George Haydock Brooke (July 9, 1874 – November 16, 1938) 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 coach. He played college football as a fullback at Swarthmore College from 1889 to 1892 and at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

from 1893 to 1895. Brooke served as the head football coach at Stanford University (1897), Swarthmore (1900–1912), and Penn (1913–1915), compiling a career college football coaching record of 90–46–10. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1969.

Early life and family history

Brooke was born on July 9, 1874, in

Brookeville, Maryland Brookeville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located north of Washington, D.C., and north of Olney. Brookeville was settled by Quakers late in the 18th century and was formally incorporated as a town in 1808. Historic ...

, to Walter H. Brooke at Caroline Leggett Brooke. He was married to Marie Louise Gregg Robb. He and his wife had no children. Brooke attended Brookeville High School in Maryland before moving on to Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. At Swarthmore, he played

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 t ...

and football. He was the captain of the 1892 Swarthmore football team. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Swarthmore in 1893. He next enrolled at the

, where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy (Ph. B) degree in 1895 and an Bachelor of Law (LL. B) degree in 1898.

Playing career

Brooke played seven years of college football at Swarthmore College and then at the

. He was selected as an All-American in 1894 and 1895 while playing for the

. Penn was undefeated and won the national championship of football in the two seasons that Brooke was named an All-American. All-American selector,

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 ...

called Brooke a "very hard man to stop. He strikes the line with almost irresistible force." He was regarded as a ferocious fullback and a top notch punter. He is credited with coining the phrase "coffin corner" when describing his long punts deep into the opposing end of the field. Brooke was barred from playing for Pennsylvania after the 1895 season because of an agreement between Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania that limited players to four seasons. After finishing a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania, Brooke was the subject of an allegation of being an ineligible player in an October 24, 1896 game in New Orleans, LA. In the game, Brooke played only one down for

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

before

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

protested to the game's referee. Tulane claimed that Brooke planned on enrolling there as a graduate student. During the debate between team captains, Brooke refused to sign an affidavit stating his intention to enroll at Tulane, as he was already enrolled in law school at the University of Pennsylvania. The referee ruled him ineligible to play. The Tulane football team refused to continue playing the game without Brooke, so the referee ruled the game to be a forfeit in favor of LSU."Baton Rouge Wins Without Winning". The Daily Picayune. October 25, 1896. pg. 8.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Brooke was the head football coach at Stanford University in 1897, compiling a record of 4–1. In the spring of 1898 he took a break from coaching and joined the first Pennsylvania unit that was mustered into service for the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

. He served in Puerto Rico during the conflict. Brooke was discharged from the Army later in 1898 with the war ending. From 1900 to 1912 he coached Swarthmore College's football team, earning an overall record of 72–32–6. He coached three years at the

, where his record was 13–12–4. After leaving coaching, he became an insurance broker. He suffered from a heart condition, and spent his final years living on the West Coast. He died November 16, 1938, in Tucson, Arizona.

Other interests and legacy

Brooke was also an accomplished

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player, winning the national amateur squash championship in 1904, and the doubles championship in 1917. Brooke died in 1938. In 1969, he was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, George H. 1874 births 1938 deaths 19th-century players of American football 19th-century baseball players American football fullbacks American male squash players Penn Quakers football coaches Penn Quakers football players Stanford Cardinal football coaches Swarthmore Garnet Tide baseball players Swarthmore Garnet Tide football coaches Swarthmore Garnet Tide football players Tulane Green Wave football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War People from Brookeville, Maryland Coaches of American football from Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Baseball players from Maryland