Jacob Edwin Michael
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James Edwin Michael (May 13, 1848 – December 7, 1895), known as "Big Mike", 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 for the
Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
football team, who was the best player in the first college football game.Twenty-four stalwart men, and a goliath
from an article by Parke H. Davis '93 on University of Princeton blog


Early life and education

He was born on May 13, 1848 in Michaelsville in
Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Wa ...
to Jacob J. Michael, a large landowner in Harford County. He grew up on his father's farm near the
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. He was educated at
St. Timothy's Hall St. Timothy's Hall was an eight-year private all-boys theological and military boarding school in Catonsville, Maryland for boys ages seven to fourteen. The boys' school closed in 1864, and the building was then used as a girls' school and as a ...
in
Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...
and then at the
Newark Academy Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. It was the first school in New Jersey to offer the International Ba ...
, a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
secondary school in
Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 31,454. The University of Delaware is ...
, which later became the
University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...
.


Princeton

In 1869, he played for the Princeton Tigers in the first ever college football game against Rutgers College (later
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
). He was considered to be the best player in the game. He was roommates with the team captain, William Stryker Gummere, who later became a judge. His athletic prowess and strength were touted by many. Mark F. Bernstein wrote in, "Football: The Ivy League Origins of an American Obsession," that "Big Mike and a Rutgers player made for the ball at the same time and crashed through the fence, toppling spectators." Parke Davis, a historian, wrote that Michael "bowled over Rutgers men like so many ten pins and in every action his burly form loomed supreme." In 1871, Michael won the Thomson Prize for heavyweight gymnastics. He was in the
Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...
fraternity at Princeton. After his graduation from Princeton, he was considered by many to be the best athlete to have ever attended the college.


Education after Princeton

He received his A.B. from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 1871, and his medical degree from the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
in College Park in 1873. Then he studied for a year abroad at Wurzburg, Germany and
Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in 1873 and 1874.


Medical career

From 1874 to 1880, he served as a demonstrator of anatomy, and then a professor of anatomy until 1890. Then he was a professor of obstetrics until 1895 at the University of Maryland. He was the chairman of Anatomy and Clinical Surgery and then the chairman of Obstetrics at the University of Maryland. He was editor of the Maryland Medical Journal, the president of the Clinical Society, and the president of the Baltimore Medical Society. In 1885, he became the vice president of the Medical & Chirurgical Faculty and in 1888-1889, he became its president, holding the position until his death. In 1896, Michael became the president of the Alumni Association of the University of Maryland and a lecturer on Early Aid, and the president of the Princeton Alumni Association of Maryland ("PAAMD"). He was a member of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Society, the
American Surgical Association The American Surgical Association is the oldest surgical organization in the United States. History It was founded in 1880. Their publication, ''Annals of Surgery'', was started in 1885. A collection of the association's papers are held at the Na ...
, and the
American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...
.


Family

In December 1875, he was married to Susie Mitchell and they had six children.


Death

Michael died on December 7, 1895 in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. His remains were buried in the family burial plot near
Perryman, Maryland Perryman is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,342 at the 2010 census. History St. George's Parish Vestry House was listed on the National Register of H ...
. A medical journal’s eulogy referenced his “magnificent physique” as well as his great intellect.


Publications


The American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Obstetric Antisepsis.
, J. Edwin Michael, 1895


External links


American Journal of Obstetrics: In Memoriam


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, James Edwin 1848 births 1895 deaths 19th-century players of American football Princeton Tigers football players