Haven Alva "Hi" Brigham (July 13, 1892 – October 6, 1987) 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 ...

lineman who played eight seasons with the

Columbus Panhandles The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before foldi ...

, including one while they were in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Early life and education

Brigham was born on July 13, 1892, in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

. He was one of four children. His family moved to

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 30,808 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, it is part of the Toledo metropolitan area and ...

, shortly after his birth. He was nicknamed "Hi" when he was young. He did not play high school football until his senior year of high school, after several friends suggested he try out for the team. His coach, Jim Lehmann, gave him the center position. He also played fullback, and scored his only touchdown in a 111–0 win over North Baltimore High School. He attended college 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 ...

, studying

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

. He enrolled in fall of 1910, playing for the school's freshman team. While at Ohio State, Brigham met a clerk from Fahrney Tailors, who asked him if he was interested in playing professional football. He played a few games for the team, getting paid ten dollars per game, before being caught by OSU. He was caught when Lynn St. John, the Ohio State athletic director, refereed a game that he was playing in. St. John recognized Brigham and gave him an ultimatum the next day. "He told me to make up my mind. Either it was going to be football with OSU or the professional ranks. I was young then and the money was too good to pass up," Brigham later said.

Professional career

He played with the team until the 1913 season, being considered one of the best in Ohio. He was then recruited by Joseph Carr, the owner of the

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct p ...

, to play for his team. Carr gave Brigham an offer of 20 dollars per game, and a job at a local railroad station with a salary of 75 dollars a month. He accepted the offer, and ended up playing eight seasons with the team. By 1915 he had become one of the team's top players, starting nearly every game of the season at center. However, near the end of the 1915 season, Brigham nearly lost his life. While chasing a Columbus Barracks player, Brigham fell out of bounds on an iron water bucket. He finished the game, but soon afterwards experienced pain and went to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a ruptured spleen and given a small chance to live. He was described by ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in ...

'' as "near death", but recovered and played five more seasons. He retired in 1921, after playing three games in the inaugural

(NFL) season.

Later life

After retiring from sports, Brigham worked at his family's greenhouse before opening a collectibles store. The store, titled ''Brigham's Stamps and Coins'', was operated by him from 1936 to 1980, closing when he retired at the age of 87. When asked about his football career in 1983, Brigham said "I really wouldn't have given it up for anything." He died of natural causes on October 6, 1987, in his hometown of

. He was 95, and the last living former Panhandle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigham, Hi 1892 births 1987 deaths American football tackles American football guards American football centers American football ends Ohio State Buckeyes football players Players of American football from Toledo, Ohio Columbus Panhandles players