Thomas Richard Sterck (June 20, 1900 – September 1970) 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. Sterck was born in 1900 and attended Peabody High School in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He was a star athlete at Peabody, participating in football and track. He set the school record in the discus. At age 18, and with

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 ...

underway, Sterck joined the students' army and was assigned to

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...

. At Washington & Jefferson, he played at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position, and was also tried as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, on the 1918 Washington & Jefferson Red and Black football team. At the end of the 1918 season, he was selected by

Tiny Maxwell Robert Wallace "Tiny" Maxwell (September 7, 1884 – June 30, 1922) was a professional football player and referee. He was also a sports editor with the '' Philadelphia Public Ledger''. Biography Early life Maxwell was born in Chicago on Septem ...

as a first-team center on his

1918 College Football All-America Team The 1918 College Football All-America team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-America Teams selected by various organizations for the 1918 college football season. All-Americans of 1918 Ends *Paul Robeso ...

. Sterck missed the 1919 football season with a broken leg. He returned to the football team in 1920 and also played on the Washington & Jefferson basketball team. Sterck later worked in the advertising business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterck, Thomas 1900 births 1970 deaths Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players American football centers Players of American football from Pittsburgh