Thomas Leo "Ted" St. Germaine (February 2, 1885 – October 4, 1947) 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, coach, and lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Villanova College—now known as

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

—for one season, in 1913, compiling a record of 4–2–1. Germaine played professionally in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) during the 1922 season. That season, he joined the NFL's

Oorang Indians The Oorang Indians () were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio (near Marion). The franchise was a novelty team put together by Walter Lingo to market his Oorang dog kennels. All of the Indians players were Native Am ...

, a team based in

LaRue, Ohio LaRue is a village in Marion County, Ohio, United States. The population was 747 at the 2010 census. The village is served by Elgin Local School District. LaRue has a public library, a branch of Marion Public Library. Geography LaRue is located ...

, which was composed solely of Native Americans, and coached by

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

. St. Germaine was qualified to play for the Indians since he was a Chippewa. Germaine attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, but found the atmosphere more friendly at

Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle ...

, located in Pennsylvania, where he played football and earned his bachelor's degree. He then furthered his education at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

and

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

where, in 1913, he acquired a law degree. He returned to Lac du Flambeau to represent the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa in treaty rights cases and subsequently argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He was recruited to play for the Oorang Indians, in 1922, at the age of 37, by Jim Thorpe. He is believed to have been the first attorney at law to play for an NFL team. After his football career ended, St. Germaine became a tribal judge and, in 1932, was the first Native-American admitted to the bar in Wisconsin. When United States President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

ended the Native-American assimilation policies, St. Germaine served as the spokesman for the Lac du Flambeau delegation at the

Hayward, Wisconsin Hayward is a city in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States, next to the Namekagon River. The population was 2,318 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sawyer County. The city is surrounded by the Town of Hayward. History Early h ...

, hearings. At these hearings, St. Germaine argued for Indian self-government and tribal control of natural resources as stipulated in the treaties of the 19th century. Some of these concepts were incorporated into the

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

. Germaine died of a heart attack in 1947.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Germaine, Ted 1885 births 1947 deaths 20th-century American lawyers American football centers American football guards American football tackles Carlisle Indians football players Oorang Indians players Villanova Wildcats football coaches Haskell Indian Junior College alumni Howard University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Yale Law School alumni Players of American football from Wisconsin Wisconsin lawyers People from Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin Ojibwe people Native American sportspeople