William Pepper Constable Jr. (24 April 1914 – 13 August 1986) was an
American football back.
Constable was born on April 24, 1914, in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
. His father was a
Maryland lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
. He attended high school at
Gilman School before playing college football at
Princeton. He was the president of class from 1934 to 1935 and named football team captain in '35. During his three seasons of football, the Tigers lost only one game, and won two national championships. He would bet against his team before each game because he "firmly believed that the wager brings a victory to the Tiger and a loss to himself." Constable finished fourth in the 1935
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
voting and was subsequently selected in the
1936 NFL Draft
The 1936 National Football League Draft was the 1st draft of National Football League (NFL). It took place on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The draft was instituted in an effort to end bidding wars amo ...
by the
Philadelphia Eagles. Rather than pursue a career in the
National Football League (NFL), where he was selected 64th overall, Constable pursued a medical career, earning a
Doctor of Medicine from
Harvard University. After serving in
World War II as a
lieutenant commander, he became the
Princeton University chief of medicine. Constable died on August 13, 1986, in
Nantucket, Massachusetts. He was 72 and died after drowning.
References
1914 births
1986 deaths
Princeton Tigers football players
Players of American football from Maryland
Harvard Medical School alumni
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