George C. Paterson
Encyclopedia
George Cornell "Bubbles" Paterson (May 10, 1891 – November 29, 1945) was an American football
player and engineer. He played center
for the University of Michigan
Wolverines football
teams coached by Fielding H. Yost from 1911 to 1913. He was selected as an All-American in 1913.
in 1891. Paterson grew up in Detroit, Michigan
, where his father, Andrew C. Paterson, practiced as an attorney. Paterson attended the Detroit public schools and graduated in 1910 from Detroit Central High School. At Detroit Central, Paterson was captain of the football team and a teammate of Jimmy Craig
and Squib Torbet — both of whom later joined Paterson on the University of Michigan
football team. Paterson also played with the Detroit Athletic Club
team.
Michigan's 1913 football team, with Paterson as captain, finished with a 6–1 record and outscored its opponents 175–21. The team unexpectedly lost a game early in the season to Michigan Agricultural College
(known now as the Michigan State University
) by a score of 12–7. In the remaining six games, the team allowed only nine points. The 1913 schedule included games against three of the Eastern football powers, and the Wolverines won all three games — defeating Syracuse
(43–7), Cornell
(17–0) and Penn (13–0).
Paterson was the largest man on the Michigan football team. He stood six feet tall and weighed 210 pounds. He was known on the team and in the press as "Bubbles" Paterson.
Michigan's 1913 team was built around Paterson's large presence at center, as reflected in the following newspaper account:
Michigan left the Big Ten Conference
in the 1900s, and during the decade while Michigan was not affiliated with the Big Ten, its biggest rivalry was with Eastern football power, Penn
. Michigan beat Penn in 1911, but lost the game in 1912. The 1913 Penn game was Paterson's last as a Wolverine, and he helped lead Michigan to a 13-0 shutout in the game. One published account summarized Paterson's contributions:
In December 1913, Baseball Magazine
published profiles of the captains of the major college football
teams. In its profile of Paterson, the magazine wrote:
At the end of the 1913 season, Paterson selected as a third-team All-American by Walter Camp
for Collier's Weekly
. He was also named as a first-team All-American by the Milwaukee Free Press.
At the close of his football career at Michigan, one publication summarized his contributions:
. He was a member of the Vulcans, the senior engineering society and one of twenty senior elected to Michigauma, the highest honorary society at the university. One contemporary account noted his outstanding academic achievement:
in Detroit. Saxon's first car was a two-seat runabout
. While Paterson was with the company in 1915, electric lighting was added as a standard fitting. In 1916, Paterson resigned his position at Saxon to become assistant manager of the Troy Body Company at Troy, Ohio
. In 1919, he also became a director of the Troy Body Company. Paterson was a Republican, a Presbyterian, and a Mason.
In 1915, Paterson married Gretchen Schremser of Detroit. They had two daughters, Barbara and Virginia.
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 engineer. He played center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
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...
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 coached by Fielding H. Yost from 1911 to 1913. He was selected as an All-American in 1913.
Early years
Paterson was born in Austin, PennsylvaniaAustin, Pennsylvania
Austin is a borough in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 623 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Austin is located at ....
in 1891. Paterson grew up in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, where his father, Andrew C. Paterson, practiced as an attorney. Paterson attended the Detroit public schools and graduated in 1910 from Detroit Central High School. At Detroit Central, Paterson was captain of the football team and a teammate of Jimmy Craig
James B. Craig
James B. "Jimmy" Craig was an All American football halfback and quarterback who played with the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1911 to 1913. He was named an All-American in 1913...
and Squib Torbet — both of whom later joined Paterson on 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...
football team. Paterson also played with the Detroit Athletic Club
Detroit Athletic Club
The Detroit Athletic Club , is a private social club and athletic club located in the heart of Detroit's theater, sports, and entertainment district. The clubhouse was designed by Albert Kahn and inspired by Rome's Palazzo Farnese. It maintains reciprocal agreements for their members at other...
team.
Football player at Michigan
Paterson enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played football under the school's famous coach, Fielding H. Yost. Paterson was the starting center on Yost’s teams from 1911 to 1913. Paterson started all eight games for the Wolverines as a sophomore in 1911. In 1912, he started six of the team’s seven games, missing one game due to injury. And as a senior in 1913, Paterson was elected by his teammates as the captain and started all seven games.Michigan's 1913 football team, with Paterson as captain, finished with a 6–1 record and outscored its opponents 175–21. The team unexpectedly lost a game early in the season to Michigan Agricultural College
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
(known now as the Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
) by a score of 12–7. In the remaining six games, the team allowed only nine points. The 1913 schedule included games against three of the Eastern football powers, and the Wolverines won all three games — defeating Syracuse
Syracuse Orange football
The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Big East Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision...
(43–7), Cornell
Cornell Big Red football
The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation...
(17–0) and Penn (13–0).
Paterson was the largest man on the Michigan football team. He stood six feet tall and weighed 210 pounds. He was known on the team and in the press as "Bubbles" Paterson.
Michigan's 1913 team was built around Paterson's large presence at center, as reflected in the following newspaper account:
"Captain Paterson of this year's Michigan eleven, is one of the best centers in the country. It is around him that Coach Yost has built his present Wolverine eleven. Michigan plays three of the big eastern teams this year—Syracuse, Cornell and Pennsylvania. Yost expects his charges to have a good season, despite the unexpected defeat sustained at the hands of the Michigan Aggies. Captain Paterson shares the coach’s confidence."
Michigan left the Big Ten 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...
in the 1900s, and during the decade while Michigan was not affiliated with the Big Ten, its biggest rivalry was with Eastern football power, Penn
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. Michigan beat Penn in 1911, but lost the game in 1912. The 1913 Penn game was Paterson's last as a Wolverine, and he helped lead Michigan to a 13-0 shutout in the game. One published account summarized Paterson's contributions:
"As the whistle at the close of the Michigan-Pennsylvania football game blew, every Michigan man felt justly proud of the captain of their victorious team, George Cornell Paterson. 'Bubb' had played his last game of intercollegiate football. For four years he had striven for that goal, realized by that final victory. The story of his college career is one of exceptional achievement ..."
In December 1913, Baseball Magazine
Baseball Magazine
Baseball Magazine is a now-defunct baseball magazine that existed from the dead-ball era to the 1950s. It is considered a good source for researchers researching those eras....
published profiles of the captains of the major 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...
teams. In its profile of Paterson, the magazine wrote:
"George C. Patterson is the most important man at Ann ArborAnn Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. That is to say, he is captain of the football squad. There are people who would prefer to be president of the United States or a multimillionaire, but not so an undergraduate. He knows that to be leader of the varsity football club is to taste of the sweetest honors this old world has to offer. Patterson is six feet tall; furthermore, he is twenty-two years old. To sum up, he weighs 205 pounds. Why shouldn't he play center on any club, even the Wolverines?"
At the end of the 1913 season, Paterson selected as a third-team All-American 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...
for Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
. He was also named as a first-team All-American by the Milwaukee Free Press.
At the close of his football career at Michigan, one publication summarized his contributions:
"With such leadership the Michigan team was sure of success. 'Bubbles' worked hard, and his team was behind him to a man. Under the efficient coaching of Fielding H. Yost they were rounded into championship material. There was only one set-back, the loss of a game to the Michigan Agricultural College. Syracuse, Cornell and Pennsylvania all bowed in turn to the triumphant Michigan team with Paterson at its head. Michigan had certainly placed control of its team in good hands. He retires from the gridiron with a good, clean sportsman's record and the admiration of the campus. He owns three hard earned football 'M's.'"
Academics and campus leader
Paterson was known as an outstanding scholar athlete and campus leader while at the University of Michigan. He was elected president of the university senior class as well as president of his fraternity, Theta Delta ChiTheta Delta Chi
Theta Delta Chi is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Theta Delt, Thete, TDX, and TDC. Theta Delta Chi brothers refer to their local organization as Charges rather...
. He was a member of the Vulcans, the senior engineering society and one of twenty senior elected to Michigauma, the highest honorary society at the university. One contemporary account noted his outstanding academic achievement:
"Contrary to the general rule on such cases, he has not neglected his college work. He is in the mechanical engineering course, which is probably the hardest one offered at the university. Although athletic and campus activities have kept him away from his work very often he has never received one of the dreaded 'plucks.' His scholastic record is so good that last year he was elected to T B H, the honorary inter-collegiate engineering fraternity. Every college man realizes how high the standards are, which are necessary for election to T B H, and knows how infrequently athletes are found among its members."
Later years
Paterson graduated from the University of Michigan in 1914 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Upon graduating, Paterson worked for two years for the Saxon Motor Car CompanySaxon Motor Car Company
The Saxon Motor Car Company was located in Detroit, Michigan, from 1914 to 1922. In 1917 28,000 cars were made making it the seventh largest car maker in the United States....
in Detroit. Saxon's first car was a two-seat runabout
Runabout (car)
Runabouts were a popular car body style at the beginning of the 20th Century. They were small, inexpensive, open cars. Most runabouts had just a single row of seats, providing seating for two passengers. Many also had a tonneau at the rear to provide optional seating for four or five...
. While Paterson was with the company in 1915, electric lighting was added as a standard fitting. In 1916, Paterson resigned his position at Saxon to become assistant manager of the Troy Body Company at Troy, Ohio
Troy, Ohio
* - Sports :In addition to Troy High School athletics, Troy is home to the Miami Valley Silverbacks indoor football team of the Continental Indoor Football League....
. In 1919, he also became a director of the Troy Body Company. Paterson was a Republican, a Presbyterian, and a Mason.
In 1915, Paterson married Gretchen Schremser of Detroit. They had two daughters, Barbara and Virginia.