Charles Howgate Guy (December 5, 1896 – April 9, 1974) 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. He played

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 ...

for

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

and

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

and professional football in 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 ...

for five teams between 1920 and 1924. He was selected as an All-NFL player in 1923.

Early years

Guy was born in 1896 at

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. He attended secondary school at the

Pinkerton Academy Pinkerton Academy is a secondary school in Derry, New Hampshire, United States. It serves roughly 3,269 students, making it by far the largest high school in New Hampshire, more than 1,300 students greater than the next largest high school. Pi ...

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...

. His father was Charles S. Guy, an immigrant from England. His mother was Carrie Guy.Draft registration card dated June 5, 1918, for Charles Howgate Guy, born December 5, 1896, Schenectady, N.Y. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 atabase on-line

College football and military service

Guy played college football at

and

. Prior to the United States entering

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 ...

, Guy left Washington & Jefferson when he was accepted into the

American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps The American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps, also known as the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, was an organization started in London, England, in the fall of 1914 by Richard Norton, a noted archeologist and son of Harvard professor Charles Eliot N ...

. His February 1917 passport application to travel to France for that purpose was personally sponsored by Eliot Norton, a member of the family that organized the Ambulance Corps (aka the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps).Passport application dated February 17, 1917 for Charles H. Guy, born Dec. 5, 1896, at Schenectady, N.Y. Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 atabase on-line He traveled to England on the ''

SS Lapland SS ''Lapland'' was a steam ocean liner built in Ireland for the Belgian Red Star Line. When new she was Red Star's flagship: similar in appearance to the company's '' SS Samland'', ''SS Gothland'' and '' SS Poland'', but far larger. She was a h ...

'', arriving in September 1917. After the United States entered the war, Guy served in the U.S. Army infantry from September 1918 to December 1919. He attained the rank of second lieutenant.Service abstract for Charles Howgate Guy, born Dec. 5, 1896, Schenectady, N.Y. Ancestry.com. New York, Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919 atabase on-line

Professional football

In September 1920, the

(called the

American Professional Football Association 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 maj ...

during the 1920 and 1921 seasons) was founded at a meeting in the Hupmobile auto showroom of the owner of the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

. In the inaugural season of the NFL, Guy played at the guard position for the 1920 Detroit Heralds. The Heralds opened the 1920 season with a game against the Cleveland Panthers, played at Navin Field on October 10, 1920. The Heralds won by a 40-14 score. After "a mix-up" with Guy and teammate Gil Runkel, Cleveland's star halfback Arnold Vogel was carried off the field in the fourth quarter with a broken left shoulder and three broken ribs; he was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital for medical treatment. The ''Detroit Free Press'' called it "a rough and tumble match." Guy played professional football in the NFL for five seasons. Following the 1920 season, he played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1921),

Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from ...

(1921-1922),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(1923), and

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

(1924). In 1923, he was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the ''Canton Daily News'' and a third-team All-NFL player by the ''Green Bay Press-Gazette''.

Family and later years

After retiring from football, Guy was married to Garnette Guy. They had five sons, Charles, John, David, Richard and Michael. Guy became involved in the electrical appliance business and moved his family to locations in Massachusetts and Ohio. In 1930, Guy was living in

Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295 ...

, with his wife, Garnette, and their two oldest sons, Charles and John. He was employed at that time as a manager for a vacuum cleaner company. By 1935, Guy had moved to Mansfield, Ohio. In 1940, Guy was living in Mansfield with his wife, Garnette, and their five sons. He was employed at that time as a manager with an electric appliance company.1940 U.S. Census entry for Charles Guy, age 43, born in New York. Census Place: New Trier, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T627_782; Page: 66B; Enumeration District: 16-299. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census atabase on-line In 1942, Guy was still living in Mansfield with his wife, Garnette, and he was employed there with the Westinghouse E & M Co. His son, Charlie Guy, Jr., graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1946. He played on the Navy lacrosse team and received the

Schmeisser Award The William C. Schmeisser Award is an award given annually to the NCAA's most outstanding defenseman in men's college lacrosse. The award is presented by the USILA and is named after William C. "Father Bill" Schmeisser, a player and coach for John ...

as the nation's best defenseman.Charlie Guy Jr. '46 Finished the Race!!
, NavyLax.org, May 23, 2010. Guy died in 1974 at

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

at age 77.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, Charlie 1896 births 1974 deaths American football centers Dartmouth Big Green football players Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players Detroit Heralds players Detroit Tigers (NFL) players Washington & Jefferson College alumni Buffalo All-Americans players Cleveland Indians (NFL 1923) players Dayton Triangles players Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York Players of American football from New York (state) Pinkerton Academy alumni