Arthur E. Redner (November 24, 1879 – November 17, 1973) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He played halfback for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1900 and 1901 and was the last surviving member of

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

's renowned 1901 "Point-a-Minute" football team.

Early years

Redner was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in November 1879. His father, August Redner, emigrated from Germany in 1872 and worked as a barber. Redner also had a younger sister, Agnes. In approximately 1885, the family moved to Bessemer in Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

. His father operated a barber shop in Bessemer. Redner attended both A.D. Johnston High School in Bessemer and Luther L. Wright High School in

Ironwood, Michigan Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The city is on US Highway 2 across the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, ...

. He played football at both schools.

University of Michigan

Redner enrolled at the

in 1900 and played at the halfback position for the Michigan football teams of 1900 and 1901. On November 17, 1900, he scored Michigan's only touchdown in a 7–0 win over Notre Dame. In 1901, he played for

's famous "Point-a-Minute" team that won a national championship and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 550 to 0. At the end of the 1901 season the ''Michigan Daily-News'' wrote: "He is very quick and good at bucking or skirting the end. He is faithful in his work and deserves his place among the 'M' men."

Mining and coaching career

In 1902, Redner transferred to the Michigan College of Mines and Technology (later known as

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

) in

Houghton, Michigan Houghton (; ) is the largest city and seat of government of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Uppe ...

. After graduating from Michigan Tech in 1904, Redner spent two years in the west. He returned to the Upper Peninsula in 1908, taking an engineering position with the Oliver Iron Mining Co. in Ironwood, Michigan. Redner later became a football coach and mine superintendent in the

Gogebic Range The Gogebic Range is an elongated area of iron ore deposits located within a range of hills in northern Michigan and Wisconsin just south of Lake Superior. It extends from Lake Namakagon in Wisconsin eastward to Lake Gogebic in Michigan, or al ...

. He was the mine superintendent for the Corrigan-McKinley Steel Co. in Bessemer. In a draft registration card at the time of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Redner indicated that he was living in Anvil, Michigan, and working for the Newport Mining Co. In 1910, Redner began coaching the Ironwood High School football team. In 1921, he was coach of the Bessemer city football team.

Later years

Redner married the former Belle Olson in 1911. The couple lived in Bessemer until 1934, when Redner retired. They moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, where Redner served on the board of directors of Grand View Hospital. During World War II, Redner returned to the workforce as an engineer for the Vickers Corp. in Detroit. He retired again in 1955 and moved with his wife to

Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the C ...

. In 1954, he was selected as one of the 20 charter members of the Gogebic Range Hall of Fame as published in the ''Ironwood Daily Globe''. In 1968, the couple moved to

Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County, Illinois, Lake County. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 35,222. When incorpo ...

, to be near their daughter Ellen Probst. Redner's wife died in 1971. In November 1973, Redner died at age 93 at Lutheran General Hospital in

Park Ridge, Illinois Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a Chicago suburb. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located northwest of downtown Chicago. It is close to O' ...

. He was the last surviving member of the 1901 "Point-a-Minute" team. Redner was survived by a son, R. David Redner, and a daughter, Ellen Probst. His son, Arthur Redner, Jr., died in 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redner, Arthur 1879 births 1973 deaths American football halfbacks Michigan Wolverines football players High school football coaches in Michigan People from Bessemer, Michigan People from Ironwood, Michigan Sportspeople from Philadelphia Players of American football from Michigan Michigan Technological University alumni Players of American football from Philadelphia