James Parrish Lee (June 6, 1870 – September 14, 1941) was an American football player and lawyer. He played college football at Harvard University and was a consensus selection at the halfback position on the

1889 College Football All-America Team The 1889 College Football All-America team was the first College Football All-America Team. The team was selected by Caspar Whitney and published in ''This Week's Sports''. The team selected by Whitney in 1889 marked the origin of the "All-Amer ...

Early years and ancestry

Lee was born in New York City in 1870. His father Charles Carroll Lee, was a Union Army surgeon in the American Civil War and later president of the Medical Society of New York County. He was a cousin of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

and a descendant of Richard Lee I and Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

Athletics

Lee attended Harvard College where he was a member of the Harvard Crimson football team. He was a consensus first-team selection at the halfback position for the

. The following year, he led the

1890 Harvard Crimson football team The 1890 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University in the 1890 college football season. The team finished with an 11–0 record, shut out nine of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents ...

to an undefeated 11–0 record. Lee capped the 1890 season with a long touchdown run to give Harvard its first victory since 1876 in the Harvard–Yale football rivalry. ''The New York Times'' described Lee's touchdown run as "a brilliant open play" around the right end of the line. Lee was also a member of Harvard's track team, competing in the 220-yard dash, the quarter mile and the low hurdles. He set a world record in the low hurdles. He continued to compete in track while he was a student at Columbia Law School and as a member of the New York Athletic Club.

Later years and death

After receiving his LL.B. degree from Columbia, Lee practiced law with the New York firm of Anderson, Pendleton & Anderson. He was also an officer of Hecker Cereal Company, Southwestern Milling Company and Standard Milling Company. He was married to Clara Lothrop Lincoln in 1896, and they had six children. Lee died in 1941 at the age of 71 while playing tennis at the Meadow Club in Southampton, New York. While playing tennis with his son-in-law and "was about to serve and had called the score, 'thirty love,' when he coughed and staggered." He was dead by the time his son-in-law reached him from the other side of the net.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, James P. 1870 births 1941 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football guards Harvard Crimson football players All-American college football players Players of American football from New York City