Alexander Mathias "Babe" Weyand (January 10, 1892 – May 10, 1982) was an American football

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...

 player, Olympian

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

, Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 and sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

s historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

. 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 1974.

Early years

Weyand played high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 at Jersey City High School, where he did not earn a letter

Varsity letter

A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...

 in any sport.

College career

At the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1911–1915, he starred at tackle and was the captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

 of the 1915 team.

Nicknamed during his "yearling" (sophomore) year at West Point "Babe" by his teammate Dwight David Eisenhower, he was described in The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation (Jenkins, S., Random House 2007) as a "tireless, one-man wrecking crew."

In 1913, Army lost one game—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...

 and its legends Knute Rockne

Knute Rockne

Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...

 and Gus Dorais

Gus Dorais

Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913, and then professionally with the Fort Wayne Friars and Massillon Tigers...

.

It was undefeated in 1914 with a 20-7 win over the Irish.

And it beat Navy

Navy Midshipmen football

The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...

 in 1913, 1914 and 1915, the same years Weyand was selected to the College Football All-America Team

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...

.

Military career

After graduating from West Point, Weyand served with distinction in World War I

World 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...

, where he earned a Silver Star

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

 (gallantry), Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

 (wounded in action) and battlefield promotion

Battlefield promotion

A battlefield promotion is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a 'jump-step' promotion is advancement from current rank to a rank above the next highest.-United States:A...

 to major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

 and battalion commander

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

.

After World War I, he placed fourth in the heavyweight

Wrestling weight classes

-For men's freestyle and Greco-Roman:Currently, men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling is divided into four main age categories internationally: schoolboys, cadets, juniors, and seniors....

 Greco-Roman

Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...

 class in wrestling at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Wrestling at the 1920 Summer Olympics

At the 1920 Summer Olympics, ten wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were five weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and five classes in freestyle wrestling...

.

Due to severe hearing loss caused by frontline duty in World War I, Weyand could not serve in combat in World War II. He retired from active duty in 1946 at the rank of Colonel.

Sports historian

In retirement, Col. Weyand wrote a series of acclaimed sports histories, including the seminal Saga of American Football (New York: MacMillan, 1955), foreword by Grantland Rice

Grantland Rice

Grantland Rice 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.-Biography:...

. Sports historian John Sayle Watterson in his book College Football: History, Spectacle, Controversy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000) describes the book as follows "[s]uccinct and fast-paced, Weyand's history masterfully depicts the game's origins, its early stars and teams, the geographic expansion of football, and the changes in its rules."

In 1965, Weyand and former Delaware lacrosse coach Milton Roberts wrote The Lacrosse Story, the first full-length history of the sport of lacrosse

Field lacrosse

Field lacrosse, sometimes referred to as the "fastest sport on two feet," is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867....

 based on nine years of research.

Weyand died in 1982 and is interred next to his wife, Marie, at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

.