Paul Parker "Maggie" Magoffin (March 30, 1883 – February 1, 1956) 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. He played left halfback for

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American college football player, coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Wolverines football teams of 1904, 1905, 1906 and 1907, and was captain of the 1907 team. He later served as a football coach at

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

and

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Early years

Magoffin first played football on a

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

high school team. He later ran track and played two years of football for Central High School in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He later attended the Academy at Marietta and played one year for of football for

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, United States. Its campus encompasses approximately six city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 students. History Marietta College began as the Muskin ...

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Appalachian Ohio, southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum River, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia ...

. At Marietta, Magoffin played for William C. "King" Cole, who had previously been a star player for

at the

University of Michigan

In 1904, Magoffin transferred to the

, began playing on the freshman team, but played in several games for the varsity team, though he was not awarded a

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

for the 1904 season. He became a starter at left halfback for the

1905 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1905 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1905 Western Conference football season. The team's head football coach was Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines played their home games at Regents Field. Afte ...

that compiled a 12–1 record and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 495 to 2. He continued as a starter at left halfback on the

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

and 1907 Michigan teams. The ''Michigan Alumnus'' in January 1907 described Magoffin's contributions as follows:

"Magoffin has shown himself to be a remarkably fast and untiring player on both offense and defense, although slow in rounding into physical shape, owing to his later return to the University. He did his greatest work in the Pennsylvania contest, fighting gamely and stubbornly to the end. His repeated fierce tackling of Hollenbeck for losses was one of the redeeming features of that game for the Michigan spectators."

On November 3, 1907, Magoffin became the first player to catch a

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The legal and widespread use of the forward pass distinguishes grid ...

for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

in a Michigan – Ohio State game, a 25-yard pass from quarterback

Billy Wasmund William Stephen Wasmund (December 1887 – October 4, 1911) was an American football player and coach. Wasmund was born in December 1887 in Michigan. His father, Lebrecht Wasmund, was a stone contractor born in Germany. Wasmund attended Lafayet ...

. Magoffin scored five times during Michigan's 46–0 victory over

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public 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 of the largest universities by enrollme ...

in 1907. The 1907 team captained by Magoffin won its first five games without allowing a point to be scored. The Wolverines lost the final game of the season to Penn by a score of 6–0, though Coach Yost complained loudly that Michigan had been robbed of touchdown in the game. They disputed play was a 35-yard touchdown pass to Magoffin that was disallowed by the referee. Yost said of the play, "In order to reach Magoffin, thirty-five yards ahead, the ball must have gone from Allerdice over the line of scrimmage at least fifteen yards to the left of where it was put in play. I know that, after having worked with that play for two years, and I was not taking any chances with it. Magoffin's touchdown was as legal as any play I ever saw on a football field."

Coaching and officiating

In July 1908, after graduating from the University of Michigan as part of the literary class of 1908, Magoffin was hired as the athletic director and head football coach for the North Dakota Agricultural College "Aggies," now known as the

North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison. Sports sponsored ...

. In 1910, Magoffin was the football coach for the

"Hatchetities" in

In September 1910, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported that Coach Magoffin led his George Washington football team in practice sessions on the White House Ellipse. Magoffin served as an official in college and high school football games for at least 32 years from 1912 to 1943. In December 1914, he was married in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Edith Jane Young. During World War I Magoffin commanded the 612th Aero Squadron of the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

, stationed at the Wilbur Wright Air Service Depot in

Fairfield, Ohio Fairfield is a city in southern Butler County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb located about north of Cincinnati and is situated on the east bank of the Great Miami River. The population was 44,907 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1 ...

. After his death in 1956 he was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magoffin, Paul 1883 births 1956 deaths American football halfbacks College football officials George Washington Colonials football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players North Dakota State Bison football coaches North Dakota State Bison men's basketball coaches Coaches of American football from Kansas Players of American football from Kansas Basketball coaches from Kansas Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army personnel of World War I