John Wyatt "Cap" Cardwell (June 6, 1896 – October 19, 1979) 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 who played one season with the

St. Louis All-Stars St. Louis All-Stars was a professional football team that played in the National Football League during the 1923 season. The team played at St. Louis, Missouri's Sportsman's Park. Ollie Kraehe owned, managed, coached, and played guard for th ...

of 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). He also played for the Kokomo American Legion football team as well as coached their 1940s baseball team.

Early life and education

John Cardwell was born on June 6, 1896, in

Waverly, Tioga County, New York Waverly is the largest village in Tioga County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Waverly had a population of 4,177. It is located southeast of Elmira in the Southern Tier region. This village was incorporated as the southwes ...

. He played high school football there before going to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. While at the high school he played

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 ...

and halfback, leading his team to the 1913 State Championship. He did not attend college.

Football career

Before playing professionally, he was a popular player for the Kokomo American Legion football team as team captain. They won the State Championship in 1921. After a few seasons with the American Legion team, he went to the professional

of the

. He played two games there, starting one, before a shoulder injury forced him to miss the season. He played multiple positions with the All-Stars, they included: quarterback, halfback, placekicker, and punter. The next year, the All-Stars folded from the league, ending Cardwell's professional career.

Later life and death

Cardwell got a job at the Stone Webster Company in 1920. He later worked for the Public Service of Indiana. During the early 1940s, Cardwell was the chief clerk of Howard County War Price and Rating Board. He held the position until 1944 when he became the district mileage representative of the Indiana Office of Price Administration. He was defeated in the 1945 primary election while running for sheriff as a republican. Cardwell was then employed at Sears Roebuck and Company for 18 years as a division manager. He retired in 1961 to travel Europe, Asia, and the United States. Two years after his professional career ended, he married Mildred Tiplady (Cardwell). They had two sons, Richard and John. Cardwell died on October 19, 1979, at the St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

. He was 83 and died of an apparent heart attack.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardwell, John 1896 births 1979 deaths St. Louis All-Stars players People from Waverly, Tioga County, New York