Langdon Lea
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| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
November 5, 1874 Germantown, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 20, 1937 (aged 62) Paoli, Pennsylvania |
| Playing career | |
| 1892–1895 | Princeton |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1899 | Princeton (unofficial) |
| 1900 | Michigan |
| 1901 | Princeton |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 16–3–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
|
All-American, 1893 All-American, 1894 All-American, 1895 |
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College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1964 (profile) |
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Langdon "Biffy" Lea (May 11, 1874 – October 10, 1937) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Princeton University, where he was selected as a first-team All-American at tackle three consecutive years, in 1893, 1894, and 1895. He later served as head football coach at the University of Michigan in 1900 and at Princeton in 1901. Lea was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1964.
Lea graduated from St. Paul's School in the 1892, and entered the scientific department of Princeton University in the fall of 1892. He first became famous as a football player in 1893 when he played a brilliant game against Winters of Yale on Thanksgiving. He played tackle for Princeton and became recognized as one of the best tackles ever to play the game. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1894, 1895 and 1896.
In 1899, Lea served as the unofficial head coach of the Princeton football team. In 1900, he was hired by the University of Michigan as its head football coach. A newspaper reported on expectations raised by his hiring at Michigan:
"Coach Langdon Lea, the famous Prlncetonian, is expected to revolutionize
affairs among the Wolverines and to raise the team to its old standing. The great trouble in the past few years has been the lack of efficient coaching, and it is hoped that Lea will supply
Another newspaper reported on the hiring of Lea away from Princeton this way:
"Langdon Lea, better known as 'Biffy,' is to coach the Michigan university team. This practice of putting well known eastern football players in charge of the teams of western universities has certainly improved the standard of play, and in many instances has often wrought havoc with the alma maters of the coaches. Some years ago the big eastern colleges tried to preven their graduates from accepting positions as coaches on other teams, but the fat salaries offered were inducements too great to be cast aside."
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