America), Eliot fam ...
, proposed eliminating the sport from college campuses, and even President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
, a Harvard alumnus, weighed in on the debate. In an editorial published in ''The Boston Journal'', Squires wrote in support of the sport. Squires argued: "Let football alone. It is a grand game, a game which requires all the best qualities a man should possess, strength, endurance, quick perception, and self-control." Squires supported rule changes to reduce the likelihood of serious injury, including a 20-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness, creation of a body of officials to more clearly define unnecessary roughness, use of two umpires to more carefully watch for unnecessary roughness, a ban on tackling below the knees, and creation of a five-yard safe zone for a player catching the ball. However, Squires opposed proposals to more dramatically alter the rules of the game, noting, "You cannot make a parlor game out of football." After his playing days, Squires remained involved with football as coach of
Beverly High School Beverly High School is one of two four-year public high schools in Beverly, Massachusetts, United States, the other being the smaller Northshore Academy. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students and is accredited by the Massachuset ...
(1907–1911) and the
University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...
(1919).


Legal practice

After receiving his law degree, Squires practiced as a lawyer in Boston from 1908 to 1912. He moved to
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
in 1913 and entered the firm of Maclean, Jordan, Hollinrake, and Moxon. He became one of the leading lawyers in
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
. He became a member of the firm in 1914, but left in 1916 and practised on his own with an office in the Royal Bank of Canada Building in Saskatoon. In 1923, he and Andrew Sibbald formed a partnership that became the law firm of Squires & Sibbald. Soon thereafter, he returned to Massachusetts and practiced law there until the early 1950s.


Personal life

In 1913, Squires married Edith Louise Gaffield, a native of
Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...
. She predeceased him in 1956. He died on February 8, 1962 at the age of 80.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Squires, Beaton 1880 births 1962 deaths All-American college football players American football tackles Harvard Crimson football players Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers in Saskatchewan Sportspeople from Saskatoon Newfoundland Colony people People from Newfoundland (island) Gridiron football people from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian players of American football Saskatchewan Huskies football coaches High school football coaches in Massachusetts