Carl Edward Etelman (April 1, 1900 – December 18, 1963) 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 ...
back and coach. After playing
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 ...
at
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
in Massachusetts, he played semi-professional football for the independent
St Alphonsus Athletic Association from 1924 to 1926. He also played
professionally
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
in the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) and
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 ...
(NFL) for the
Boston Bulldogs and
Providence Steam Roller
The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leagu ...
, before returning to the semi-pro ranks with the
Fitton Athletic Club, where he spent three seasons. After his playing career, Etelman coached the
Whitman High School football team in Massachusetts for 18 years, and also coached the semi-professional
Old Town team of Abington for two years.
Early life and education
Etelman was born on April 1, 1900, in
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor wit ...
. He attended
Fairhaven High School and Academy
Fairhaven High School and Academy is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. Its main building, built in 1905, is known as the "Castle on the Hill" and it is part o ...
and graduated in 1920.
[ ] In
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 ...
, he was team captain as a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
and played the
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 ...
position, leading the team to several "big wins with his dramatic passing and running," according to ''
The Standard-Times''.
At five feet eight inches tall, he was nicknamed "midget" by his teammates.
In 1920, Etelman matriculated at Tufts College—now known as
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
—where he starred in football,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
.
[ ] He eventually earned five
varsity letter
A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.
Description ...
s, including three in football. A 1922 article in ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' wrote, "
Coach Casey's best bet at quarter
ackis Carl Etelman. He is a good general and may be trusted to run the team in an excellent manner and, if need be, reel off many gains himself."
On a play in the 1923 season opener against , Etelman returned a
punt and after "dodging a handful of defenders and bouncing off a couple of others, eventually fought his way into the
end zone
The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
" for a
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 ...
. He collapsed onto the field after reaching the
goal line, and it was found that he
fractured his ankle and injured his
collarbone
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...
.
He was done for the game, and several newspaper headlines called him out for the year. However, he returned to the starting lineup against
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
three weeks later with a reinforced special plate and extra strap in his shoe. Stanley Woodard, for the ''Boston Herald'', wrote:
In the season finale against
, Etelman broke his ankle again, but stayed in the game and two plays later kicked a 40-yard
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
, after which he was carried off the field.
The field goal was the margin of victory for Tufts. Following the season, he was named all-New England at quarterback and to the all-Eastern team by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
Etelman, who was Jewish, was a member of the
Phi Epsilon Pi
The Phi Epsilon Pi () fraternity, active between 1904 and 1970 with a predominantly Jewish membership, was founded in New York City and eventually opened at least 48 chapters on college campuses across the United States and one in Canada. After se ...
fraternity at Tufts.
[ After graduating from Tufts with a ]bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1924, Etelman had graduate studies at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
.
Professional career
Following his graduation from Tufts, Etelman played professional and semi-professional football to stay in shape while coaching the Whitman High School football team. He started with the St Alphonsus Athletic Association, also referred to as the "Roxbury Club", in 1924.[ ] In their opening game of the 1925 season before 12,000 fans, the Athletic Association won against the Dorchester Town Team 20–0.[ ] Etelman's play was described as "the game's feature." ''The Boston Globe'' wrote,
Prior to a game against the Fitton Athletic Club in the season finale, ''The Boston Globe'' wrote, "Carl Etelman, whose spectacular work has featured all the St Alphonsus victories this season, will again be at the helm. He is a good punter, a clever passer and one of the best broken field runners ever turned out at Tufts."
Etelman played for several teams during the 1926 season. At the beginning of the year, he returned to Fairhaven High School with former teammates to play the New Bedford High School
New Bedford High School (NBHS) is a public high school located at 230 Hathaway Boulevard in the West End of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The school has approximately 2,000 students, and is one of the largest schools in the state. New Bedford is al ...
, in the first matchup between the two teams in years; they had previously stopped the rivalry due to a dispute. It was played before a crowd of about 2,000, which was the largest opening day attendance the stadium had received in years. Fairhaven was victorious on a game-winning 23-yard field goal by Etelman.
Most of the crowd had reportedly come to watch him, as he was under contract in the American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) with the Boston Bulldogs. He was one of the "big names" on the team, and was their "signal caller." He played in just three games with the Bulldogs, wearing number 5, before returning to the St Alphonsus Athletic Association.
Etelman also played one game during 1926 for the Providence Steam Roller
The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leagu ...
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 ...
(NFL), coming in as a starter in his only appearance with the team. He wore number 14 with the Steam Roller.
His final team of 1926 was the Fitton Athletic Club, and he returned to play with them again in 1927, "turning many a seeming defeat into a victory with his skill and daring."[ ] He retired in 1928, but made a final return to his playing career in 1929 with Fitton.
Coaching career
After graduating from Tufts, Etelman acquired a position at Whitman High School in Whitman, Massachusetts
Whitman is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,121 at the 2020 census. It is notable as being the place where the chocolate chip cookie was invented.
History
Whitman was first settled by Europeans in ...
, as director of physical education and football coach. He served as their head coach for 18 years before serving in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. ''The Boston Globe'' in October 1935 wrote, "Carl Etelman, ex-Providence Steamroller backfield wizard, coaches the Whitman High bunch, and has been doing a bang-up job. Whitman was South Shore champion last year, losing but one game, to North Quincy. That tilt was the second game of the 1934 season, and since then, Whitman has gone unbeaten and untied."
In 1928, while serving as head coach for Whitman High School, Etelman also coached the Old Town team of Abington in football. On October 12, 1928, he coached Abington against the Fitton Athletic Club, who he had formerly played for in 1926 and 1927. A game preview in ''The Boston Globe'' wrote, "Then there is the presence of Carl Etelman as coach of Abington team. For two years Etelman was a power in the Fitton backfield ... Now that he is mentor for the Abington outfit, the Fittons will need all their skill and strength to pull out a win." In 1929, Etelman left Abington to play for Fitton, but returned to Abington in 1930 as their head coach.[ ]
Personal life and death
Etelman was married to Idyla Etelman, with whom he had two children. His brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Gould, also attended Tufts and was a mayor of Vergennes, Vermont
Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smalle ...
.
From 1945 until his death in 1963, he worked as a sales manager for Ward Machinery Co. of Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of ...
. He was also involved in several civic endeavors, serving as a member of Puritan and Ezra Lodges, the finance chairman of the local Republican Party, chairman of the Temple Israel Hebrew School, and director of several youth camps.
Etelman died on December 18, 1963, in Boston, Massachusetts, after a long illness. He was 63 at the time of his death.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etelman, Carl
1900 births
1963 deaths
People from Fairhaven, Massachusetts
American football quarterbacks
American football running backs
Boston Bulldogs (AFL) players
Providence Steam Roller players
Tufts Jumbos baseball players
Tufts Jumbos football players
Tufts Jumbos men's basketball players
High school football coaches in Massachusetts
Coaches of American football from Massachusetts
Players of American football from Massachusetts
Baseball players from Massachusetts
Basketball players from Massachusetts
20th-century American Jews
Jewish American sportspeople
Businesspeople from Massachusetts
Massachusetts Republicans