Charles Gelbert (December 24, 1871 – January 16, 1936) 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, nicknamed "The Miracle Man" because he did so much with so little. He was a four-year starter for the
Penn Quakers
The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing.
School colors
There are se ...
, from 1893 to 1896, and played
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 ...
and
end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
. During his time at Penn, the school's football teams won consecutive national champions with undefeated seasons in 1894 and 1895. He also earned
All-American honors from
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 ...
in 1894, 1895, and 1896. 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 1960. In 1912, Jack Kofoed, writing in the ''
Philadelphia Record
''The Philadelphia Record'' was a daily newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1877 until 1947. It became among the most circulated papers in the city and was at some points the circulation leader.
History
''The Public Record'' ...
'', named Gelbert to his all-time All-America team.
However Gelbert also played football at the professional level. From 1898 until 1899, he played for the
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1 ...
. A year later, he was in the line-up for the
1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team
The 1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team won the professional football championship of 1900. The team was affiliated with the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The team featured a lineu ...
. In 1902, he played for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
of the
first National Football League. After the
Phillies season ended, he played for the "
New York team" during the
1902 World Series of Football The team was heavily favored to win the five team tournament, and featured professional football stars
Blondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early professional football player and later convicted criminal during the Prohibition Era. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University o ...
,
Walter E. Bachman
Walter Ellsworth "Scrapper" Bachman Sr. (March 19, 1879 – November 11, 1958) was an American college football player and coach. A player at Lafayette College from 1899 until 1901, Bachman developed the " roving center" position for college footb ...
and
Ben Roller
Benjamin Franklin Roller (July 1, 1876 – April 19, 1933) was an American physician, a professional wrestler and a football player.
Biography
Early life
Roller was born in Newman, Illinois. where he grew up on his family's farm. As a boy on th ...
. However, the team was eliminated in the opening match in a 5-0 loss to the
Syracuse Athletic Club.
Gelbert also took part in
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
. It was said that his acrobatic play would help his defensive play in football when facing off against much larger men. Outside of football he worked as a
veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...
in
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
.
Finally, Charlie was the father of
Charlie Gelbert
Charles Magnus Gelbert (January 26, 1906 – January 13, 1967) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1929–32 and 1935–36), Cincinnati Reds (1937), Detroi ...
, an
infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
with the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, who would go on to win the
1931 World Series
The 1931 World Series featured the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals beat the Athletics in seven games, a rematch and reversal of fortunes of the previous World Series.
The same two ...
.
References
Walter Camp: All-Americans 1892 to 1908Penn Quakers Football History*
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelbert, Charlie
1871 births
1936 deaths
19th-century players of American football
American football ends
American football guards
Duquesne Country and Athletic Club players
Homestead Library & Athletic Club players
New York (World Series of Football) players
Penn Quakers football players
Philadelphia Phillies (NFL) players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
People from Wayne County, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Pennsylvania