Thursday, June 14, 2012

Throwback Thursday: Poe Presence

Since their move from Cleveland, I've always liked that the Baltimore Ravens are named for the works of writer Edgar Allen Poe. I just like this introduction of literature into football. It wasn't the first time that Poe had an impact on football. In fact, football kind of runs in his family.

Arthur Poe's father, John Poe, Sr., was a nephew of the poet. All told, John Sr. had nine children, six of them sons, and all six Poe boys played football at Princeton between 1880 and 1901. The second brother, named Edgar Allen after his famous great-uncle, was selected as quarterback on the first All-America team in 1889. When he broke his nose in an 1890 game, he designed and wore the first nose guard. Most considered Arthur, the fifth son, the best of the Poe bunch. He was named to Walter Camp's All-America team in 1899. He was only 5'7" and 146lbs, but he was dynamite on the football field.

No comments:

Post a Comment