Frank Mount Pleasant
Encyclopedia
Franklin P. Mount Pleasant (1884 – April 12, 1937) was an American football
player, track and field
athlete, and college athletics coach in the United States. He played college football
at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
and at Dickinson College
and competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
. Mount Pleasant served as the head football coach at Franklin & Marshall College
(1910), Indiana Normal School, now Indiana University of Pennsylvania
, (1911–1913), West Virginia Wesleyan College
(1914), and the University at Buffalo
(1915).
from 1905 to 1909, where he competed as both a long jumper on the track team and as a quarterback
and halfback
on the football team. The 1907 Carlisle Indian team, coached by Glenn Scobey Warner
, went 10–1 with a 26–6 victory over perennial powerhouse, Harvard
. The team's only loss of the season came against Princeton
in a game in which Mount Pleasant did not play. Mount Pleasant's teammates included future Pro Football Hall of Fame
r, Jim Thorpe
, and future College Football Hall of Fame
inductee, Albert Exendine
. Despite being a second-team All-American, Mount Pleasant never played professional football. It is said that Mount Pleasant invented the spiral pass.
During college, Mount Pleasant tried out for the Olympics and became the first Carlisle student to qualify making both the 1904 and 1908 U.S. Olympic track teams. At the 1908 Olympics in London, Mount Pleasant finished sixth in both the triple jump
and the long jump competitions. This ended his track and field career, leaving him with career bests of 23 feet 2¼ inches (7.07 meters) for the long jump and 45 feet 10 inches (13.97 meters) for the triple jump.
. For three years thereafter, he coached football at the Indiana Normal School. His last two teams won state championships.
Mt. Pleasant was the head coach for the Franklin & Marshall
Diplomats football team located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
. He held that position for the 1910 season. His coaching record at Franklin & Marshall was 4 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #25 at Franklin & Marshall in total wins and #16 at the school in winning percentage . Mount Pleasant's coaching career was cut short by World War I
, where he served his country as a first lieutenant
.
, near his ancestral home and worked odd jobs throughout the remainder of his life. He enjoyed playing the piano. His death is a mystery. In 1937, policemen found him unconscious on a Buffalo sidewalk. He died three days later at Emergency Hospital. The medical examiner's report indicated that Mount Pleasant sustained a fractured skull, "possibly by violence."
Several Hall of Fames have inducted Mount Pleasant, including the Indiana Normal School, Dickinson College, and the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame (1973). Chapman University
in Southern California named a library after Mount Pleasant.
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, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete, and college athletics coach in the United States. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
and at Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
and competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
. Mount Pleasant served as the head football coach at Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential national liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States....
(1910), Indiana Normal School, now Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
, (1911–1913), West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Wesleyan College is a regionally accredited private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Buckhannon, West Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of...
(1914), and the University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
(1915).
Early life and athletic career
Separated from his parents, Chief John (aka Frank Senior) and Rachael, Mount Pleasant was sent to attend Indian Boarding Schools at a young age. He eventually attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial SchoolCarlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
from 1905 to 1909, where he competed as both a long jumper on the track team and as a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
on the football team. The 1907 Carlisle Indian team, coached by Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
, went 10–1 with a 26–6 victory over perennial powerhouse, Harvard
Harvard Crimson football
The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873...
. The team's only loss of the season came against Princeton
Princeton Tigers football
The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
in a game in which Mount Pleasant did not play. Mount Pleasant's teammates included future Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
r, Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
, and future 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...
inductee, Albert Exendine
Albert Exendine
Albert Andrew "Al" Exendine was an American football player, coach, and lawyer. He played college football at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School where he was an All-American end...
. Despite being a second-team All-American, Mount Pleasant never played professional football. It is said that Mount Pleasant invented the spiral pass.
During college, Mount Pleasant tried out for the Olympics and became the first Carlisle student to qualify making both the 1904 and 1908 U.S. Olympic track teams. At the 1908 Olympics in London, Mount Pleasant finished sixth in both the triple jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
and the long jump competitions. This ended his track and field career, leaving him with career bests of 23 feet 2¼ inches (7.07 meters) for the long jump and 45 feet 10 inches (13.97 meters) for the triple jump.
Coaching career
Upon his return home, Mount Pleasant became the first Native American to graduate from Dickinson CollegeDickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
. For three years thereafter, he coached football at the Indiana Normal School. His last two teams won state championships.
Mt. Pleasant was the head coach for the Franklin & Marshall
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential national liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States....
Diplomats football team located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
. He held that position for the 1910 season. His coaching record at Franklin & Marshall was 4 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #25 at Franklin & Marshall in total wins and #16 at the school in winning percentage . Mount Pleasant's coaching career was cut short by 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 served his country as a first lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
.
Later life, death, and honors
After the war, Mount Pleasant settled in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, near his ancestral home and worked odd jobs throughout the remainder of his life. He enjoyed playing the piano. His death is a mystery. In 1937, policemen found him unconscious on a Buffalo sidewalk. He died three days later at Emergency Hospital. The medical examiner's report indicated that Mount Pleasant sustained a fractured skull, "possibly by violence."
Several Hall of Fames have inducted Mount Pleasant, including the Indiana Normal School, Dickinson College, and the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame (1973). Chapman University
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private, non-profit university located in Orange, California affiliated with the Christian Church . Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media...
in Southern California named a library after Mount Pleasant.