Burleigh Cruikshank
Encyclopedia
Burleigh Cruikshank was an American football
player and Presbyterian minister. In 1914, he was a first-team All-American playing at the center
position for Washington & Jefferson College
. He later attended the Princeton Theological Seminary
and served as a Presbyterian minister in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, Steubenville, Ohio
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
, a private boarding school in rural Warren County, New Jersey
.
located near Pittsburgh
. He excelled as an athlete on the school's football and baseball teams. Cruikshank played at the center
position for the Washington & Jefferson football team
in 1913 and 1914.
During the time that Cruikshank attended Washington & Jefferson, the football team was among the elite programs in the United States. In 1913, the team posted a 10-0-1 record and were the highest scoring team in the nation. The 1913 team played Yale
to a scoreless tie, defeated Grove City College
by a score of 100-0, and broke the Penn State Nittany Lions'
19 game winning streak with a 17-0 victory. Sportswriter Walter S. Trumbull
of the The New York Sun suggested that the Michigan Aggies
, Washington & Jefferson, Chicago University
, and Notre Dame
were the new "Big 4 of College Football" instead of the traditional grouping of Princeton
, Yale
, Harvard
, and Penn
.
Following the 1913 season, Cruishank was selected to be the captain of the 1914 football team. The 1914 team lost at Harvard in front of 15,000 fans by a score of 10-9. If not for an errant kick that hit the crossbar, W&J would have won the Harvard game and at least a share of the mythical national championship
. The 1914 team went on to defeat Yale by a score of 13-7, becoming only the 7th team to ever defeat Yale's football team. The game received national press coverage, and the team received a personal note of congratulations from Theodore Roosevelt
.
At the end of the 1914 season, Cruikshank was selected as a first-team All-American by the New York Herald
, the Newark Sunday Call, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, the Washington Herald
, the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph
, and Philadelphia's Public Ledger
. During his time at Washington & Jefferson, Curikshank also excelled as a student. At the time of his graduation from the college in 1915, a newspaper story noted that he was among the top students in his class:
. While attending Princeton he also worked as an assistant football coach at Princeton University
. In December 1915, he was rumored to be the successor to Bob Folwell
as the head football coach at Washington & Jefferson. A newspaper account at the time noted:
. In 1920, he was hired as the assistant pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, one of the largest churches in that city. Cruikshank was given charge of promoting athletic activities for the young men and boys of the congregation.
In 1921, Cruikshank was hired as the pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Steubenville, Ohio
, approximately 40 miles west of Pittsburgh. He remained in Steubenville through at least 1926. While working as a minister, Cruikshank continued his interest in football and used it as a theme in his speeches and sermons. At a 1923 banquet honoring Steubenville's undefeated 1922 football team, Cruikshank spoke of the importance athletics:
Cruikshank returned to Washington & Jefferson in 1928 as the commencement speaker. Cruikshank was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Washington & Jefferson College
in 1926.
From at least 1928 to 1946, Cruikshank served as the pastor at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, the largest Presbyterian church in Philadelphia and one of the largest in the United States. In the late 1940s, he was the minister at the First Presbyterian Church in the Chestnut Hill
neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia
.
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 and Presbyterian minister. In 1914, he was a first-team All-American playing at the center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
position for Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
. He later attended the Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
and served as a Presbyterian minister in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
Early years
Cruikshank was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1890 and attended the Blair AcademyBlair Academy
Blair Academy is a private, coeducational, secondary boarding high school with an enrollment of about 448 students for grades nine through twelve. The school has 78 faculty members...
, a private boarding school in rural Warren County, New Jersey
Warren County, New Jersey
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 108,692. Its county seat is Belvidere...
.
Washington & Jefferson College
Cruikshank enrolled at Washington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
located near Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Metro Area
The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is renowned for its industries including steel, glass and oil; moreover, its economy also thrives on healthcare, education, technology, robotics, financial services and more recently film...
. He excelled as an athlete on the school's football and baseball teams. Cruikshank played at the center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
position for the Washington & Jefferson football team
Washington & Jefferson Presidents football
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference...
in 1913 and 1914.
During the time that Cruikshank attended Washington & Jefferson, the football team was among the elite programs in the United States. In 1913, the team posted a 10-0-1 record and were the highest scoring team in the nation. The 1913 team played Yale
Yale Bulldogs
The Yale Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the Yale University. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in men's swimming and diving, and twenty one in men's golf.-Men's baseball:...
to a scoreless tie, defeated Grove City College
Grove City College
Grove City College is a Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, about north of Pittsburgh. According to the College Bulletin, its stated three-fold mission is to provide an excellent education at an affordable price in a thoroughly Christian environment...
by a score of 100-0, and broke the Penn State Nittany Lions'
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
19 game winning streak with a 17-0 victory. Sportswriter Walter S. Trumbull
Walter S. Trumbull
Walter S. Trumbull was an American sportswriter in the 20th century.He resided in Newtown, Connecticut. He attended Trinity College, where he excelled as a member of the football team, playing nearly every position at one time or another....
of the The New York Sun suggested that the Michigan Aggies
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
, Washington & Jefferson, Chicago University
Chicago Maroons football
The Chicago Maroons are the college football team representing the University of Chicago. The Maroons play in NCAA Division III as a member of the University Athletic Association. From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power...
, and 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...
were the new "Big 4 of College Football" instead of the traditional grouping of Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Yale
Yale Bulldogs football
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872...
, Harvard
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
, and Penn
Penn Quakers
The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 27 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing.-Men's crew:-Football:...
.
Following the 1913 season, Cruishank was selected to be the captain of the 1914 football team. The 1914 team lost at Harvard in front of 15,000 fans by a score of 10-9. If not for an errant kick that hit the crossbar, W&J would have won the Harvard game and at least a share of the mythical national championship
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
. The 1914 team went on to defeat Yale by a score of 13-7, becoming only the 7th team to ever defeat Yale's football team. The game received national press coverage, and the team received a personal note of congratulations from Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
.
At the end of the 1914 season, Cruikshank was selected as a first-team All-American by the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
, the Newark Sunday Call, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, the Washington Herald
Washington Herald
The Washington Herald was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. The Herald merged with the Washington Times on February 1, 1939, to become the Washington Times-Herald, which was purchased and merged with The Washington Post in 1954....
, the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph
Philadelphia Evening Telegraph
The Philadelphia Evening Telegraph was a newspaper from Philadelphia that ran from 1864 to 1918.-History:The paper was started on January 4, 1864 by Charles Edward Warburton and James Barclay Harding. It passed to Barclay Harding Warburton I. In 1911 Warburton sold the paper to Rodman Wanamaker...
, and Philadelphia's Public Ledger
Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
The Public Ledger was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania published from March 25, 1836 to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation declined in the mid-1930s.-Early history:Founded by William...
. During his time at Washington & Jefferson, Curikshank also excelled as a student. At the time of his graduation from the college in 1915, a newspaper story noted that he was among the top students in his class:
"Captain Burleigh Cruikshank, of W. & J.'s great football team of 1914 and who has been called the greatest center in years, has managed in spite of his athletic activity to complete the four-year course in three years and finished among the honor men of his class. He also won varsity insignia in baseball. He lives at West Somerville, Mass."
Theology student and football coach
After graduating from Washington & Jefferson, Cruikshank enrolled at the Princeton Theological SeminaryPrinceton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
. While attending Princeton he also worked as an assistant football coach at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. In December 1915, he was rumored to be the successor to Bob Folwell
Bob Folwell
Robert Cook "Bob" Folwell, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College , Washington & Jefferson College , the University of Pennsylvania , and the United States Naval Academy , compiling a career college football record of...
as the head football coach at Washington & Jefferson. A newspaper account at the time noted:
"Cruikshank, as a coach, ought to be a real success. He knows football and, best of all, he knows how to handle men. He was one of the most popular students that ever attended W. & J. and his great work on the gridiron won him the honor of All-American center on many of the mythical elevens of 1914. Cruikshank, who is taking a theological course at Princeton now, was assistant to Folwell during the 1915 football season, and he showed wonderful ability as a football tutor."
Presbyterian minister
After graduating from the Princeton Seminary, Cruikshank began his ministry as the pastor of a small church in Chatham, New JerseyChatham, New Jersey
Chatham refers to two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities, the first a municipality that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey...
. In 1920, he was hired as the assistant pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, one of the largest churches in that city. Cruikshank was given charge of promoting athletic activities for the young men and boys of the congregation.
In 1921, Cruikshank was hired as the pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, approximately 40 miles west of Pittsburgh. He remained in Steubenville through at least 1926. While working as a minister, Cruikshank continued his interest in football and used it as a theme in his speeches and sermons. At a 1923 banquet honoring Steubenville's undefeated 1922 football team, Cruikshank spoke of the importance athletics:
"I am for athletics in the school. They create a school consciousness, call it spirit if you will. When you leave school after playing on its football team you have something that will always hold your school career near and dear to you. ... Athletics embue the fellow who plays and the fans as well in a spirit that never says die. ... That's the thing that counts in life, the never give up spirit. To my mind if we can take this spirit out of high school with us it means more to us than our Latin or Greek. In my work especially I find that every walk of life needs the fellow who can take the kick and still come up with a smile but a determination."
Cruikshank returned to Washington & Jefferson in 1928 as the commencement speaker. Cruikshank was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
in 1926.
From at least 1928 to 1946, Cruikshank served as the pastor at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, the largest Presbyterian church in Philadelphia and one of the largest in the United States. In the late 1940s, he was the minister at the First Presbyterian Church in the Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows:...
neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia
Northwest Philadelphia
Northwest Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The official boundary is Stenton Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill river to the south, Spring Ln to the west, and Wister Street to the east. The area is divided by Wissahickon Creek into two subsections...
.