Robert Gordon McKay (May 3, 1887November 26, 1958) 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 and investment banker. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun c ...

team from 1908 to 1910 and was selected as a first-team All-American football player in 1908 and 1910. He later became an investment banker in New York.

Early years

McKay was born in 1887 in either

Frankfort, Maine Frankfort is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,231 at the 2020 census. History Frankfort is the oldest town on the Penobscot River, first settled in the 1760s by Massachusetts so ...

, or

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. He was the son of Gordon McKay and Baroness Marion Treat von Bruning. He attended preparatory school at the

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, before enrolling at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

Harvard

McKay played

at the tackle position for the

team from 1908 to 1910. In 1908, he was selected as an All-American by ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

''. In 1909, he was selected as a second-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 in 1910, he was selected as a first-team All-American by Camp. He also played for the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at ...

baseball team as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Later years

After graduating from Harvard in 1911, McKay moved to Seattle and then operated a sheep ranch in Montana. 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 ...

, he was commander of the 305th Infantry Machine Gun Company (nicknamed "Death") of New York's 77th Division. After the war, he worked as an investment banker before retiring in 1937. McKay was associated for a time with the North American Company. He also served in the military during

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 opposin ...

, reaching the rank of colonel. McKay was married twice. In August 1923, he was married at

Garrison, New York Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown, on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point. The Garrison Metro-North Railroad ...

, to Virginia Osborn Sanger, the daughter of

Henry Fairfield Osborn Henry Fairfield Osborn, Sr. (August 8, 1857 – November 6, 1935) was an American paleontologist, geologist and eugenics advocate. He was the president of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 years and a cofounder of the American Euge ...

, president of the American Museum of Natural History. His first wife died in 1955. In January 1957, McKay was married to Alexandra Emery Moore of

Muttontown, New York Muttontown is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,497 at the 2010 census. History During colonial times, the area was used to raise sheep for wool an ...

, in a ceremony at the bride's winter home near

Monticello, Florida Monticello ( ) is the only city in Jefferson County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,506 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson County. The city is named after Monticello, the estate of the county's namesake, Thomas ...

. McKay died at his home in

Syosset, New York Syosset (also known as Little East Woods or Locust Grove) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,259 at the 202 ...

in November 1958 at age 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Robert 1887 births 1958 deaths Baseball pitchers Harvard Crimson baseball players Harvard Crimson football players All-American college football players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers Harvard College alumni Phillips Academy alumni People from Frankfort, Maine People from Syosset, New York