Raymond Joseph Eichenlaub (1892/1893 – November 9, 1949) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. Nicknamed "Eich", he was best known for playing

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 ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

Biography

Eichenlaub was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

—his date of birth varies by source, most indicating January 10 of 1892 or 1893. After graduating from East High School in his hometown, Eichenlaub received collegiate offers from Notre Dame and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He selected Notre Dame, where he played as a fullback for the Fighting Irish football teams of 1911 to 1914. Eichenlaub wore

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...

13 for his first three seasons, then number 33 as a senior. The Fighting Irish compiled a record of during his four seasons. With the 1913 Fighting Irish, which featured

Gus Dorais Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais (July 2, 1891 – January 3, 1954) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. Dorais played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913 at quarterba ...

and

Knute Rockne Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships. Rockne is ...

and finished with a 7–0 record, Eichenlaub scored 12 touchdowns. In the spring of 1914, various newspapers reported that Eichenlaub was in danger of losing his eyesight due to

conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye or Madras eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin, clear layer that covers the white surface of the eye and the inner eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness ...

, but this was refuted by Notre Dame head coach

Jesse Harper Jesse Clair Harper (December 10, 1883 – July 31, 1961) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Alma College (1906–1907), Wabash College (1909–1912), a ...

. For all but his freshman season, Eichenlaub was named to All-Western teams and received

All-America 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 ...

honors from some selectors of the era. Eichenlaub also competed in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, in

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and discus, for Notre Dame. Initially elected as captain of the 1915 track and field team, Eichenlaub quit athletics early in 1915 and was succeeded by

Dutch Bergman Arthur J. "Dutch" Bergman (February 23, 1895 – August 18, 1972) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now New Mexico State University, from 19 ...

. Eichenlaub served in 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 ...

in the

12th Field Artillery Regiment The 12th Field Artillery Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Distinctive insignia Description and symbolism The unit's insignia is a gold color metal and enamel device 1 inch (2.54 cm) in height overall consisting of a ...

from September 1917 to December 1918, and was honorably discharged as a lieutenant. He played on the military football team at

Camp Sherman, Ohio Camp Sherman is an American military training site near Chillicothe, Ohio. It was established in 1917 after the United States entered World War I. It now serves as a training site for the Ohio Army National Guard. History Between June and Sep ...

, in the fall of 1917. In December 1922, Eichenlaub played in an all-star charity game 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 ...

. He also played four games for the Columbus Tigers 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) in 1925, and served as a college football

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

for 25 years. Outside of athletics, Eichenlaub was an insurance executive in his hometown of Columbus. During his time in the military, he married Emma Elizabeth Eberle on August 2, 1918. A son, Ray Jr., played football at Notre Dame in the early 1940s. Eichenlaub was elected president of the Notre Dame alumni association for 1940–41. He died in Columbus in 1949 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, and was buried in

Lockbourne, Ohio Lockbourne is a village in Franklin County and Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The population was 236 at the 2020 census. Lockbourne is located near Rickenbacker International Airport, and had initially provided its original name of Lockb ...

. In 1972, Eichenlaub was inducted to 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 ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eichenlaub, Ray 1890s births Date of birth uncertain 1949 deaths Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio American football fullbacks Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Columbus Tigers players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers