Walter Ellsworth Bachman, Sr. (March 19, 1880–1958) was a 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...

 player and coach. A player at Lafayette College

Lafayette College

Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...

 from 1899 until 1901, Bachman developed the "roving center" position for college football. He is regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in Lafayette history. In 1900 he was given second-team All-American honors 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 was one of the first players to be given the honor from a school outside of Yale

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...

, Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, 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....

 and Penn

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

. He did also make several other All-American lists that season. In 1901, he was the fourth leading scorer for the Leopards with 25 goals from touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

s (this was before modern scoring was implemented).

Biography

He was born in 1880 and raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....

. After graduation he served as an assistant football coach at Allegheny College

Allegheny College

Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...

 in Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville, Pennsylvania

Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...

. He then served as the seventh head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M Aggies football

The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...

 from 1905 to 1906 finishing with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses .

Bachman also had a career in professional football. In 1902 he played for the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies (NFL)

The Philadelphia Phillies were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole league was a curious...

 of the first National Football League

National Football League (1902)

The National Football League was the first attempt at forming a national professional football league in 1902. The league has no ties with the modern National Football League. In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which was hardly "national". Two of the teams were based...

. After the season ended, he became a member of the "New York team

New York (World Series of Football)

"New York" was a term given to a professional football team formed by promoter Tom O'Rouke for the World Series of Football in 1902. The event was held in New York City at Madison Square Garden...

" during the World Series of Football The team was heavily favored to win the 5 team tournament, and featured professional football stars Blondy Wallace

Blondy Wallace

Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace was an early professional football player. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania. He also played two years at Peddie Institute, in New Jersey, winning state championships in 1896 and 1897...

, Charlie Gelbert and Ben Roller

Ben Roller

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Roller was a physician, a professional wrestler and a football player. He played football for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Philadelphia Athletic Club and was later a player-coach with the Philadelphia Phillies of the first National Football League. Also in 1902, he played...

. However the team was eliminated in th opening match in a 5-0 loss to the Syracuse Athletic Club.

In 1906 he became a yardmaster for the Lehigh Valley Railroad

Lehigh Valley Railroad

The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...

until his retirement in 1944. He died in 1958.