Fred Rehor
Encyclopedia
Frederick Lee "Fritz" Rehor (December 15, 1893 – July 19, 1959) was an American football
player. He played college football
for Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football
teams from 1914 to 1916. He also played professional football and was a member of the 1917 professional football champion Massillon Tigers
, coached by Knute Rockne
. He later operated a drug store in Canton, Ohio
.
in 1893. His parents, Jacob and Louisa Rehor, emigrated to the United States from Germany. His father operated a buzz planer in a table factory.
as a pharmacy student. He graduated in 1917. While attending Michigan, he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon
fraternity and played guard
for Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football
teams from 1914 to 1916. Following a November 1916 game against Penn
, The New York Times
wrote: "The work of Rehor on the line ranked the best ever seen in Michigan. The husky 250-pounder outplayed Henning from start to finish, and broke through and nailed the backs for losses." In a summary of the 1916 season, The Michigan Alumnus wrote: "Of the linemen, Rehor was always prominent, breaking up numerous plays and showing an excellent nose for the ball. Many a spectator will long retain the mental image of the big guard catching a short kick-off and ploughing down the field with the ball."
. When it was announced that Rehor would join the Tigers, The Evening Independent in Massillon ran a feature story on Rehor, billing him as the "Newest Tiger Giant." The article noted:
Rehor started at right guard in Massillon's 14–6 victory over Buffalo. After the game, The Evening Independent wrote: "Rehor with his 256 odd pounds bowled over the visiting linemen and formed a defensive bulwark that couldn't be budged." After a 3–0 loss to Akron, the paper noted that the team put up a strong battle on defense with Rehor and Copley (playing at right guard and right tackle) playing "strong defensive games, tackling hard and accurately." In a 28–0 victory over the Columbus Panhandles, Rehor also handled kickoffs. After the game, the Massillon paper wrote: "Exhibiting the same stonewall defense that has characterized their play all season, the Tigers had little trouble in stopping the battering tactics of the Panhandles ... The visitors made four first down but three of them came on forward passes and the other on a penalty. Gains through the Tiger line were few and far between as Nash, Copley, Thornhill, Wesbecher, Rehor and Rambaud were in every mixup and dropped the heavy Panhandle backs in their tracks most of the time." During the fourth quarter of the last game of the regular season, Rehor got into a fight with "Unk" Russell of the Canton Bulldogs, and both were ejected by the referee. The Massillon newspaper reported: "Rehor claimed that Russell had slugged him in scrimmage. Fritz's fighting blood became warm and he wasn't long opening hostilities with the giant Pennsylvanian. Fists flew freely for a few seconds but the mix up was stopped without damage to either player."
The Tigers advanced to play Jim Thorpe
's Canton Bulldogs
in the 1917 "world's professional football championship" game on December 2, 1917. Prior to the game, the Massillon paper noted that the "former giant Michigan guard" had been "a tower of trength on the Tiger line this season." The Tigers were coached in the championship game by Knute Rockne
and defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 6 to 0; Rehor was the starting left guard in the game.
. Following a quiet wedding ceremony in Canton, the couple left on a trip to Detroit and Hastings, Michigan. On their return, the couple planned to live in Canton, where Rehor was employed as a chemist at the Central Steel plant.
At the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, Rehor was living in Canton with his wife Gertrude; he was employed as a chemist in the steel industry. At the time of the 1930 U.S. Census, Rehor was living in Canton with his wife Gertrude (age 38), daughter Marilyn Jean Rehor (age 5) and son Richard Dale Rehor (age 11 months). He was employed as a merchant operating a retail drugstore. In 1941, Rehor was still living in Canton and operating a drug store. Rehor died in Canton in July 1959.
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 played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
teams from 1914 to 1916. He also played professional football and was a member of the 1917 professional football champion Massillon Tigers
Massillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become...
, coached by Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
. He later operated a drug store in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Early years
Rehor was born in Hastings, MichiganHastings, Michigan
Hastings is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the county seat of Barry County as well as the county's only city. The population was 7,095 at the 2000 census. The city borders Hastings Charter Township on the north, east, and south, and Rutland Charter Township on the west...
in 1893. His parents, Jacob and Louisa Rehor, emigrated to the United States from Germany. His father operated a buzz planer in a table factory.
University of Michigan
Rehor attended 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...
as a pharmacy student. He graduated in 1917. While attending Michigan, he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
fraternity and played guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for Fielding H. Yost's Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
teams from 1914 to 1916. Following a November 1916 game against Penn
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote: "The work of Rehor on the line ranked the best ever seen in Michigan. The husky 250-pounder outplayed Henning from start to finish, and broke through and nailed the backs for losses." In a summary of the 1916 season, The Michigan Alumnus wrote: "Of the linemen, Rehor was always prominent, breaking up numerous plays and showing an excellent nose for the ball. Many a spectator will long retain the mental image of the big guard catching a short kick-off and ploughing down the field with the ball."
Professional football
After graduating from Michigan, Rehor played professional football. In October 1917, he joined the Massillon TigersMassillon Tigers
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become...
. When it was announced that Rehor would join the Tigers, The Evening Independent in Massillon ran a feature story on Rehor, billing him as the "Newest Tiger Giant." The article noted:
"Rehor, who graduated from Michigan last spring, tips the beam at 255 pounds. He stands nearly six feet tall and was one of the big men on the Michigan eleven for three seasons. The Michigan giant will arrive here early Saturday morning. He comes here backed by a reputation of being one of the best linemen who played college foot ball in 1916. He should be a tower of strength to the Tiger line, especialy when the big battles with Akron, Canton and Youngstown are staged."
Rehor started at right guard in Massillon's 14–6 victory over Buffalo. After the game, The Evening Independent wrote: "Rehor with his 256 odd pounds bowled over the visiting linemen and formed a defensive bulwark that couldn't be budged." After a 3–0 loss to Akron, the paper noted that the team put up a strong battle on defense with Rehor and Copley (playing at right guard and right tackle) playing "strong defensive games, tackling hard and accurately." In a 28–0 victory over the Columbus Panhandles, Rehor also handled kickoffs. After the game, the Massillon paper wrote: "Exhibiting the same stonewall defense that has characterized their play all season, the Tigers had little trouble in stopping the battering tactics of the Panhandles ... The visitors made four first down but three of them came on forward passes and the other on a penalty. Gains through the Tiger line were few and far between as Nash, Copley, Thornhill, Wesbecher, Rehor and Rambaud were in every mixup and dropped the heavy Panhandle backs in their tracks most of the time." During the fourth quarter of the last game of the regular season, Rehor got into a fight with "Unk" Russell of the Canton Bulldogs, and both were ejected by the referee. The Massillon newspaper reported: "Rehor claimed that Russell had slugged him in scrimmage. Fritz's fighting blood became warm and he wasn't long opening hostilities with the giant Pennsylvanian. Fists flew freely for a few seconds but the mix up was stopped without damage to either player."
The Tigers advanced to play Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
's Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
in the 1917 "world's professional football championship" game on December 2, 1917. Prior to the game, the Massillon paper noted that the "former giant Michigan guard" had been "a tower of trength on the Tiger line this season." The Tigers were coached in the championship game by Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
and defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 6 to 0; Rehor was the starting left guard in the game.
Family and later years
In April 1918, Rehor married Gertrude E. Ricker of Canton, OhioCanton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Following a quiet wedding ceremony in Canton, the couple left on a trip to Detroit and Hastings, Michigan. On their return, the couple planned to live in Canton, where Rehor was employed as a chemist at the Central Steel plant.
At the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, Rehor was living in Canton with his wife Gertrude; he was employed as a chemist in the steel industry. At the time of the 1930 U.S. Census, Rehor was living in Canton with his wife Gertrude (age 38), daughter Marilyn Jean Rehor (age 5) and son Richard Dale Rehor (age 11 months). He was employed as a merchant operating a retail drugstore. In 1941, Rehor was still living in Canton and operating a drug store. Rehor died in Canton in July 1959.