Samuel M. Felton 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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He was an All-American

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: **End (category theory) **End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron football) ...

for

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1912. After graduating from Harvard, Felton declined a record offer to play

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

Biography

Felton attended Harvard University where he played

at the end position in 1911 and 1912. He also handled punting and kicking duties for Harvard's football team. As a junior in 1911, Felton was one of the leaders of a football team that opened the season 5–0 while outscoring opponents 72–6. However, Felton was seriously injured in the first period of the fifth game of the season—a win over

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. Felton was kicked in the side. ''The New York Times'' reported that, because Felton was not wearing any protective pads over his hips, the kick broke several blood vessels and formed a clot. Following the injury to Felton, the previously-undefeated Harvard team went 1–2–1 in its final four games. Felton returned to the Harvard football team as a senior and helped lead the 1912 team to a perfect 9–0 record. Felton was regarded as the best punter in the country during the 1912 season, with punts averaging from 60 to 70 yards. Four decades later, sports writer

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

included Felton on his list of the finest college kickers he had ever seen. Felton and Charley Brickley were "credited with having won the intercollegiate championship for the arvardCrimson" in 1912. At the end of the 1912 season, Felton was selected as a first-team All-American in 1912 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 ...

), Robert Edgren, W.J. MacBeth, Alfred S. Harvey of the ''Milwaukee Free Press'',

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 ...

, and the ''Trenton Evening Times''. Sam Felton

Felton was also a star pitcher for the Harvard baseball team for three years from 1911–1913. In May 1913, Felton pitched a one-hit shutout against

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

. ''The New York Times'' reported on the game as follows: "Harvard shut out Amherst, 5 to 0, this afternoon because of the masterful pitching of Sam Felton, the former football end rush and punter. Felton held the visitors to one single, this being made in the first inning by Kimball, Amherst's first batter to face Felton. Kimball's hit was a scratch, being nearly smothered by Capt. Wingate ..." Felton's pitching also helped lead Harvard to win the series against Yale in 1913, and the team presented Felton. Upon his graduation from Harvard in 1913,

offered Felton a three-year contract to pitch for the

for $15,000 per year. The offer was a record for a collegiate player and was turned down by Felton. Felton declined the offer to return to his home in

Haverford, Pennsylvania Haverford is an unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, approximately west of Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) open ...

and pursue a career in business. ''The Washington Post'' reported on the offer as follows:

"Manager Mack, of the Athletics, usually regarded as one of the most conservative bidders for ball players, recently made a record offer for a college player, and, after striving as he has never before done, failed to gain the coveted contract. This much sought collegian, whom Mack thinks would have made one of the greatest pitchers In the history of the game, is Samuel Felton, football and baseball star at Harvard for three years. Within the past month Mack offered Felton a flat contract of $15,000 for three years, agreeing to permit him to make his own terms and giving him the option of an unconditional release should he tire of professional ball, but the persuasion of the Athletics' manager failed. Felton, who lives at Haverford, Pa., comes of a wealthy family, and does not have to play ball for a living, besides being actively engaged in business here."

In October 1914, the Harvard baseball team presented Felton with a silver loving cup for his contributions to Harvard's success. On the day before his wedding in October 1913, ''The New York Times'' reported that Harvard's undergraduates "jammed the Union" to give Felton "a rousing send-off." In 1921, he was selected to serve on the Harvard baseball team's advisory staff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Sam Year of birth missing Year of death missing Harvard Crimson football players All-American college football players American football ends American football punters