Phillip Stillman
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Phillip Tracy "P.T." StillmanThe 1895 Yale yearbook, ''The Yale Pot-Pourri'', at page 67, references Stillman in the "Those Who Joined Us" section: "Phillip Tracy Stillman slowly ambled into the class in the fall of Junior year, as he knew a good think when he saw it."The Yale '94 Class Book also states: "Phillip Tracy Stillman dropped into '95 S in Junior year." (August 13, 1873 – October 16, 1939) was an American football player and insurance executive. He played for the undefeated
1894 Yale Bulldogs football team The 1894 Yale Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Yale University as an independent during the 1894 college football season. The team finished with a 16–0 record, shut out 13 of 16 opponents, and outscored all ...
and was selected as the consensus first-team center on the 1894 College Football All-America Team. He later became president of F. W. Stillman Company, an insurance brokerage company founded by his father.


Early years

Stillman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1873. He grew up in
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
.Yale '95 S. Class Book, p. 52. His parents, Franklin W. and Olive Stillman, were both natives of New York. His father was employed in the insurance business. Stillman ended preparatory school at St. Paul's School in
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.


Yale

Stillman enrolled at Yale College in approximately 1892 as a transfer student for his junior year. He played for three years on the Yale Bulldogs football team. He was the center on the
1894 Yale Bulldogs football team The 1894 Yale Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Yale University as an independent during the 1894 college football season. The team finished with a 16–0 record, shut out 13 of 16 opponents, and outscored all ...
that compiled a 16–0 record and was retroactively named co- national champions by the Billingsley Report,
Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
, National Championship Foundation, and
Parke H. Davis Parke Hill Davis (July 15, 1871 – June 5, 1934)"PARKE H. DAVIS BURIED.; Many Prominent Men at Funeral of Football Authority", special to ''The New York Times'', June 9, 1934 was an American football player, coach, and historian. Shortly befo ...
. At the end of the 1894 season, Stillman was a consensus choice as a first-team player on the 1894 College Football All-America Team. Caspar Whitney, published in ''Harper's Weekly'' magazine, and '' Leslie's Weekly'' by John D. Merrill. Stillman graduated from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School in 1895, having studied mechanical engineering. He was a member of
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, Delta Phi, the Renaissance Club and the Dance Committee, and served as chairman of the supper committee. He was also a member of the track and field team. Reference to Stillman in the 1895 Yale senior class book refer to his heavy weight. Noting that Stillman claimed to trace his ancestry to Sir
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
, the class book notes: "If any of P.T.'s distinguished relatives ever manage to circumnavigate him in the same time that Sir Francis did the earth, they will find themselves equally famous." Also appended to his biography in the class book was this quote: "Falstaff sweats to death, And lards the lean earth as he walks along."


Later years

After leaving Yale, Stillman was employed in the elevator business. He also served in the
New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New ...
, holding the rank of captain in the 101st Cavalry. From 1900 to 1920, Stillman lived with his parents in
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
. In 1900, he was employed as a shipping clerk. In 1910, he was working as an automobile salesman. In 1912, he was in charge of the New York office of Corbin Motor Vehicle Corporation. By 1917, he had entered the insurance business and was employed by his father's company, the F. W. Stillman Co., at 80 Maiden Lane in New York City. In 1920, he was vice president of his father's company, and he later became president of the company after his father died. In 1930, Stillman lived in
Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan area ...
. He was married in October, 1934 to Helen Strong Piffard at Winter Park, Florida. In 1935, he was living in Winter Park with his wife,1935 Florida Census entry for Phillip T. Stillman and Helen P. Stillman. Ancestry.com. Florida, State Census, 1867-1945 atabase on-line though he maintained his principal home in his later years at Weston, Connecticut. Stillman died in 1939 at the age of 66 at New York Hospital.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stillman, Phillip 1873 births 1939 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football centers Yale Bulldogs football players All-American college football players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Players of American football from New York City Players of American football from New York (state) People from Weston, Connecticut Yale College alumni