Albie Booth
Encyclopedia
Albie Booth was an American football
player. He was a star at Yale University
from 1929 to 1931, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1966.
Booth, at only 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 144 pounds, was known as "Little Boy Blue" and the "Mighty Atom", and sportswriters compared him to the fictional Yale sports hero Frank Merriwell
. A New Haven, Connecticut
native, he attended Hillhouse High School
(as well as Milford Academy
) before coming to Yale, where he was a hometown favorite. In the single wing offense of Yale coach Mal Stevens
, Booth played the tailback
position and was also the team's kicker.
Booth became famous in 1929, his sophomore year, after a spectacular performance against Army
. Booth, not yet a regular starter, entered the game with Yale losing 13–0, and proceeded to rush
for 233 yards and score all of Yale's points (2 rushing touchdown
s, a 65-yard punt return touchdown, and 3 extra point
kicks), leading Yale to a 21–13 upset
win. Newsreel
s reported the game with the caption, "Booth 21, Army 13."
Against Army the following year, while playing defense early in the game, Booth intercepted
an Army pass, but was then swarmed by Army tacklers and injured so severely he had to be carried off on a stretcher, and the teams played to a tie. (Yale architecture professor Vincent Scully
, a devoted football fan since his childhood, has claimed that Army intentionally threw the interception to Booth so that the Army players could then injure him and put him out of the game.) Hampered by injuries during his junior year, Booth returned to form as a senior. He scored 3 touchdowns against Dartmouth in a 33–33 tie (the highest scoring tie in college football history at that time). His last game was against Harvard
, with both teams entering "The Game" undefeated for the first time since 1913. Neither team scored until Booth kicked a late-game drop kick
field goal
to win 3–0, finally prevailing in his third attempt to beat Harvard's varsity
team and its star quarterback Barry Wood
. Exhausted from the season, Booth was in a hospital with pleurisy
while his teammates routed Princeton
51–14 in the final game, inspired in part by a telegram from Booth that was delivered to the Yale bench shortly before halftime.
Booth was also a basketball
and baseball
star at Yale. After recovering from pleurisy, in spring 1932, he hit a two-out grand slam home run to beat the Harvard baseball team 4–3.
In 1932, Booth married Marion Noble, his childhood sweetheart. After college Booth coached football, played semi-professional
baseball and basketball, worked as a football referee, and worked for an ice-cream manufacturer in New Haven. He died of a heart attack in 1959 at the age of 51.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He was a star at Yale University
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...
from 1929 to 1931, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1966.
Booth, at only 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 144 pounds, was known as "Little Boy Blue" and the "Mighty Atom", and sportswriters compared him to the fictional Yale sports hero Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish...
. A New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
native, he attended Hillhouse High School
Hillhouse High School
James Hillhouse Comprehensive High School is the oldest public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It is a part of New Haven Public Schools.- History :Established in 1859 as New Haven High School,...
(as well as Milford Academy
Milford Academy
Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1906 in Milford, Connecticut as Yale Preparatory School. The school is located since 2004 in New Berlin, New York...
) before coming to Yale, where he was a hometown favorite. In the single wing offense of Yale coach Mal Stevens
Mal Stevens
Dr. Marvin Allen "Mal" Stevens was an orthopedic surgeon and college football player and coach. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974....
, Booth played the tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
position and was also the team's kicker.
Booth became famous in 1929, his sophomore year, after a spectacular performance against Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
. Booth, not yet a regular starter, entered the game with Yale losing 13–0, and proceeded to rush
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
for 233 yards and score all of Yale's points (2 rushing 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, a 65-yard punt return touchdown, and 3 extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
kicks), leading Yale to a 21–13 upset
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
win. Newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
s reported the game with the caption, "Booth 21, Army 13."
Against Army the following year, while playing defense early in the game, Booth intercepted
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
an Army pass, but was then swarmed by Army tacklers and injured so severely he had to be carried off on a stretcher, and the teams played to a tie. (Yale architecture professor Vincent Scully
Vincent Scully
Vincent Joseph Scully, Jr. is Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject...
, a devoted football fan since his childhood, has claimed that Army intentionally threw the interception to Booth so that the Army players could then injure him and put him out of the game.) Hampered by injuries during his junior year, Booth returned to form as a senior. He scored 3 touchdowns against Dartmouth in a 33–33 tie (the highest scoring tie in college football history at that time). His last game was against 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...
, with both teams entering "The Game" undefeated for the first time since 1913. Neither team scored until Booth kicked a late-game drop kick
Drop kick
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....
field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
to win 3–0, finally prevailing in his third attempt to beat Harvard's varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
team and its star quarterback Barry Wood
Barry Wood (football)
William Barry Wood, Jr. , was an American football player and medical educator. Wood played quarterback for Harvard during the 1929-1931 seasons and was one of the most prominent football players of his time...
. Exhausted from the season, Booth was in a hospital with pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
while his teammates routed 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....
51–14 in the final game, inspired in part by a telegram from Booth that was delivered to the Yale bench shortly before halftime.
Booth was also a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
star at Yale. After recovering from pleurisy, in spring 1932, he hit a two-out grand slam home run to beat the Harvard baseball team 4–3.
In 1932, Booth married Marion Noble, his childhood sweetheart. After college Booth coached football, played semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
baseball and basketball, worked as a football referee, and worked for an ice-cream manufacturer in New Haven. He died of a heart attack in 1959 at the age of 51.