AMOS ALONZO STAGG
Amos Alonzo Stagg sends a typed letter about the books he has published.
Typed Letter Signed: "Amos Alonzo Stagg", 1p, 7½x9½. Chicago, Illinois, 1929 October 26. On letterhead of the University of Chicago, Department of Physical Culture and Athletics, Office of the Director, to Mr. E.D. Robb, Atlanta, Georgia. In full: "I have written one other book besides 'Touchdown', namely, 'A Scientific and Practical Treatise on American Football' by A. A. Stagg and Henry L. Williams. This book was published in 1893 by the Press of the Case, Lockwood, and Brainard Company, Hartford, Conn. Thanking you for your good wishes, I am Sincerely". Stagg has written: "It is out of print -" in ink following the information on his second book. Legendary football player and coach Amos Alonzo Stagg (1862-1965) had published his book, Touchdown!, in 1927. A Scientific and Practical Treatise on American Football was co-authored by Henry L. "Harry" Williams, Stagg's fellow classmate at Yale. Williams had been a halfback and Stagg was an end under the legendary Walter Camp, and Stagg had been named to the first All-American football team in 1889. Dr. Williams, who became the Head Coach of Minnesota in 1900, also practiced medicine. Stagg, one of the first professional "coachers", is known for his innovative plays. During his tenure at Springfield College in Massachusetts (1890-1891), he was credited with devising the "ends-back" formation, and Stagg also developed the huddle, the shift and man in motion. Stagg became the Coach of the University of Chicago "Maroons" in 1892, and, as was allowable then, he also played on the team. He coached Chicago to six Big-Ten Championships in the Western Conference (1899, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1913, and 1924) and a tie in 1922; teams went undefeated for two of those seasons (1905, 1913). In 1933, Stagg assumed the coaching position at the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He was the first to be named to the Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach (1951). Framed in the Gallery of History style: 29½x19½.