Benjamin Lee Boynton (December 6, 1898 – January 23, 1963), "The Purple Streak", was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played during the early years of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1962. He played in the NFL for the Washington Senators,

Rochester Jeffersons The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played from 1898 to 1925, including play in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. History Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of t ...

and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

Early life

Benny was born in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

, in 1898, to Charles and Laura Boynton. He began his football career at

Waco High School Waco High School is a public high school located in the city of Waco, Texas and classified as a 6A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Waco Independent School District located in central McLennan County. In 2015, the school was rated “Im ...

in 1912. During his sophomore year, Boynton became the team's starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, and kept the job until he graduated in 1916. While playing for Waco, he had a reputation as an accomplished halfback, an accurate and strong passer, a strong punter, and an aggressive

tackler A tackler was a supervisor in a textile factory responsible for the working of a number of power looms and the weavers who operated them. The title derived from the job, which was to "tackle" any mechanical problems encountered with the looms in ...

on defense.

College

After high school, Boynton attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

. In his sophomore year, Boynton led the school's football team to a 7–0–1 season, for their first undefeated season in school history. At the end of the season, he was honored with his first All-American selection. It was then that

Ephs Ephs or EPHS may refer to: * Williams Ephs, the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of Williams College * Ephrin receptor, a protein Schools ; United Kingdom * Elthorne Park High School, Hanwell, London, England ; United States * Eagle Poi ...

fan started referring to Boynton as “the Purple Streak”, a play on his quick ability and the school's colors, purple and gold. He sat out his sophomore season of football, instead serving in

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 ...

as a gunnery sergeant in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He returned to college in 1919 and was named captain of the football team, as well as the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

teams. During his senior year, Boynton led the Eastern colleges in scoring, compiling 143 points on 22

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s and 9

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

s. In one game, he scored six touchdowns during a 62–0 win over

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. He ran a missed field goal the length of the field, 110 yards, for a touchdown against Hamilton. After that season, Boynton was chosen to

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

's All-America team.

NFL

After graduating from college in 1921, Boynton took a job at

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

, located in

Steelton, Pennsylvania Steelton is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Harrisburg. The population was 6,263 at the 2020 census. The borough is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. History After initi ...

. While working there, he was recruited by Leo Lyons, manager of the NFL's Rochester Jeffersons. Boynton accepted Lyons's offer to play for the Jeffs. Boynton played just three games for the Jeffs that season but still scored two touchdowns, eight extra points and a field goal. He also threw for three more scores. With NFL contacts not being what they are today, Boynton also played with the NFL's Washington Senators during the 1921 season, scoring a touchdown and three more extra points. Also in 1921, the independent

Holmesburg Athletic Club The Holmesburg Athletic Club was a professional football team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, that was in existence from around 1915 until 1923. The team laid claim to the Philadelphia City Championship in 1919 and 1920. Alumni Th ...

, of

Philadelphia 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 ...

, signed Boynton for a Thanksgiving Day game against the

Union Quakers of Philadelphia The Union Quakers of Philadelphia were a professional independent football team, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921. The team evolved from a number of pro players who played with the Union Club of Phoenixville during their 1920 season. ...

. During the 1922 season Boynton only played in one game with the Jeffs. Instead, he decided to play

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

baseball in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. In 1923, the independent, pre-NFL version of the

Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Boston ...

added Boynton to their roster. However, he made his return to the NFL in 1924. His return though sparked a dispute between Lyons and the new owners of the Buffalo Bisons; both parties claimed to have signed Boynton for the 1924 season. An NFL executive committee was formed to settle the issue. The committee awarded Boynton's services to the Bisons. Boynton helped lead Buffalo to a 6–2–0 season, with a clear shot at the league title. However, the team's title chances ended with a 6–3 loss to the

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers was a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Mi ...

. During that game Badgers' quarterback Red Dunn broke through the line and headed downfield with Boynton in pursuit. On the Buffalo 10-yard line, Dunn tried to stiff-arm Boynton. Benny grabbed Dunn's arm, swung him around and wrestled him to the ground. As the Buffalo players raced to congratulate Boynton on the tackle, coach

Tommy Hughitt Tommy Hughitt (born Ernest Fredrick Hughitt; December 27, 1892 – December 27, 1961) was a Canadian-American National Football League utility player, coach, referee and politician. He was also an All-American quarterback for the University ...

lectured Boynton on his tackle technique, stating that if he had pulled Dunn's arm off, Dunn still could have scored.

After football

1924 marked Boynton's last season of professional football. He started an insurance business in 1925. In 1926 he returned to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and helped form the Southwest Officials Association and served as the organization first president. Over the next 14 years, he officiated the many college football games. Some of his most notable games include the first

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

(then called “the Dixie Classic”) and the second

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

. After retiring from officiating, Boynton began a broadcasting career, where he provided radio commentary for several years.

World War II

During World War II, Boynton served as a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

. He was appointed the Physical Training and Welfare Officer at

Jacksonville Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jack ...

, where he established streamlined operating programs on several naval bases throughout the southern United States.

Legacy

Rochester manager,

Leo Lyons Leo David William Lyons (born 30 November 1943) is an English musician, who was most notably the bassist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. Biography Leo Lyons was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in November 1943 and became a profess ...

, called Boynton the second greatest football player of the era, second only to

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

. He was elected to the

in December 1962. A month later he died from cancer at the age of 64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boynton, Benny 1898 births 1963 deaths American football quarterbacks Bethlehem Steel people United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Navy personnel of World War II American radio reporters and correspondents American male journalists American sports announcers Buffalo Bisons (NFL) players College football announcers Holmesburg Athletic Club players Pottsville Maroons players Rochester Jeffersons players United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers Washington Senators (NFL) players Williams Ephs football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Waco, Texas Players of American football from Texas Waco High School alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy reservists Deaths from cancer in Texas Military personnel from Texas