Harold Pogue
Encyclopedia
Harold Pogue was an American football
player and businessman. He played quarterback
and halfback
for Robert Zuppke
's University of Illinois football teams and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1914. He later served as a member of the University of Illinois' Board of Trustees for 17 years.
, and enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1912. As a freshman, Pogue was slightly built, weighed 142 pounds, and wore thick glasses. He tried out for the freshman football team as a quarterback, but he was cut from the team because he was too small.
In the spring of 1913, Illinois' head football coach Robert Zuppke
saw Pogue compete at a track meet and invited him to football practice in the fall. He was Zuppke's starting quarterback
in 1913. In the second week of the 1913 season, Pogue scored three touchdowns against the University of Missouri
, leading a Chicago newspaper to write, "Pogue's performance stamps him as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Illinois history." In his fifth game for the Illini, Pogue returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown against the University of Chicago
at Stagg Field
, but he suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
In 1914, Pogue played at halfback
and quarterback
and helped lead Illinois to an undefeated season and Western Conference
championship. He scored three touchdowns in Illinois' 37-0 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes
. In the 1914 game against Minnesota, scored two touchdowns and a 35-yard end run and a 75-yard interception return. In the final game of the 1914 season, Pogue returned two punts for touchdowns, including a 65-yard return. In all, Pogue scored eleven touchdowns in six games during the 1914 season. Chicago Tribune sports writer, and former All-American, Walter Eckersall
, wrote that Pogue was "without doubt one of the most elusive runners since the days of Walter Steffen
. He is fast and shifty, and can hit the line or run the ends with equal success. When used to receive forward passes Pogue probably is the most valuable man on his team."
At the end of the 1914 season, Pogue was selected as a first-team All-American halfback by the Pittsburgh-Gazette-Times and Michigan Daily, a second-team All-American by Walter Eckersall
, and a third-team All-American by Walter Camp
for Collier's Weekly
and Frank G. Menke
for the International News Service. Pogue and teammates Perry Graves
and Ralph Chapman
became the first University of Illinois football players to be selected as first-team All-Americans in 1914.
In 1915, Pogue suffered an ankle injury that resulted in his missing three games and did not score in two games after returning from his injury. Pogue graduated from the University of Illinois College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1916.
After his retirement, Coach Zuppke placed Pogue in the backfield with Red Grange
as part of his all-time University of Illinois football team. Walter Eckersall picked Pogue as the greatest Illini football player in the era before Red Grange.
, Pogue served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant. After the war, he went into the lumber business in Decatur, Illinois
. He was the president of the Hunter Pogue Lumber Company from 1925 to 1959. He also served as president of the Pogue Development Company until his death in 1969.
Pogue remained active in the affairs of the University of Illinois, serving as a member of the university's Board of Trustees from 1935-1941 and 1959-1969, president of the Board of Trustees in 1940, and president of the University of Illinois Alumni Association in 1952. He also served on the Decatur City Council from 1959 to 1963, as president of the Decatur City Council from 1953 to 1953, and as a director of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce from 1957 to 1961. He was also considered as a Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 1956.
In 1965, Pogue married Ramona Borders. Borders had known Pogue since she was seven years old and worked in the computer science field at the University of Illinois. She later said of Pogue, "He was a wonderful person. He loved horses and animals, and he loved sailing and helping people. We took mission construction groups to Haiti and Columbia and Honduras."
Pogue died in 1969 at his home in Decatur. His body was donated, at his request, to the University of Illinois Medical College.
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 businessman. He played 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...
for 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...
's University of Illinois football teams and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1914. He later served as a member of the University of Illinois' Board of Trustees for 17 years.
University of Illinois
Pogue was born in Sullivan, IllinoisSullivan, Illinois
Sullivan is a city in Moultrie County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,326 at the 2000 census, and 4,396 in 2009. It is the county seat of Moultrie County...
, and enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1912. As a freshman, Pogue was slightly built, weighed 142 pounds, and wore thick glasses. He tried out for the freshman football team as a quarterback, but he was cut from the team because he was too small.
In the spring of 1913, Illinois' head football 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...
saw Pogue compete at a track meet and invited him to football practice in the fall. He was Zuppke's starting 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...
in 1913. In the second week of the 1913 season, Pogue scored three touchdowns against the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, leading a Chicago newspaper to write, "Pogue's performance stamps him as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Illinois history." In his fifth game for the Illini, Pogue returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown against the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
at Stagg Field
Stagg Field
Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two different football fields for the University of Chicago. The earliest Stagg Field is probably best remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement by Enrico Fermi during the Manhattan Project. The site of the first nuclear reaction received...
, but he suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
In 1914, Pogue played at 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...
and 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 helped lead Illinois to an undefeated season and Western Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship. He scored three touchdowns in Illinois' 37-0 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
. In the 1914 game against Minnesota, scored two touchdowns and a 35-yard end run and a 75-yard interception return. In the final game of the 1914 season, Pogue returned two punts for touchdowns, including a 65-yard return. In all, Pogue scored eleven touchdowns in six games during the 1914 season. Chicago Tribune sports writer, and former All-American, 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:...
, wrote that Pogue was "without doubt one of the most elusive runners since the days of Walter Steffen
Walter Steffen
Walter Steffen was an American football player and coach in the United States. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Chicago from 1906 to 1908 and was a two-time All-American selection...
. He is fast and shifty, and can hit the line or run the ends with equal success. When used to receive forward passes Pogue probably is the most valuable man on his team."
At the end of the 1914 season, Pogue was selected as a first-team All-American halfback by the Pittsburgh-Gazette-Times and Michigan Daily, a second-team All-American by 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:...
, and a third-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...
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....
and Frank G. Menke
Frank G. Menke
Frank Grant Menke was an American newspaper reporter, author, and sports historian. He wrote for the Hearst Newspapers from 1912 to 1932 and his articles appeared daily in 300 newspapers across the country. He was billed by the Hearst syndicate as "America's Foremost Sport Writer"...
for the International News Service. Pogue and teammates Perry Graves
Perry Graves
Perry H. Graves, Sr. , was an All-American football player who played end for the University of Illinois from 1913 to 1915. In later life, he owned lumber companies.-Biography:...
and Ralph Chapman
Ralph Chapman
Ralph D. "Slouie" Chapman was an American football player. He was the son of P.T. Chapman, a wealthy banker in Vienna, Illinois. He played at the guard position for Bob Zuppke's University of Illinois football team from 1912 to 1914. Chapman was selected as the captain of the 1914 Illinois...
became the first University of Illinois football players to be selected as first-team All-Americans in 1914.
In 1915, Pogue suffered an ankle injury that resulted in his missing three games and did not score in two games after returning from his injury. Pogue graduated from the University of Illinois College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1916.
After his retirement, Coach Zuppke placed Pogue in the backfield with Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
as part of his all-time University of Illinois football team. Walter Eckersall picked Pogue as the greatest Illini football player in the era before Red Grange.
Later years
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...
, Pogue served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant. After the war, he went into the lumber business in Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
. He was the president of the Hunter Pogue Lumber Company from 1925 to 1959. He also served as president of the Pogue Development Company until his death in 1969.
Pogue remained active in the affairs of the University of Illinois, serving as a member of the university's Board of Trustees from 1935-1941 and 1959-1969, president of the Board of Trustees in 1940, and president of the University of Illinois Alumni Association in 1952. He also served on the Decatur City Council from 1959 to 1963, as president of the Decatur City Council from 1953 to 1953, and as a director of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce from 1957 to 1961. He was also considered as a Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 1956.
In 1965, Pogue married Ramona Borders. Borders had known Pogue since she was seven years old and worked in the computer science field at the University of Illinois. She later said of Pogue, "He was a wonderful person. He loved horses and animals, and he loved sailing and helping people. We took mission construction groups to Haiti and Columbia and Honduras."
Pogue died in 1969 at his home in Decatur. His body was donated, at his request, to the University of Illinois Medical College.