George H. Brooke

Biographical details
Born	(1874-07-09)July 9, 1874 Brookeville, Maryland, U.S.
Died	November 16, 1938(1938-11-16) (aged 64) Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Playing career
1889–1892	Swarthmore
1893–1895	Penn
1896	Tulane
Position(s)	Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1897	Stanford
1900–1912	Swarthmore
1913–1915	Penn
Head coaching record
Overall	90–46–10
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
2× ConsensusAll-American (1894,1895)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1969 (profile)

George Haydock Brooke (July 9, 1874 – November 16, 1938) was an Americancollege football player and coach. He played football as afullback atSwarthmore College from 1889 to 1892 and at theUniversity of Pennsylvania from 1893 to 1895. Brooke served as the head football coach atStanford University (1897), Swarthmore (1900–1912), and Penn (1913–1915), compiling a career coaching record of 90–46–10. He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1969.

Brooke was born on July 9, 1874, inBrookeville, Maryland, to Walter H. Brooke and Caroline Leggett Brooke. He was married to Marie Louise Gregg Robb. He and his wife had no children. Brooke attended Brookeville High School in Maryland before moving on toSwarthmore College. At Swarthmore, he playedbaseball and football. He was the captain of the 1892 Swarthmore football team. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Swarthmore in 1893. He next enrolled at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy (Ph. B) degree in 1895 and a Bachelor of Law (LL. B) degree in 1898.^[1][2]

Brooke played seven years of college football atSwarthmore College and then at theUniversity of Pennsylvania. He was selected as an All-American in 1894 and 1895 while playing for theUniversity of Pennsylvania. Penn was undefeated and won the national championship of football in the two seasons that Brooke was named an All-American. All-American selector,Caspar Whitney called Brooke a "very hard man to stop. He strikes the line with almost irresistible force." He was regarded as a ferocious fullback and a top notch punter. He is credited with coining the phrase "coffin corner" when describing his long punts deep into the opposing end of the field.^[1] Brooke was barred from playing for Pennsylvania after the 1895 season because of an agreement between Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania that limited players to four seasons.^[3] After finishing a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania, Brooke was the subject of an allegation of being an ineligible player in an October 24, 1896, game inNew Orleans, LA. In the game, Brooke played only one down forTulane University beforeLSU protested to the game's referee. Tulane claimed that Brooke planned on enrolling there as a graduate student. During the debate between team captains, Brooke refused to sign an affidavit stating his intention to enroll at Tulane, as he was already enrolled in law school at the University of Pennsylvania. The referee ruled him ineligible to play. The Tulane football team refused to continue playing the game without Brooke, so the referee ruled the game to be a forfeit in favor of LSU.^[4][5]

Following his playing career, Brooke was the head football coach atStanford University in 1897, compiling a record of 4–1. In the spring of 1898 he took a break from coaching and joined the first Pennsylvania unit that was mustered into service for theSpanish–American War. He served in Puerto Rico during the conflict. Brooke was discharged from the Army later in 1898 with the war ending.^[1] From 1900 to 1912 he coachedSwarthmore College's football team, earning an overall record of 72–32–6. He coached three years at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, where his record was 13–12–4.^[6] After leaving coaching, he became an insurance broker. He suffered from a heart condition, and spent his final years living on the West Coast. He died November 16, 1938, in Tucson, Arizona.

Brooke was also an accomplishedsquash player, winning the national amateur squash championship in 1904, and the doubles championship in 1917.^[6]

Brooke died in 1938.^[6] In 1969, he was posthumously inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.

• George H. Brooke at theCollege Football Hall of Fame

• 1874 births
• 1938 deaths
• 19th-century players of American football
• 19th-century baseball players
• 19th-century American sportsmen
• American football fullbacks
• American male squash players
• Penn Quakers football coaches
• Penn Quakers football players
• Stanford Cardinal football coaches
• Swarthmore Garnet baseball players
• Swarthmore Garnet Tide football coaches
• Swarthmore Garnet Tide football players
• Tulane Green Wave football players
• All-American college football players
• College Football Hall of Fame inductees
• University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
• American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
• People from Brookeville, Maryland
• Players of American football from Montgomery County, Maryland
• Coaches of American football from Maryland
• Baseball players from Montgomery County, Maryland

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2024