Percy Wilfred Northcroft (August 31, 1886 – December 20, 1967) 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 ...

player and Naval officer. He played tackle for the Navy Midshipmen football team from 1905 to 1908 and was selected as an All-American in 1906 and 1908. He later served as an officer in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

Biography

Northcroft was a native of

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fal ...

. He enrolled at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

at Annapolis, Maryland in June 1905 and played at the tackle position for the Navy Midshipmen football team from 1905 to 1908. Northcroft also competed in the weight events for the Academy's track and field team and was elected as captain of the track team in May 1908. In 1906, Northcroft helped lead the Navy football team to a record of 8–2–2 and a 10–0 victory over

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. In the season-ending win over Army, Northcroft kicked a field goal that was variously reported to have been from the 42-yard line or the 48-yard line. One observer later recalled that Northcroft's long kick was made with the ball placed near the sideline and he "kicked the ball at least 20 feet above the goal posts and clear up into the end stand." The 1906 victory broke a four-game winning streak for Army. After the 1906 season, Northcroft was selected as 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 ...

for ''

Collier's Weekly ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...

'' and a second-team All-American by

Caspar Whitney Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January 18, 1929) was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889 when he worked for '' Harp ...

for '' The Outing Magazine''. As a junior in 1907, Northcroft helped lead Navy to a record of 9–2–1, including eight shutouts. The 1907 Navy team also won its second consecutive victory over Army in the last game of the season. Following the 1907 season, Northcroft was elected by his fellow Midshipmen as the captain of the 1908 Navy football team. As a senior in 1908, the Navy team with Northcroft as captain compiled a record of 9–2–1 and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 218 to 38. At the end of the 1908 season, Northcroft was selected as a first-team All-American by the ''Chicago Inter-Ocean'' and a third-team All-American by Walter Camp. In 1909, the Naval Academy tested the strength of more than 800 midshipmen at the academy using a "Kellogg testing machine"; Northcroft was determined to be "the strong man of the whole academy" with a "multiple" of 9,275 pounds. He also had his name engraved on the Naval Academy's Thompson trophy cup in 1909 "for having had the best influence for the betterment of athletics during the past year." After graduating from the Naval Academy, Northcroft spent his career in the U.S. Navy. In January 1917, he was assigned to the destroyer force of the Navy's Atlantic Fleet, serving as a lieutenant on the . In June 1917, following the entry of the United States into

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 ...

, Northcroft was promoted from the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) to full lieutenant. He continued to serve through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

advancing through the ranks of commander and Captain. Northcroft was also inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy's Hall of Fame for his contributions to the football teams. Northcroft died in 1967 at age 81. He was buried at the

Golden Gate National Cemetery Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...

San Bruno, California San Bruno ( Spanish for " St. Bruno") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcroft, Percy 1886 births 1967 deaths All-American college football players American football tackles Navy Midshipmen football players Sportspeople from Pawtucket, Rhode Island United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials at Golden Gate National Cemetery