Marvin Orestus Bridges (April 1, 1878 – January 13, 1962) 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 wi ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
, and
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 t ...
player and football coach. He served in the
Spanish-American War
Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...
, and is buried at
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
Cumberland
Marvin Bridges was prominent
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 ...
for the
Cumberland Bulldogs
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.
History
1842-1861
The university was founded by the Cumberland ...
of
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.
History
1842-1861
The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...
. His brother M. L. Bridges also played on the team. Both he and his brother were listed as from "
Cornersville," and stood some 6 foot 4 inches, weighing some 225 pounds. Marvin was also known as a fine
punter, and kicked the
extra points.
1903
Marvin Bridges was selected
All-Southern from his guard position in
1903
Events January
* January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
* January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...
. That year Bridges and
Red Smith helped lead Cumberland to a defeat of
Vanderbilt and a tie of coach
John Heisman's
Clemson Tigers football team to finish the season in the game billed at the "SIAA championship game" in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
on
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
.
It was Heisman's last game as Clemson's coach. At Cumberland, Bridges was a member of the Rho chapter of the
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The fraternity's football prestige was said to rest on Red Smith and the two Bridges brothers, noting Marvin was "as handsome as the gods."
University of Florida
He later coached for the football team at the
University of Florida at Lake City in
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
, one of the four predecessor institutions to the modern
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
and the contemporary
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...
team, which started in 1906. Bridges' "White and Blue" teams compiled an 0–5 record and were outscored 224 to 0 by the likes of
Mike Donahue
Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, soccer, and golf, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head fo ...
's first year at
Alabama Polytechnic Institute,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and
John Heisman's first year at
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
. He founded UF's Alpha Eta chapter of
Pi Kappa Alpha at Lake City on November 17, 1904.
That same year, coach
Branch Rickey was happy to get Bridges to
Allegheny College
he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת
, mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1)
, faculty = 193 ...
, but Bridges bolted for pay to
Washington & Jefferson. Bridges played a handful of years in the minor leagues as a
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
.
References
External links
Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Marvin O.
1878 births
1962 deaths
American football fullbacks
American football guards
American football placekickers
American football punters
Allegheny Gators football players
Cumberland Phoenix football players
Cumberland Phoenix baseball players
Washington & Jefferson Presidents football players
Dallas Giants players
Fort Worth Panthers players
Harrisburg Senators players
Lancaster Red Roses players
Oakland Oaks (baseball) players
Reading Pretzels players
Trenton Tigers players
Wilkes-Barre (minor league baseball) players
Minor league baseball managers
All-Southern college football players
University of Florida people
People from Bedford County, Tennessee
Players of American football from Tennessee
Baseball players from Tennessee
American military personnel of the Spanish–American War