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/ ...

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
* * * * *

External links

* {{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