Otto Christ Carpell 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 for the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. He played 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 the Michigan Wolverines football

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

 team from 1909 to 1912. He became an aviation combat pilot during 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...

 and was one of four Michigan football players to be killed in the war.

Carpell was born in Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...

 in 1889, the son of Maximillian A. and Elizabeth (Heydrich) Carpell.

Carpell enrolled at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 and played for the Michigan Wolverines football

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

 team from 1909 to 1912 under head coach Fielding H. Yost.

After graduating from Michigan, Carpell went into the real estate brokerage business in Detroit with an office in the Penobscot Building

Penobscot Building

The Greater Penobscot Building, commonly known as the Penobscot Building, is a skyscraper and class-A office building in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Rising 566 feet , the 47-story Penobscot was the tallest building in Michigan from its completion in 1928 until the construction of the Renaissance...

.

Following the United States entry into 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...

, Carpell was inducted into the U.S. Army on December 1, 1917. He was assigned to the Pilot Aviation Section and transferred to Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, and then Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

 for training. Carpell attained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, Aviation Section, Signal Corps, US Army, and received his commission as aviation combat pilot following his graduation from the School of Military Aeronautics at Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. On January 1, 1918, he announced his engagement to Beatrice Merriam of Detroit. In October 1918, he died of a cause variously reported as heart failure or pneumonia following an outbreak of Spanish influenza while serving at Payne Field

Payne Field

Payne Field was the first airport constructed in Mississippi. It was located at West Point, Mississippi. It was constructed in the Spring of 1918 by the United States Army Air Service and used to train pilots during World War I.-External links:...

 in West Point, Mississippi

West Point, Mississippi

West Point is a city in Clay County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,145 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clay County and the principal city of the West Point Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Columbus-West Point Combined Statistical...

. He was one of three former Michigan Wolverines football players to be killed while serving in World War I. The other two were Curtis Redden

Curtis Redden

Curtis Gerald "Cap" Redden was an American football player. He was the starting left end for the University of Michigan's football team from 1901–1904. He played for Michigan's "Point-a-Minute" teams and was unanimously selected as an All-Western player in 1903. Redden died of pneumonia...

, and Efton James

Efton James

Efton M. James was an American football player. He played end for Adrian College in 1911 and for the University of Michigan from 1912 to 1914. He was one of three former Michigan Wolverines football players to be killed in World War I.James was born in Cass County, Michigan in 1890, the son of...

. In November 1921, a bronze memorial tablet was unveiled at Michigan's football stadium to honor the four Michigan football players killed in the war.