Eddie Mahan
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Edward William Mahan (January 19, 1892 – July 22, 1975) 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. While playing halfback for
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 ...
, Mahan was selected as a first-team All-American three consecutive years from 1913 to 1915. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest football players in the first 50 years of the sport and was named by
Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
as the greatest football player of all time. In 1951, 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 ...
as part of the first group of inductees.


Early years

Mahan was a native of
Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...
. He was of Irish ancestry and reportedly spoke with "the brogue of a full-blooded native of Erin." Mahan first gained attention for his football skills while playing at
Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...
. Mahan later recalled his days at Andover, "Well do I recall those wonderful days at Andover and the games between Andover and Exeter. There is intense rivalry between these two schools. Many are the traditions at Andover."


All-American football player

Mahan enrolled at Harvard in 1912 and played halfback for Harvard's varsity football team. Although he weighed only 165 pounds, Mahan played every minute of every football game for Harvard from 1913 to 1915. Mahan was selected as a first-team All-American in each of those years, leading Harvard to a three-year record of 24–1–2. Mahan played his first varsity game for Harvard in 1913 against
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
and scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard run. And in the 1915 Harvard–
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
game, he threw a pass for a 61-yard gain on a fake punt. As a senior and team captain in 1915, Mahan climaxed his college football career by scoring four
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 ...
s and kicking five extra points in a 41–0 win over
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, the worst defeat in Yale's 44 years of college football to that time. In the biography of Mahan at 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 ...
, it is said that Mahan electrified the crowd in the 1915 Harvard-Yale game with "one of the greatest individual performances of the game's Pioneer Era." Harvard's sole loss during Mahan's three years on the team was a 10–0 loss to
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1915. After the game, Mahan apologized to Harvard coach
Percy Haughton Percy Duncan Haughton (July 11, 1876 – October 27, 1924) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as head football coach at Cornell University from 1899 to 1900, at Harvard University from 1908 to 1916, and at Columbia ...
. Haughton reportedly responded, "Mahan, you are the greatest football player God ever made." Mahan later described his technique for evading tacklers as follows: "I simply give them the foot—right or left—and then take it away."


Recognition as one of the greatest football players of all time

When
Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
was asked to choose the greatest football player of all time, he selected Mahan. He explained his choice as follows:
"Eddie Mahan of Harvard was the greatest football player I have ever seen. He had everything, he could run, pass and kick. He was big, weighed 190 pounds, was smart enough to play quarterback and also good enough to play in the line. To me that's proof enough that Mahan was the tops. He was a specialist in all lines."
In his book about the early days of football, Bill Edwards wrote the following about Mahan: "If the future football generals develop a better all-around man than Eddie Mahan, captain of the great Harvard team of 1915, whose playing brought not only victory to Harvard but was accompanied by great admiration throughout the football world, they may well congratulate themselves." In November 1925, football writer W.B. Hanna compared
Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...
to Mahan:
"In the writer's opinion, Grange and Mahan are the greatest backs he ever saw, from the standpoint of advancing the ball. Grange seems to run with more power than Mahan and a trifle more laboriously, because he is not quite so light-footed. It may be doubted whether he is as fast, but that is mere guesswork. Football, carrying the ball, seemed play to Mahan. Grange does not do his work in quite that effortless manner."
Mahan was frequently mentioned among the greats of the game. In 1927, George Trevor of the ''New York Sun'' selected an all-time backfield made up of Mahan,
Walter Eckersall Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American college football player, official, and sportswriter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He played for the Maroons of the University of Chicago, and was elected to the ...
,
Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
, and
Willie Heston William Martin Heston (September 9, 1878 – September 9, 1963) was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University ...
of
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. In 1928,
Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...
named Mahan to his all-time team and wrote, "Mahan lacked the crashing force of a Heston or a Coy, but he was one of the smoothest running backs anyone ever saw." Western football expert
Walter Eckersall Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American college football player, official, and sportswriter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He played for the Maroons of the University of Chicago, and was elected to the ...
added, "Mahan is awarded the honor of being Harvard's greatest football player, a terror to the opposition offensively and defensively. As a line plunger he ranks with the greatest in history." In 1951, Mahan was inducted into 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 ...
as part of the first group of inductees.


Baseball player

Mahan also played for Harvard's varsity
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 ...
team for three years. In an exhibition game in the spring of 1916, Mahan pitched a
shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...
against the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
, the year after the Red Sox team featuring
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
and
Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career bat ...
won the 1915 World Series. Mahan was offered a contract by several major league clubs, but none was willing to meet his demand for a salary of $6,500. Mahan described his negotiations in an interview with the ''Oakland Tribune'':
"I had a chance first to go with the Boston Red Sox when I was in my senior year at Harvard. They said to name my price and I named $6,500. They thought it was too much. Then the
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
club made an offer to me but they too thought I had a gold-brick scheme. The
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
were willing to give me a good contract with a bonus if I made good, but the risk was not worth the undertaking. I considered the
Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
more seriously than any other team but my negotiations there too were not satisfactory ..."


Coaching and military service

Mahan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard in the spring of 1916, with a major in political science and economy. He played semi-professional baseball in
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
during the summer of 1916 and also worked as the head of the
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
clubs in New York state. In August 1916, Mahan accepted a position as assistant football coach at the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
. After one season at
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
, Mahan returned to the East. Press accounts at the end of the 1916 season reported that Mahan and Cal's head coach (an alumnus of the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
) had vastly different styles of coaching, and Mahan was never given an opportunity to play an active role in coaching the team. During
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 ...
, Mahan served as a first lieutenant with the U.S. Marine Corps. At the end of the war, Mahan remained in Europe for a time working for
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
's Food Administration. In a January 1919 game played in France, Mahan led a Navy football team to a 12–0 win over a U.S. Army team. A press account reported that Mahan was the star of the game, running 65 yards for the first touchdown:
"In spite of the muddy field, speed and generalship on the part of the S.O.S. eleven, largely in the person of Eddie Mahan, … told the tale. It was the tall, black-haired Mahan with an undershot jaw that broke the deadlock in the second period. He grabbed a short punt …, eluded two men who barred his path, shook off a third tackler further down the field, and sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown."
After the war, Mahan returned to Harvard as the coach of the team's halfbacks. In August 1924, he was also appointed head coach of the Harvard baseball team.


Later years

In 1926, Mahan went to Choate School in
Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...
. He also served as director of athletics at the Newman School in
Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...
. After retiring from athletics, Mahan worked in the
investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
field and later worked for the Massachusetts Department of Natural Resources. He made his debut in investment banking in August 1927, accepting a position with the
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
firm
Hornblower & Weeks Hornblower & Weeks was an investment banking and brokerage firm founded by Henry Hornblower and John W. Weeks in 1888. At its peak in the late 1970s, Hornblower ranked eighth among member firms of the New York Stock Exchange in number of retail ...
. He also served as a lieutenant commander in the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
during
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 ...
. In 1975, after a long illness, Mahan died of cancer at Glover Memorial Hospital in
Needham, Massachusetts Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is home of Olin College. History Early settlement Needham was first settled in 1680 with the purchase of a ...
. At the time of his death, Mahan was a resident of his hometown, Natick, Massachusetts. He was survived by his wife, Beryl Boardman Mahan, two daughters, and six grandchildren.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahan, Eddie 1892 births 1975 deaths American football fullbacks American football halfbacks California Golden Bears football coaches Harvard Crimson baseball coaches Harvard Crimson baseball players Harvard Crimson football coaches Harvard Crimson football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps officers United States Navy officers American investment bankers People from Natick, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Players of American football from Massachusetts American football drop kickers American people of Irish descent Military personnel from Massachusetts