Martin Paul Below (January 26, 1899 – June 30, 1984) 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. He played at the tackle for the

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the W ...

team and was selected as a consensus All-American in 1923. He 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 ...

in 1988.

Early years

Below was born in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, in 1899. He played basketball and football at Oshkosh High School and served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

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 ...

University of Wisconsin

After being discharged from the military, Below attended the Oshkosh State Teachers College (later renamed the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UW Osh) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to nearly 14,000 students ea ...

) where he played football and basketball. In 1922, Below transferred to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. He played at the tackle position for the

team in 1922 and 1923. At the end of the 1922 season, Below was selected as a first-team All-American by the ''New York Tribune'' and

Norman E. Brown Norman Edgar Brown (October 10, 1890 – March 31, 1958) was an American sportswriter and sports editor for the Central Press Association. Biography Brown was born in Ohio in October 1890. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Brown was l ...

, a third-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 ...

, and a first-team All-Western player 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 ...

of the ''

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...

''. At the team banquet in late November 1922, the Wisconsin players chose Below as the captain of the 1923 team. During the 1923 season, the Badgers played

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 ...

's Fighting Illini to a scoreless tie. Grange later called Below "the greatest lineman that I ever played against". In picking Below for his all-time team, Grange in 1926 said, "We always avoided his side of the line, knowing that we could gain nothing through him." At the end of the 1923 season, Below was selected as a consensus member of the

1923 College Football All-America Team The 1923 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1923. The only two selectors recognized by t ...

. He received first-team honors from ''Athletic World'' magazine (chosen by 500 coaches), ''Football World'' magazine,

, and Davis J. Walsh, sports editor for the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

Later years

In February 1924, Below announced that, despite receiving multiple offers, he would not play professional football. He concluded his class work at the end of the fall semester in 1923 and stated that he intended to pursue a career in business. He appeared at a Madison gymnasium with a written offer from the manager of one of the top professional teams, tore it up, and threw it in a waste basket, stating: "No one loves to play football any better than I do, but in my opinion there is no comparison between college and professional football. I have completed my work in college and therefore I have played my last game." Below was employed until 1948 by Commonwealth Edison in Chicago. From the late 1940s through the early 1970s, he was employed by the Kieffer-Nolde Engraving Company in Chicago. He was president of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. He died in 1984 at

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. Below was inducted into the

in 1988. He was also inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Below, Marty 1899 births 1984 deaths American football tackles Wisconsin Badgers football players Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I