Doug Bomeisler
Encyclopedia
Douglass M. "Bo" Bomeisler (June 20, 1892 – December 28, 1953) was an American football
player. He played for the Yale University
football team from 1910-1912 and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1911 and 1912. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1972.
where he played football.
where he played for the school's varsity football team in 1910, 1911 and 1912. Playing at the end position, Bomeisler developed a reputation as a fast and powerful player, "a hard and deadly tackler," and the strongest man on the Yale team.
In his first year of eligibility to play for Yale's varsity football team, Bomeisler was injured in the second game of the 1910 football season and missed the remainder of the season.
Early in the 1911 season, Bomeisler injured his shoulder in the Harvard game but continued to play with the injury. He injured his knee in Yale's 1911 game against Princeton. To allow him to continue to play, Bomeisler fabricated a knee brace from leather and steel. After playing through multiple injuries, Bomeisler was selected as a first-team All-American by Walter Camp
and Charles Chadwick
. He was also named to the "Football Honor List for 1911," as selected by coaches from the East and West for publication in "Outing
" magazine. In selecting Bomeisler as an All-American, Camp wrote that Bomeisler was "powerful, thickset, fast, a terror to his opponents."
In May 1912, Bomeisler was overlooked by Yale's three senior secret societies -- Skull and Bones
, Scroll and Key
and Wolf's Head
. The Washington Post noted that the omission of Bomeisler was one of the greatest surprises of "tap day," making it the first time in many years that the captain of Yale's football team did not make Skull and Bones.
In September 1912, Bomeisler returned to the Yale football team despite his injuries. A profile of the Yale team published early in the 1912 season noted that the Yale coaches were not working him very hard in the early part of the season to avoid aggravating his shoulder injury.
Because of his many injuries, he became known as the "King of the Hard Luck Players," as reflected in the photograph above. A syndicated newspaper report published in November 1912 noted:
In order to protect Bomeisler from further injuries, the Yale coaches kept him out of numerous games, nursing him along so that he would be at his best for Yale's most important matches against Princeton and Harvard. In November 1912, newspapers reported, "All Yale men were enthusiastic over the indicators that the 188 pound whirlwind Bomeisler would be at end." Though Yale lost to Harvard in 1912 by a score of 20-0, Bomeisler was a standout in the game. One newspaper reported:
In selecting Bomeisler as a first-team All-American in 1912, New York sports writer, Monty, wrote:
Despite the injuries, Bomeisler was selected as a first-team All-American for a second time after the 1912 season. He was selected for the honor by Walter Camp
for Collier's Weekly
, Robert Edgren, Monty, W.J. MacBeth, Tommy Clark, and Parke H. Davis
.
. Bomeisler also served as an assistant coach for the Yale in 1913. He was an assistant to the Hall of Fame coach Howard Jones
, who was Yale's first salaried resident football instructor.
In April 1914, he was seriously injured when he was struck by a trolley car at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Livingston Street in Brooklyn. While escorting a young woman friend, a trolley car jumped the tracks, and Bomeisler got into the path of the car to protect his companion. His foot was crushed against a pillar, and the injury was so serious that it was anticipated that he may be "slightly crippled for life."
. After initial training at Plattsburgh, New York
, Bomeisler was assigned to Camp Upton
at Yaphank
on Long Island
, where he also played on the camp's football team along with former Harvard football star Bob Storer. Bomeisler' photograph, practicing a bayonet charge, was published under the headline, "His Football Training Will Stand Him In Good Stead Now." The article noted: "If Bomeisler ever gets a chance for action he, no doubt, will account for a few of the enemy. He is one of the finest specimens of manhood at the officer training camp. ... Those who have seen him here say that he will make a splendid soldier."
of New York and a director of the Greenpoint
Savings Bank of Brooklyn.
Bomeisler died at age 61 in 1953 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut
.
, Bart Macomber
, Ray Eichenlaub
and Percy Wendell
.
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. He played for the Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
football team from 1910-1912 and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1911 and 1912. 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 1972.
Early years
Bomeisler was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from what is now called Poly Prep Country Day SchoolPoly Prep Country Day School
'Poly Prep Country Day School is headquartered in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Initially founded as part of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, Poly Prep now offers classes from the nursery grade to 12th grade, occupying buildings on two campuses...
where he played football.
Yale University
He enrolled at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he played for the school's varsity football team in 1910, 1911 and 1912. Playing at the end position, Bomeisler developed a reputation as a fast and powerful player, "a hard and deadly tackler," and the strongest man on the Yale team.
In his first year of eligibility to play for Yale's varsity football team, Bomeisler was injured in the second game of the 1910 football season and missed the remainder of the season.
Early in the 1911 season, Bomeisler injured his shoulder in the Harvard game but continued to play with the injury. He injured his knee in Yale's 1911 game against Princeton. To allow him to continue to play, Bomeisler fabricated a knee brace from leather and steel. After playing through multiple injuries, Bomeisler was selected as a first-team All-American 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...
and Charles Chadwick
Charles Chadwick (athlete)
Charles Chadwick was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.He was born in Brooklyn and died in Boston, Massachusetts....
. He was also named to the "Football Honor List for 1911," as selected by coaches from the East and West for publication in "Outing
Outing (magazine)
Outing was a late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American magazine covering a variety of sporting activities. It began publication in 1882 as the Wheelman and had four title changes before ceasing publication in 1923....
" magazine. In selecting Bomeisler as an All-American, Camp wrote that Bomeisler was "powerful, thickset, fast, a terror to his opponents."
In May 1912, Bomeisler was overlooked by Yale's three senior secret societies -- Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
, Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
and Wolf's Head
Wolf's Head (secret society)
Wolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Membership is recomposed annually of fifteen or sixteen Yale University students, typically juniors from the college...
. The Washington Post noted that the omission of Bomeisler was one of the greatest surprises of "tap day," making it the first time in many years that the captain of Yale's football team did not make Skull and Bones.
In September 1912, Bomeisler returned to the Yale football team despite his injuries. A profile of the Yale team published early in the 1912 season noted that the Yale coaches were not working him very hard in the early part of the season to avoid aggravating his shoulder injury.
Because of his many injuries, he became known as the "King of the Hard Luck Players," as reflected in the photograph above. A syndicated newspaper report published in November 1912 noted:
"The crown of hard luck king certainly belongs to Douglass Bomeisler, the star Yale end. Injuries kept him out of the majority of games last season, but he recovered in time to make the All American by spectacular work in the game against Harvard. This season he was still more unfortunate, being laid out in the Holy Cross game and not getting into shape until the Princeton game."
In order to protect Bomeisler from further injuries, the Yale coaches kept him out of numerous games, nursing him along so that he would be at his best for Yale's most important matches against Princeton and Harvard. In November 1912, newspapers reported, "All Yale men were enthusiastic over the indicators that the 188 pound whirlwind Bomeisler would be at end." Though Yale lost to Harvard in 1912 by a score of 20-0, Bomeisler was a standout in the game. One newspaper reported:
"What the score might have been had not Bomeisler and Ketcham shown such speedy work in nailing Harvard backs and breaking up the crimson offense, was a subject for speculation tonight. The entire Yale defense seemed to rest on these two players and when Bomeisler was taken out in the second period the crimson offense again became very aggressive."
In selecting Bomeisler as a first-team All-American in 1912, New York sports writer, Monty, wrote:
"Bomeisler, Yale's marvel, was the year's most conspicuous open field tackler, particularly in spilling catches of kicks. He was out of the fray most of the year with a badly injured shoulder, but his sensational work while he lasted in the Harvard game alone would entitle him to the position. Besides these things, both Bomeisler and Felton are stars at taking forward passes."
Despite the injuries, Bomeisler was selected as a first-team All-American for a second time after the 1912 season. He was selected for the honor 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...
for Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, Robert Edgren, Monty, W.J. MacBeth, Tommy Clark, and Parke H. Davis
Parke H. Davis
Parke Hill Davis was an American football player, coach and historian who retroactively named the national championship teams in American college football from the 1869 through the 1932 seasons. He also named co-national champions at the conclusion of the 1933 season...
.
Post-college years
After graduating from Yale, Bomeisler went to work for a mill in Lawrence, MassachusettsLawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
. Bomeisler also served as an assistant coach for the Yale in 1913. He was an assistant to the Hall of Fame coach Howard Jones
Howard Jones (football coach)
Howard Harding Jones was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Syracuse University , Yale University , Ohio State University , the University of Iowa , Duke University , and the University of Southern California , compiling a career record of...
, who was Yale's first salaried resident football instructor.
In April 1914, he was seriously injured when he was struck by a trolley car at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Livingston Street in Brooklyn. While escorting a young woman friend, a trolley car jumped the tracks, and Bomeisler got into the path of the car to protect his companion. His foot was crushed against a pillar, and the injury was so serious that it was anticipated that he may be "slightly crippled for life."
World War I
By 1917, Bomeisler had recovered sufficiently from his injury to enlist in the U.S. Army following the entry of the United States into 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...
. After initial training at Plattsburgh, New York
Plattsburgh (city), New York
Plattsburgh is a city in and county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 19,989 at the 2010 census. The population of the unincorporated areas within the Town of Plattsburgh was 11,870 as of the 2010 census; making the population for the immediate, urban Plattsburgh,...
, Bomeisler was assigned to Camp Upton
Camp Upton
Camp Upton was an installation of the United States Army located in Yaphank on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was located near Camp Mills.-History:...
at Yaphank
Yaphank, New York
Yaphank is a census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,025 at the 2000 census.Yaphank is a community in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he also played on the camp's football team along with former Harvard football star Bob Storer. Bomeisler' photograph, practicing a bayonet charge, was published under the headline, "His Football Training Will Stand Him In Good Stead Now." The article noted: "If Bomeisler ever gets a chance for action he, no doubt, will account for a few of the enemy. He is one of the finest specimens of manhood at the officer training camp. ... Those who have seen him here say that he will make a splendid soldier."
Later years
In later years, Bomeisler went into the banking profession and served as the vice president of the Empire Trust CompanyEmpire Trust Company
Empire Trust Company was a trust company established in 1902 by McVickar Realty Trust Company in New York, NY.-History:On March 1, 1904, the company was acquired by merger by the Empire State Trust Company, and changed its name to the Empire Trust Company....
of New York and a director of the Greenpoint
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at the Bushwick inlet, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, on the north by Newtown Creek and Long Island City, Queens at the...
Savings Bank of Brooklyn.
Bomeisler died at age 61 in 1953 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
.
College Football Hall of Fame
In 1972, Douglass M. Bomeisler was posthumously inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame as part of a class that included Everett StrupperEverett Strupper
George Everett "Stroop" Strupper was an All-American football player. He played halfback for Georgia Tech from 1915 to 1917. Strupper overcame deafness resulting from a childhood illness and was selected as an All-American in 1917...
, Bart Macomber
Bart Macomber
Franklin Bart Macomber was an American football player. He played halfback and quarterback for the University of Illinois from 1914 to 1916 and helped the school to its first national football championship and consecutive undefeated seasons in 1914 and 1915...
, Ray Eichenlaub
Ray Eichenlaub
Ray "Iron Eich" Eichenlaub was an American football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972....
and Percy Wendell
Percy Wendell
Percy Langdon "Bullet" Wendell was an American football player and coach of football and basketball in the United States.-Biography:...
.
See also
- 1911 College Football All-America Team1911 College Football All-America TeamThe 1911 College Football All-America team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-America Teams selected by various organizations in 1911...
- 1912 College Football All-America Team1912 College Football All-America TeamThe 1912 College Football All-America team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-America Teams selected by various organizations in 1912...