Bernard Walton Trafford (July 2, 1871 – January 3, 1942) was an American banker and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 ...

player.

Personal life

Trafford was born July 2, 1871, in

Dartmouth, Massachusetts Dartmouth (Massachusett: ) is a coastal town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Old Dartmouth was the first area of Southeastern Massachusetts to be settled by Europeans, primarily English. Dartmouth is part of New England's farm coast, which co ...

to William Bradford and Rachel Mott Davis Trafford. He attended high school in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

and graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

in 1889. He graduated Harvard in 1893. He married Leonora Brooks Borden of Fall River on June 5, 1901. She died in 1936. Upon Trafford's death in 1942, he was survived by four daughters, a son, and eight grandchildren.

Football career

Trafford was a prominent

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

for the

Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun c ...

team from

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

, captain of the

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

and 1892 teams. He kicked five field goals in a game against

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

, a season in which Harvard was national champion. Trafford scored 64 points in a game against Wesleyan in 1891,http://www.secsportsfan.com/support-files/pre-1937cfbleaders.pdf and led the nation in scoring that year with 270 points. His teammate Everett Lake led the nation in touchdowns the same season. Trafford was captain of the first team to employ the

flying wedge A flying wedge (also called flying V or wedge formation, or simply wedge) is a configuration created from a body moving forward in a triangular formation. This V-shaped arrangement began as a successful military strategy in ancient times when inf ...

blocking scheme. Trafford helped coach the 1893 team. After college, he was employed at the Bell Telephone System, then as a banker in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Banking career

Trafford served as vice president of the

First National Bank of Boston BankBoston was a bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was created by the 1996 merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank. One of its predecessor banks started in 1784, but the merged BankBoston was short-lived, being acquired by Fleet Bank in 199 ...

from 1912 to 1923, then became president in March 1928 upon the death of Clifton H. Dwinnell. He served as vice chairman of the board from 1929 to 1935, and chairman from 1935 until his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trafford, Bernard 1871 births Year of death missing 19th-century players of American football American football fullbacks Harvard Crimson football coaches Harvard Crimson football players Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts People from Westport, Massachusetts Players of American football from Massachusetts