Joseph Magidsohn (December 20, 1888 – February 14, 1969) 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 and official. He played halfback for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Wolverines The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

in 1909 and 1910 and was selected as a second-team All-American by

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 1909 and a first-team All-American in 1910. He was the first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

athlete to win a varsity "M" at the University of Michigan and is the first athlete known to have refused to compete on the Jewish High Holy Days.

Biography

Early years

In 1888, Magidsohn was born in

Tukums Tukums (; german: Tuckum; liv, Tukāmō) is a town in the Zemgale region of Latvia. History The historical center of Tukums developed between trade routes leading from the mouth of the Daugava River to Prussia. The oldest part is today's Ta ...

, a town that was then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, but which is now part of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, and was Jewish. He was the son of Herman Magidsohn, a merchant born in Russia in July 1863, and Bessie Magidsohn, born in August 1864 in Russia. His father immigrated to the United States in 1889, and his mother followed in 1892 with two sons, Joe and Sam. At the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, the family had grown to four children and was living in Oliver Township in

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

region of Michigan. Magidsohn attended high school in

Elkton, Michigan Elkton is a village in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 796 at the 2020 census. The village is within Oliver Township, along the Pinnebog River. It was incorporated in 1897. Geography According to the United St ...

. After graduating from high school, Magidsohn enrolled at

Alma College Alma College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Alma College is affiliat ...

. He had never played football before and took up the sport at Alma.

University of Michigan

In 1907, Magidsohn transferred to the

where he played two years of varsity football (1909–10) under head coach

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

. Magidsohn was 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 163 pounds when he played football at Michigan. Magidsohn and

Dave Allerdice David Way Allerdice (March 26, 1887 – January 10, 1941) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as the University of Michigan as a halfback from 1907 to 1909. Allerdice served as the head football coach at Butler U ...

were the starting halfbacks for the 1909 Michigan football team that finished the season with a 6–1 record and outscored its opponents 116–34. In Michigan's 15–6 win over

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in 1909, Magidsohn scored both of Michigan's touchdowns, including a run for a touchdown in the first half and a interception return for a touchdown in the second half.

1909 football season

The 1909 season marked the first time that any school from the "West" defeated one of the "Big Four" eastern schools, as Michigan defeated Penn by a score of 12–6 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Penn came into the 1909 Michigan game with a 23-game winning streak in which they had allowed their opponents only 44 points. Magidsohn scored both of Michigan's touchdowns in the 1909 win over the Penn, including a touchdown reception from Allerdice and a run around Penn's right end for a touchdown. Magidsohn later said of the Penn game: "That 1909 Michigan-Penn game is the one I regard as my greatest... My All-America teammate, halfback and captain, Dave Allerdice, had a broken left hand so I was obliged to do most of the ball carrying." At the end of the 1909 season, eastern football expert

selected both of Michigan's halfbacks (Magidsohn and Allerdice) as a second-team All-Americans. Both Michigan halfbacks were also picked by

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 C ...

as first-team selections for his All-Western team.

1910 football season

In 1910, Magidsohn started all six games at left halfback for an undefeated Michigan team (3–0–3) that outscored its opponents 29–9. Following Michigan's win over

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

in November 1910, the press called Magidsohn, who scored both of Michigan's touchdowns, the "Star of the Game" and noted that "his plunges were one of the features of the game." At the end of the 1910 season, Magidsohn was chosen by at least a dozen selectors as a first-team member of the 1910 College Football All-America Team. He was also selected by E.C. Patterson as a first-team All-Western halfback in 1910. During Magidsohn's two seasons on the Michigan football team, the Wolverines lost only one game.

First Jewish letter winner at Michigan

Magidsohn was the first Jew to win an "M", the

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

awarded to competitors on the University of Michigan's varsity sports teams. After Magidsohn broke the barrier, other Jewish football players starred for Michigan, including All-Americans Benny Friedman,

Harry Newman Harry Lawrence Newman (September 5, 1909 – May 2, 2000) was an All-Pro American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan Wolverines (1930–32), for whom in 1932 he was a unanimous first-team All-American, and the reci ...

Merv Pregulman Mervin Pregulman (October 10, 1922 – November 30, 2012) was an All-American football player, businessman, and philanthropist. He played football as a tackle and center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was sele ...

and

Dan Dworsky Daniel Leonard Dworsky (October 4, 1927 – January 19, 2022) was an American architect who was a longstanding member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. Among other works, Dworsky designed Crisler Arena, the basketbal ...

. According to several publications on Jews in sports, Magidsohn was the first athlete known to have refused to play on the Jewish High Holy Days. Magidsohn later recalled that Coach Yost "reluctantly excused me from workouts for two days to attend

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...

services." When teammates learned that Magidsohn had gotten two days off for the Holy Days, several reportedly responded, "Next year I'm going to be a Jew."

Later years

After graduating from Michigan, Magidsohn served as a

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

football official from 1912 to 1946 and was often assigned to officiate at many of the sport's biggest events, including the

Army–Navy Game The Army–Navy Game is an American college football rivalry game between the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and the Navy Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) at Annapo ...

, the Rose Bowl, and the

College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

. In a World War I draft registration card completed in June 1917, Magidsohn stated that he was a naturalized United States citizen residing in Chicago, working as a civil engineer, and married with one child.Ancestry.com, on-line database of World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, card completed by Joe Magidsoh, born December 20, 1888, in Tukun, Russia, completed on June 5, 1917. At the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, Magidsohn was listed as a civil engineer residing in Chicago with his wife Jennie (née, Golden), age 30, son Elliot, age 5, and daughter Dorothy (age 2 years, 1 month).1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Census Place: Chicago Ward 25, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_341; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 1435; Image: 1081. Magidsohn was one of the organizers of Knollwood Country Club, its first secretary and its second president. He was also a former president of the Men's Club of Temple Beth El and served on the board for six years. He also served on the boards of the Jewish Community Center and the University of Michigan Alumni Association.

Hall of fame

He was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magidsohn, Joe 1888 births 1969 deaths American football halfbacks College football officials Alma Scots football players Michigan Wolverines football players People from Tukums People from Huron County, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan Jewish American sportspeople