Allen Steckle
Encyclopedia
Allen Chubb "A. C." Steckle (July 1872 – March 5, 1938) was an American football
player and coach. He played tackle
for the University of Michigan
from 1897–1899 and later served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada
and Oregon State University
, then known as Oregon Agricultural College. Steckle was selected as an All-American in 1898
and achieved fame in 1903 when his Nevada Sagebrush
team, drawn from a school with 80 students, defeated the University of California football team
.
. His father, Abraham B. Steckle, was born in Waterloo Township, Ontario, Canada, in 1842, and worked as a farmer. His mother, Sarah (Furtney) Steckle, was also a native of Waterloo Township. His parents were married in December 1867 in Waterloo County, Ontario. At the time of the 1880 United States Census, Steckle was residing with his parents and six siblings in Campbell Township, Michigan
.
from 1897 to 1899 and was captain of the 1899 team
. In 1898, Steckle was among the first western players to be named to an All-American team after being selected by Walter Camp
as his second-team tackle. He helped Michigan win its first Western Conference
championship in 1898 and was selected as the best tackle in the West. One newspaper wrote that he was "as good a defensive player as one will find anywhere."
. In 1903, he was also appointed to the position as the university's Physical Director. In his three seasons as the head coach, he compiled a 6–9–2 record. When Steckle's Nevada Sagebrush team defeated the University of California
in 1903, it was the cause of a statewide celebration. The entire front page of the Daily Nevada State Journal was given to coverage of the game, and the banner headline read: "CALIFORNIA'S PROUD COLORS LOWERED BY THE DOUGHTY ELEVEN FROM SAGEBRUSHDOM." Steckle's picture appeared on the front page, and the paper praised his efforts in turning Nevada into a football power:
with its 3,000 students was haled as a historic accomplishment, and "Coach Steckle's brand of 'roughhouse'" play was given much of the credit.
Steckle's star players at Nevada from 1901 to 1903 were his younger brother Ivan X. Steckle, who played halfback
, and Abe Steckle, who played tackle. Ivan Steckle was reportedly "the hero of all Nevada during the football season of 1903, when in a game with the University of California on the U.C. field, he grabbed the football close to the Nevada goal line and made a wonderful 86-yard run to the California goal line, scoring a touchdown for the Sagebrush players and bringing victory to the team." Ivan left Nevada after the 1903 season to follow his older brother to the University of Michigan Medical School. Ivan died from typhoid fever in 1909, and Steckle accompanied his brother's body to the family's old home in Freeport, Michigan
.
In 1919, a Nevada newspaper rated Steckle as the best football coach Nevada ever had and described his accomplishments as follows:
Steckle was also remembered at Nevada for his ability to instill "college spirit" in the school's student body. In 1919, a Nevada newspaper noted that "there was more enthusiasm displayed in college athletics while he was coach than there has been in all the years since he left." As a medical doctor and athletic coach, Steckle was also known for his belief in physical conditioning. He was known to require every athlete to be in perfect physical condition before playing in any intercollegiate or "big" game.
Steckle was also a basketball
coach. While at Nevada, he coached the women's basketball team to "a high stage of perfection, being able to take the measure of all the coast college teams."
. Steckle's principal profession was as a medical doctor and surgeon. However, he took time out of his medical practice to coach college football for several years.
After the 1905 football season, Steckle decided to quit coaching and focus on his medical practice. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, he was living in Vancouver, Washington
with his wife, Margaret (born c. 1887) and two daughters, Catherine J. Steckle and Sarah E. Steckle. His occupation was listed as a physician in general practice.He maintained his medical practice for many years in Battle Ground, Washington
. At the time of the 1930 United States Census, Steckle was living in South Battle Ground, Washington, with daughters Catherine J. and S. Elizabeth Steckle, and his sister-in-law, Nesbit Daline. His occupation was listed as a physician and surgeon.
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 and coach. He played tackle
Tackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
for the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1897–1899 and later served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
and Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
, then known as Oregon Agricultural College. Steckle was selected as an All-American in 1898
1898 College Football All-America Team
The 1898 College Football All-America team is composed of American football players who were selected as the best players at their positions by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams that season...
and achieved fame in 1903 when his Nevada Sagebrush
Nevada Wolf Pack football
The Nevada Wolf Pack Football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Western Athletic Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA...
team, drawn from a school with 80 students, defeated the University of California football team
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
.
Early years
Steckle was born in July 1872 at Freeport, MichiganFreeport, Michigan
Freeport is a village in Irving Township, Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 444 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.-Demographics:...
. His father, Abraham B. Steckle, was born in Waterloo Township, Ontario, Canada, in 1842, and worked as a farmer. His mother, Sarah (Furtney) Steckle, was also a native of Waterloo Township. His parents were married in December 1867 in Waterloo County, Ontario. At the time of the 1880 United States Census, Steckle was residing with his parents and six siblings in Campbell Township, Michigan
Campbell Township, Michigan
Campbell Township is a civil township of Ionia County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,243 at the 2000 census.- Communities :...
.
University of Michigan
Steckle played football for the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
from 1897 to 1899 and was captain of the 1899 team
1899 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1899 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1899 college football season. The team was coached by former Michigan halfback Gustave Ferbert. The Wolverines opened the season with six consecutive shutouts, outscoring opponents in those six contests by a...
. In 1898, Steckle was among the first western players to be named to an All-American team after being selected by Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
as his second-team tackle. He helped Michigan win its first Western Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
championship in 1898 and was selected as the best tackle in the West. One newspaper wrote that he was "as good a defensive player as one will find anywhere."
Nevada
From 1901 to 1903, Steckle served as the head football coach at the University of NevadaUniversity of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
. In 1903, he was also appointed to the position as the university's Physical Director. In his three seasons as the head coach, he compiled a 6–9–2 record. When Steckle's Nevada Sagebrush team defeated the University of California
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
in 1903, it was the cause of a statewide celebration. The entire front page of the Daily Nevada State Journal was given to coverage of the game, and the banner headline read: "CALIFORNIA'S PROUD COLORS LOWERED BY THE DOUGHTY ELEVEN FROM SAGEBRUSHDOM." Steckle's picture appeared on the front page, and the paper praised his efforts in turning Nevada into a football power:
"Out of the eighty students of the N.S.U. have been selected eleven young men who were moulded into shape by Dr. Steckle, the best football coach who ever came to the Coast. He made of them the peers of the flower of the California universities."The victory of a university with only 80 students over the University of California
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
with its 3,000 students was haled as a historic accomplishment, and "Coach Steckle's brand of 'roughhouse'" play was given much of the credit.
Steckle's star players at Nevada from 1901 to 1903 were his younger brother Ivan X. Steckle, who played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
, and Abe Steckle, who played tackle. Ivan Steckle was reportedly "the hero of all Nevada during the football season of 1903, when in a game with the University of California on the U.C. field, he grabbed the football close to the Nevada goal line and made a wonderful 86-yard run to the California goal line, scoring a touchdown for the Sagebrush players and bringing victory to the team." Ivan left Nevada after the 1903 season to follow his older brother to the University of Michigan Medical School. Ivan died from typhoid fever in 1909, and Steckle accompanied his brother's body to the family's old home in Freeport, Michigan
Freeport, Michigan
Freeport is a village in Irving Township, Barry County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 444 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.-Demographics:...
.
In 1919, a Nevada newspaper rated Steckle as the best football coach Nevada ever had and described his accomplishments as follows:
"It was under the coaching of Dr. Steckle that Nevada was able to defeat the University of California and play a tie with Stanford as well as bang it over the crack athletic club teams that San Francisco boasted when the great college game was in its hey dey. He was rated at that time as one of the best coaches in the West."
Steckle was also remembered at Nevada for his ability to instill "college spirit" in the school's student body. In 1919, a Nevada newspaper noted that "there was more enthusiasm displayed in college athletics while he was coach than there has been in all the years since he left." As a medical doctor and athletic coach, Steckle was also known for his belief in physical conditioning. He was known to require every athlete to be in perfect physical condition before playing in any intercollegiate or "big" game.
Steckle 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...
coach. While at Nevada, he coached the women's basketball team to "a high stage of perfection, being able to take the measure of all the coast college teams."
Oregon State
After his success with the 1903 Nevada team, Steckle was offered a higher salary to take over as the football coach at Oregon State. He served as Oregon State's head coach from 1904 to 1905 and compiled a 10–5 record in those two seasons.Medical career
After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1899, Steckle enrolled in the Illinois College of Physicians and SurgeonsUniversity of Illinois College of Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana–Champaign....
. Steckle's principal profession was as a medical doctor and surgeon. However, he took time out of his medical practice to coach college football for several years.
After the 1905 football season, Steckle decided to quit coaching and focus on his medical practice. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, he was living in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
with his wife, Margaret (born c. 1887) and two daughters, Catherine J. Steckle and Sarah E. Steckle. His occupation was listed as a physician in general practice.He maintained his medical practice for many years in Battle Ground, Washington
Battle Ground, Washington
Battle Ground is a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,571 at the 2010 census. According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Battle Ground ranked 4th of 279 eligible incorporated communities in population growth between 2000 and 2005.-Origin of...
. At the time of the 1930 United States Census, Steckle was living in South Battle Ground, Washington, with daughters Catherine J. and S. Elizabeth Steckle, and his sister-in-law, Nesbit Daline. His occupation was listed as a physician and surgeon.