Neilson Poe (October 1, 1876 – September 22, 1963) a.k.a. Net Poe was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player for the

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in m ...

. He played in the Princeton backfield in 1895 and 1896, and even later returned to coach football at the school. He was also one of the

Poe brothers The Poe brothers were six American football players who played football at Princeton University from 1882 until 1901. They were sons of John P. Poe Sr., an 1854 Princeton graduate and the Attorney General of Maryland from 1891 until 1895. They wer ...

, six siblings who were celebrated football players at Princeton University from 1882 until 1901. Neilson graduated from Princeton in 1897. 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 ...

, Neilson served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In 1917, at the age of 41, he reported for officers training, located in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

. In 1918, Neilson took part in the Second Battle of the Marne, during which his commanding officer was killed. During the battle he was wounded, but still took command of his fellow soldiers and safely entrenched them for 24 hours. He suffered a bullet wound to the stomach and several shrapnel wounds. He spent the rest of the war hospitalized and was later awarded the French War Cross and the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

. After the war, he returned to Princeton to serve as an assistant coach from 1919 until his death in 1963. He resided during those years in the

Nassau Inn The Nassau Inn is a full-service hotel in downtown Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It first opened at 52 Nassau Street in 1769 in a home built in 1756. The Inn experienced British occupation during the American Revolution and played host t ...

, room 24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poe, Neilson 19th-century players of American football Poe family (United States) Players of American football from Baltimore Princeton Tigers football coaches Princeton Tigers football players Princeton University alumni United States Army soldiers 1963 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) 1876 births