George Ellwood "Doc" Fenton (April 30, 1887 – February 8, 1968) was an American

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 ...

player. He was elected to the Louisiana State University Hall of Fame in 1937 and 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 1971.

Early years

Doc Fenton was born on April 30, 1887 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 ...

to Robert Emmett Fenton and Catherine Farr. He was known as "Doc" because his father traveled as a singer with an old time Indian medicine show. Fenton was of French, Irish, and Welsh ancestry.

College

After leaving Scranton High School, Fenton began his college football career at St. Michael's College, in Canada, in 1904. At St. Michael's, he played rugby. Fenton later talked about his time at St. Michael's by stating "I got all the fundamentals playing rugby in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. I learned how to kick on the run, and I learned how to operate in an open field." Fenton earned the reputation of doing everything well with a football.

Mansfield

He later played football at

Mansfield State Normal School Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located it in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the campus' total enrollment is 1,6 ...

(now Mansfield University) in Pennsylvania from 1904 to 1906. He started out as an end at Mansfield, but later became a star receiver in 1906, which was the first year of the legal forward pass.

Mike Lally Michael F. Lally was a college football player who played for Louisiana State University (LSU). College football Lally was a halfback for the LSU Tigers of the Louisiana State University, a member of the 1908 LSU Tigers football team which went ...

was his teammate at both Mansfield and LSU. One account reads "In Lally and Fenton the University has a pair that can hardly be equaled. In the game Fenton showed that he has lost none of his ability to dodge, his swiftness as a runner, his power as a punter and kicker, and his cool hard work. ... The two work splendidly together."

LSU

Fenton was heavily recruited by LSU and Mississippi A&M (now

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

). Fenton ultimately ended up signing with LSU for the 1907 season. Fenton was selected for LSU's All-Time football team in 1935. He was nominated though not selected for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1869–1919 era team. One of Fenton's favorite plays was the "tackle over tackle" play. In this play, Fenton faked a handoff to a back, then gave the ball to a tackle and led the blocking behind the other tackle. "Doc was the hub," recalled tackle Marshall "Cap" Gandy, "and we were the spokes." Fenton was referred to as "the Blond Terror" by sportswriters of the time.

1907

Fenton played at end during the 1907 season in which LSU played in the

Bacardi Bowl The Bacardi Bowl was a college football bowl game played seven times in Havana, Cuba, at Almandares Park and La Tropical Stadium. The games were also referred to as the Rhumba Bowl and were the foremost event of Cuba’s annual National Sports ...

1908

He was shifted to

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 ...

early during the 1908 season. The team went 10–0 and was selected as national champion by the National Championship Foundation. Fenton's 125 points (132 by modern rules) led the nation in scoring. He had a school record 36 extra points and 6 field goals. The National Football Foundation selected Fenton as a retroactive

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner of 1908. Fenton was selected All-Southern by

Nash Buckingham Theophilus Nash Buckingham (May 31, 1880 – March 10, 1971), commonly referred to as Nash Buckingham, was an American author and conservationist from Tennessee. He is perhaps most famous for writing a collection of short stories entitled De Sh ...

in the ''

Memphis Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

''. In the 10–2 win over

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, Auburn scored a safety when Fenton was knocked unconscious by a spectator's cane as he tried to get out of the endzone. He returned a kick 95 yards for at touchdown the following week against Mississippi A&M.

1909

Fenton again started at quarterback on the 1909 team which finished second in the SIAA behind

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

. He was selected All-Southern by

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

Later life

George Ellwood "Doc" Fenton was married to the former Gertrude Bauer (1888-1982). The couple had two children, Gertrude Elwood Fenton Renfroe (1912-1993) and Dr. Thomas Terry Fenton (1916-2006) All are interred at Roselawn Memorial Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1940, Doc Fenton was a tax collector with the Department of State.https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-01396-00483/124622571?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.ancestry.com%2f1940-census%2fusa%2fLouisiana%2fGeorge-E-Fenton_4by72y&ssrc=&backlabel=Return#?imageId=M-T0627-01396-00483

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenton, Doc 1887 births 1968 deaths American football ends American football placekickers American football quarterbacks All-Southern college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees LSU Tigers football players Players of American football from Pennsylvania