George R. Pfann (October 6, 1902 – December 17, 1996) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach, decorated officer serving on

George Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

's staff during

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 ...

, and a member of the

Cornell University Board of Trustees 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. Sin ...

. He played

at the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

position for the

Cornell Big Red football The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Division I (NCAA)#Football Championship Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college fo ...

teams and was selected as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in both 1922 and 1923. He also served as Swarthmore's head football coach from 1931 to 1935.

Early years

Pfann was born in 1902 in

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down slig ...

. His father died when he was a young boy. He was raised in Marion by his mother and grandparents in a large brick house at the corner of Washington and Delaware Avenue. His mother died as well, and he and his sister were raised by an uncle and aunt. Pfann and his sister inherited "a small fortune" from their mother. He attended Harding High School in Marion but transferred in his sophomore year to 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 ...

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colu ...

. He was selected as an all Southern scholastic quarterback while attending Columbia in 1917.

Cornell

Pfann attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, 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 W ...

and led three consecutive

teams to undefeated seasons:

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

(8–0),

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

(8–0), and

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

(8–0). He was a

triple-threat man In gridiron football, a triple-threat man is a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player. Triple-threat men were the norm in the early da ...

who also excelled as a kicker and defensive player. Pfann was also captain of the 1923 team and the consensus first-team quarterback on the 1923 All-America college football team. Pfann was also a star player on Cornell's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

team and played for the school's basketball team. Pfann graduated from Cornell in 1924 and then enrolled in law school at Cornell. He served as an assistant football coach and freshman basketball coach while studying law at Cornell. He received a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

in 1926 and completed his legal studies at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. He played rugby while at Oxford.

Later years

From 1931 to 1935, Pfann was the head football coach at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

, compiling a record of 8–26–1. He additionally worked as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for the

Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...

from 1931 to 1937 before becoming a member of the law firm of Edwards & Smith in New York City. During

, Pfann served in the U.S. Army and was secretary of General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

's Seventh Army and later Third Army general staff. He was promoted to the rank of major in July 1943 and to lieutenant colonel in December 1944. He was among Patton's Third Army staff officers decorated with Soviet military awards when Third Army linked up with Red Army units at war's end. Pfann received the Order of the Patriotic War Second Class. After the war, Pfann returned to Ithaca where he worked on the legal staff of the

Grange League Federation Agway of DeWitt, New York, was an American agricultural business that offered feed for livestock and poultry, as well as seed, fertilizers, and herbicides. History Agway was formed on July 25, 1964, from a merger between the Grange League Feder ...

from 1945 to 1967. Pfann was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame (now known as 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 ...

) in 1957. He was also inducted into Cornell's sports hall of fame in 1978 as a football and lacrosse player. In 1967, he went into private legal practice. He also served on Cornell's board of trustees for 21 years. He died in 1996 at the Reconstruction Home in Ithaca at age 94.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfann, George 1902 births 1996 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Ohio Basketball players from Ohio Cornell Big Red football coaches Cornell Big Red football players Cornell Big Red men's basketball coaches Cornell Big Red men's basketball players Cornell Big Red men's lacrosse players Swarthmore Garnet Tide football coaches All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II American Rhodes Scholars Cornell Law School alumni Cornell Law School faculty New York (state) lawyers United States Army officers Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford People from Marion, Ohio Assistant United States attorneys 20th-century American sportsmen