Henry Cummings "Tillie" Lamar (October 4, 1865 – March 10, 1891) was a college football player.

Early years

Lamar was born on October 4, 1865, in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

, to Gazaway DeRosset Lamar and Maria Cumming.

Princeton

1885

The season was notable for one of the most celebrated football plays of the 19th century - a 90-yard punt return by Lamar of

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

in the closing minutes of the game against

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. Trailing 5-0, Princeton dropped two men back to receive a Yale punt. The punt glanced off one returner's shoulder and was caught by the other, Lamar, on the dead run. Lamar streaked down the left sideline, until hemmed in by two Princeton players, then cut sharply to the middle of the field, ducking under their arms and breaking loose for the touchdown. After the controversy of a darkness-shortened Yale-Princeton championship game the year before that was ruled "no contest," a record crowd turned out for the 1885 game. For the first time, the game was played on one of the campuses instead of at a neutral site, and emerged as a major social event, attracting ladies to its audience as well as students and male spectators. The Lamar punt return furnished the most spectacular ending to any football game played to that point, and did much to popularize the sport of college football to the general public. The play is referred to as the "Lamar run" and it is considered one of the most notable plays of that century; The game is also often referred to as the "Lamar game". His run against Yale in 1885 gave Princeton its only victory over Yale in a decade (1879 - 1888).

Death

Lamar, the grandson of Henry Cumming who conceived of and promoted the construction of the Augusta Canal, died by drowning at the opening of the canal connecting

Lake Olmstead A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

with the Savannah River, near

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamar, Tillie 1865 births 1891 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football halfbacks Princeton Tigers football players Players of American football from Augusta, Georgia Deaths by drowning in the United States