Albert Benbrook
Encyclopedia
Albert "Benny" Benbrook (August 24, 1887 – August 16, 1943) was an American football
guard
who played for the University of Michigan
Wolverines
from 1908-1910. He was chosen by Walter Camp
as an All-American
in 1909 and 1910 and was the team’s captain in 1910. He is considered one of the best college football linemen in the early years of the sport, and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1971.
before enrolling at Michigan.
.
(33-6), Syracuse (43-0), Penn
(12-6), and Minnesota
(15-6). The team’s only loss was an 11-3 defeat against Notre Dame
on November 6, 1909. No other team scored more than six points against the Wolverines that year, and they outscored their opponents 115 to 34.
In 1909, Benbrook drew attention when he announced that he wanted to challenge heavyweight
champion Jack Johnson
to a boxing
match.
He was the first Midwestern lineman to be named to Walter Camp
’s All-American in both 1909 and 1910. In 1909 he was the unanimous choice of thirteen eastern critics who met to select the All-American team by a majority vote.
Ultimately, the 1910 season was an unsatisfying one. The team finished, 3-0-3. In one of the lowest scoring seasons in school history, the team scored only 29 points and allowed only nine points. They played to a scoreless tie against Penn
, and played to 3-3 ties against both Ohio State
and Case
.
The final game of the 1910 season was the Little Brown Jug
game against Minnesota
. Fielding H. Yost rated the 1910 Minnesota game as one of “the greatest game he ever saw.” According to accounts of the game, Benbrook and Stanfield Wells
were “at their very peak that day,” as Michigan won, 6-0. There was no score late in the game, when a forward pass took Michigan to the Minnesota three-yard line. After Michigan ran twice without success, Benbrook called for a run to his side. Pushing Minnesota tacklers aside he opened a hole that led to a touchdown and the only scoring of the game.
After choosing Benbrook to his All-American teams in 1909 and 1910, Walter Camp
said of Benbrook: “He leads his mates across the line with his quick, ripping charge that simply smothers the opposition. A tremendous player.”
Walter Eckersall
described Benbrook as the greatest guard in history. And in 1951, legendary Illinois
coach Robert Zuppke
chose Benbrook as a guard for his first-team All-Time All-American team. Another writer concluded: “There have been many great linesmen, but his record and the verdict of many experts seems to put Benbrook in advance of them all.”
In 1971, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
.
Benbrook’s biography at the College Football Hall of Fame notes: “A testament to the ability of Albert Benbrook was that he was the first western linemen to become a two-time All-American. Weighing over 200 pounds he was considered huge for his time. What made Benbrook such a dominating force was his exceptional quickness.”
In 2005, he was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 22nd on the all-time team.
, his participation received considerable publicity. In November 1917, eight All-American football players, including Benbrook and Michigan’s James B. Craig
and Ernest Allmendinger
, were made officers in a ceremony in Chicago. In March 1918, Benbrook’s photograph was published in newspapers around the country with the following caption: “Al Benbrook, the old Michigan football star and regarded by many as the greatest guard ever developed in America is soon to buck the Hun’s line in the greatest game of all. Benbrook is now a lieutenant stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor
.” An article published the following month featured the same theme: “The foremost football guard ever developed is soon to go over to buck the Hun line in the greatest game of all.”
Though he lived in Chicago, Benbrook died in Dallas, Texas
while on a business trip. He was 55 years old when he died. He was survived by his widow, Dena Piehl Benbrook and a 21-year-old son, James Benbrook, who was a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Georgia at the time of his father’s death.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
who played for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
from 1908-1910. He was chosen by Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
as an All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
in 1909 and 1910 and was the team’s captain in 1910. He is considered one of the best college football linemen in the early years of the sport, and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1971.
Early years
Benbrook was a native of Chicago. He was a “weight man” and football player at Chicago’s prestigious Morgan Park AcademyMorgan Park Academy
Morgan Park Academy is a coeducational, college preparatory, independent Pre-Kindergarten-12th grade day school located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1863, Morgan Park Academy was formerly known as Mt...
before enrolling at Michigan.
All-American football player at Michigan
Benbrook played on the “scrubs” team as a freshman in 1907, before making the varsity squad in 1908. As a sophomore in 1908, he was the second heaviest man on the team behind the team’s captain Germany SchulzGermany Schulz
Adolph George "Germany" Schulz was an All-American American football center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1904 to 1905 and from 1907 to 1908. While playing at Michigan, Schulz is credited with having invented the spiral snap and with developing the practice of standing behind the...
.
1909 season
In 1909, Benbrook started all seven of the Wolverines’ games at left guard and was the team’s only All-American. He helped lead the team to a 6-1 record, including wins over Ohio StateOhio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
(33-6), Syracuse (43-0), Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
(12-6), and Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
(15-6). The team’s only loss was an 11-3 defeat against Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
on November 6, 1909. No other team scored more than six points against the Wolverines that year, and they outscored their opponents 115 to 34.
In 1909, Benbrook drew attention when he announced that he wanted to challenge heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
champion Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
to a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
match.
He was the first Midwestern lineman to be named to Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
’s All-American in both 1909 and 1910. In 1909 he was the unanimous choice of thirteen eastern critics who met to select the All-American team by a majority vote.
1910 season
In January 1910, Benbrook was elected captain of the Michigan team. He initially lost a close election to end, J. Joy Miller, but Miller was barred from the team. Miller was removed by the faculty when it was learned he had failed to enroll in classes in the fall of 1909.Ultimately, the 1910 season was an unsatisfying one. The team finished, 3-0-3. In one of the lowest scoring seasons in school history, the team scored only 29 points and allowed only nine points. They played to a scoreless tie against Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and played to 3-3 ties against both Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
and Case
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
.
The final game of the 1910 season was the Little Brown Jug
Little Brown Jug (football)
The Little Brown Jug is an earthenware jug that serves as a trophy awarded to the winner of the American college football rivalry game played annually by the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the university of Minnesota and the Michigan Wolverines football team of the University of Michigan...
game against Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
. Fielding H. Yost rated the 1910 Minnesota game as one of “the greatest game he ever saw.” According to accounts of the game, Benbrook and Stanfield Wells
Stanfield Wells
Stanfield Wells was an All-American football player for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1909-1911. He was the first in a long line of All-Americans to come out of Massillon Washington High School, and was one of the pioneers of the forward pass...
were “at their very peak that day,” as Michigan won, 6-0. There was no score late in the game, when a forward pass took Michigan to the Minnesota three-yard line. After Michigan ran twice without success, Benbrook called for a run to his side. Pushing Minnesota tacklers aside he opened a hole that led to a touchdown and the only scoring of the game.
Honors and accolades
The University of Michigan Athletics History web site describes Benbrook’s contributions this way: “Football critics regard Benbrook as the first of the great running guards. Despite his giant 240 pound frame, Benbrook moved with cat-like quickness and was faster than most backs.”After choosing Benbrook to his All-American teams in 1909 and 1910, Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
said of Benbrook: “He leads his mates across the line with his quick, ripping charge that simply smothers the opposition. A tremendous player.”
Walter Eckersall
Walter Eckersall
Walter "Eckie" Eckersall was an American football player, official, and sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.-Early life:...
described Benbrook as the greatest guard in history. And in 1951, legendary Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
coach Robert Zuppke
Robert Zuppke
Robert Carl Zuppke was an American football coach. He served the head coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1913 until 1941, compiling a career college football record of 131–81–12. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, Zuppke coached his...
chose Benbrook as a guard for his first-team All-Time All-American team. Another writer concluded: “There have been many great linesmen, but his record and the verdict of many experts seems to put Benbrook in advance of them all.”
In 1971, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
Benbrook’s biography at the College Football Hall of Fame notes: “A testament to the ability of Albert Benbrook was that he was the first western linemen to become a two-time All-American. Weighing over 200 pounds he was considered huge for his time. What made Benbrook such a dominating force was his exceptional quickness.”
In 2005, he was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 22nd on the all-time team.
Service in World War I
When Benbrook enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, his participation received considerable publicity. In November 1917, eight All-American football players, including Benbrook and Michigan’s James B. Craig
James B. Craig
James B. "Jimmy" Craig was an All American football halfback and quarterback who played with the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1911 to 1913. He was named an All-American in 1913...
and Ernest Allmendinger
Ernest Allmendinger
Ernest "Aqua" Allmendinger was an All-American college football player.-Early years:A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Allmendinger played right guard and right tackle at Ann Arbor High School, for teams that lost one game in three seasons...
, were made officers in a ceremony in Chicago. In March 1918, Benbrook’s photograph was published in newspapers around the country with the following caption: “Al Benbrook, the old Michigan football star and regarded by many as the greatest guard ever developed in America is soon to buck the Hun’s line in the greatest game of all. Benbrook is now a lieutenant stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor
Camp Zachary Taylor
Camp Zachary Taylor was a military training camp in Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1917, to train soldiers for U.S. involvement in World War I, and was closed three years later. Its name live on as the Camp Taylor neighborhood of Louisville...
.” An article published the following month featured the same theme: “The foremost football guard ever developed is soon to go over to buck the Hun line in the greatest game of all.”
Later years
He was employed by American Seating Company as a salesman from 1931 until his death in 1943.Though he lived in Chicago, Benbrook died in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
while on a business trip. He was 55 years old when he died. He was survived by his widow, Dena Piehl Benbrook and a 21-year-old son, James Benbrook, who was a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Georgia at the time of his father’s death.
See also
- List of Michigan Wolverines football All-Americans
- 1910 College Football All-America Team1910 College Football All-America TeamThe 1910 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Collier's Weekly selected by Walter Camp, Leslie's Weekly, and the New York Evening Telegram.-Complaints of Eastern...