Archie Weston

Archie Weston
Archie Weston cropped from 1919 Michigan football team photograph
Born	Archie Bruce Weston June 9, 1895 Alpena, Michigan
Died	April 1981 (aged 85) Waterbury, Connecticut
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Years active	1917-1919
Known for	All-American college football quarterback, 1917
Home town	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Archie Bruce "Beak" Weston (June 9, 1895 – April 1981) was an American football player who was a quarterback for the University of Michigan in 1917 and a halfback in 1919. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1917 by Chicago Tribune sports editor Walter Eckersall.

Weston was born in Alpena, Michigan to Frank and Jane Weston . He was raised in Sault Ste. Marie, and was a star player on Sault Ste. Marie High School's 1913 state championship football team. The Sault Ste. Marie “Blue Devils” were a football powerhouse with Weston. In a 1972 interview with his home town newspaper, Weston recalled the 1913 championship team: “We were an awful bunch of roughnecks – there was no football team in the state tougher than we were that year. We blasted all of them and loved doing it.” Weston was asked about a 1913 newspaper report that he had been tackled by an irate woman during a 24-7 win over Alpena. He recalled the incident:

”The game was played there, and the fans hated us. We were too rough to suit them. I was running around the left end toward the Alpena side of the field. There was nobody near me as I ran the end, and all of a sudden, this woman dives from the sideline and drops me for no gain. Well, I was so surprised I couldn’t get up at first.”

Weston began the 1917 college football season as a second substitute quarterback for Fielding H. Yost's University of Michigan football team. Cliff Sparks started the first two games as Michigan's quarterback, with Lowell Genebach as his substitute. Sparks was injured in the second game of the season, and Yost gave Weston the start against Mount Union College. Weston seized the opportunity and put on an offensive display that attracted national attention. On the second play of the game, Weston "straight-armed and dodged the entire Mount Union team, running sixty-five yards for a touchdown." Weston scored a total of five touchdowns in the first two quarters and led the Wolverines to a 69-0 win over Mount Union. Following the game, one newspaper called him a "sensation" under the headline: "Yost Discovers Star Performer."