Laurens Shull
Encyclopedia
Laurens Corning "Spike" Shull (January 17, 1894 - August 5, 1918) was an All-American football player who was killed in action during World War I
. He played football, baseball and basketball for the University of Chicago
from 1913-1916. He died of wounds suffered at the Battle of Château-Thierry
in July 1918.
, the son of a prominent Iowa attorney, Deloss C. Shull. He graduated with honors from Sioux City High School in 1912 where he was captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams.
where he won three varsity letters in each of three sports—football, basketball and baseball. He was selected as a first-team All-Western player and a second-team All-American in 1915. In announcing Shull's selection for the 1915 All-Western team, Walter Eckersall
wrote:
Shull was also captain of the Chicago Maroons baseball team in 1916 and a member of the Alpha Delta Phi
fraternity, the Three Quarters Club, the Skull and Crescent, the Order of the Iron Mask, the Owl and Serpent and in his last year was selected a University marshal. He was also president of the Young Men's Christian Association during his junior year and was a delegate to a YMCA conference of student leaders at Ithaca, New York
.
. During his time in Woodward, Shull coached the high school football team and served as a referee for football and basketball games throughout the state of Iowa. He also became affiliated with the International Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons
and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
.
In May 1917, after the entry of the United States into World War I, Shull entered the U.S. Army officer training camp at Fort Snelling. In August 1917, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry. He sailed for Liverpool, England on September 7, 1917, and was dispatched to France and was assigned to a Scottish regiment for training in trench warfare
. In December 1917, he became an officer in the 26th Infantry, Company F (later transferred to Co.G), First Division. Shull and his men engaged in raids in no man's land
. He was deployed to Flanders where he was part of 15 engagements and was slightly injured in a German gas attack. On July 18, 1918, Shull was wounded at Battle of Château-Thierry
. Three weeks later, he died at American Red Cross Hospital No. 1 at Neuilly
a suburb of Paris, of complications due to bullet wounds. Shull was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
for his action in leading his men against a German machine-gun nest on the day he suffered the wounds from which he died.
After learning of Shull's death, Chicago's famed football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
wrote a letter to Shull's parents:
Shull's body was initially buried in the American cemetery at Suresnes, France, but his remains were returned to Sioux City in 1921 and buried in a ceremony attended by 1,000 former soldiers. The Sioux City post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
and the Woodward, Iowa
post of the American Legion
were both named in Shull's honor after the war. Shull was further honored in 1924 with one of the memorial columns at the new Memorial Stadium
on the University of Illinois campus at Urbana, Illinois
; he was the only individual who was not a University of Illinois student to be honored by a memorial at the new stadium. His image wearing a doughboy uniform is also carved into the exterior of Chicago's Rockefeller Chapel
completed in 1928.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He played football, baseball and basketball for the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
from 1913-1916. He died of wounds suffered at the Battle of Château-Thierry
Battle of Château-Thierry (1918)
The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought on 18 July 1918 and was one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Force under General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing...
in July 1918.
Early years
Shull was born in Sioux City, IowaSioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
, the son of a prominent Iowa attorney, Deloss C. Shull. He graduated with honors from Sioux City High School in 1912 where he was captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams.
University of Chicago
After graduating high school, Shull enrolled at the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he won three varsity letters in each of three sports—football, basketball and baseball. He was selected as a first-team All-Western player and a second-team All-American in 1915. In announcing Shull's selection for the 1915 All-Western team, Walter Eckersall
Walter Eckersall
Walter "Eckie" Eckersall was an American football player, official, and sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.-Early life:...
wrote:
"Shull of Chicago is placed at right tackle because of consistent playing. He was the main cog in the Maroon forward wall and seldom allowed substantial gains to be made through him. He generally mixed in every play, varied his charges and was always down the field under kicks. The Maroon followed the ball with rare cunning and has had enough experience to hold his own with any lineman in the West."
Shull was also captain of the Chicago Maroons baseball team in 1916 and a member of the Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S....
fraternity, the Three Quarters Club, the Skull and Crescent, the Order of the Iron Mask, the Owl and Serpent and in his last year was selected a University marshal. He was also president of the Young Men's Christian Association during his junior year and was a delegate to a YMCA conference of student leaders at Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
.
Business career
After graduating from Chicago, Shull became employed as a bank vice president at the Farmer's Bank in Woodward, IowaWoodward, Iowa
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,200 people, 490 households, and 309 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,319.1 people per square mile . There were 528 housing units at an average density of 580.4 per square mile...
. During his time in Woodward, Shull coached the high school football team and served as a referee for football and basketball games throughout the state of Iowa. He also became affiliated with the International Order of Odd Fellows, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
.
Service and death in World War I
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
. In December 1917, he became an officer in the 26th Infantry, Company F (later transferred to Co.G), First Division. Shull and his men engaged in raids in no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
. He was deployed to Flanders where he was part of 15 engagements and was slightly injured in a German gas attack. On July 18, 1918, Shull was wounded at Battle of Château-Thierry
Battle of Château-Thierry (1918)
The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought on 18 July 1918 and was one of the first actions of the American Expeditionary Force under General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing...
. Three weeks later, he died at American Red Cross Hospital No. 1 at Neuilly
Neuilly
Neuilly is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name Nobilis or Novellius:...
a suburb of Paris, of complications due to bullet wounds. Shull was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
for his action in leading his men against a German machine-gun nest on the day he suffered the wounds from which he died.
Tributes and memorials
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
wrote a letter to Shull's parents:
"The last time I saw him was when the big handsome boy appeared in my office and asked for a recommendation to an Officers Training Camp. He told me that he wanted to get into the Fort Sheridan Camp where so many of his friends would be, and in his droll way (referring the draft) said, 'Mr. Stagg, they'd get me the first thing, I'm so big. So I'm going to fool them and enlist.' From his talk I gathered that 'Spike' did not look upon his enlistment in the boyish spirit of adventure but as a duty. He gave me the impression that he felt that there was no sufficient reason why he should not go and he was going to offer his services freely. During the three years I was his coach in football, I got a good insight into his nature and character and I grew to appreciate and to admire and to love him. 'Spike' had an unusually true and honest soul with a serious-mindedness to duty which does not come to many people until well along in middle life. ... 'Spike's' life at the University was clean, sincere, manly and brave. He was universally respected and loved by many. Speaking of him as I knew him, I have said several times that I did not know any young man more fit to appear before his Maker. His life has been beautifully true and his death has been supremely noble."
Shull's body was initially buried in the American cemetery at Suresnes, France, but his remains were returned to Sioux City in 1921 and buried in a ceremony attended by 1,000 former soldiers. The Sioux City post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
and the Woodward, Iowa
Woodward, Iowa
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,200 people, 490 households, and 309 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,319.1 people per square mile . There were 528 housing units at an average density of 580.4 per square mile...
post of the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
were both named in Shull's honor after the war. Shull was further honored in 1924 with one of the memorial columns at the new Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Champaign)
thumb|right|300px|Original plan for Memorial Stadium circa 1921. Caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, 1921Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Champaign, Illinois, in the United States, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The stadium is dedicated as...
on the University of Illinois campus at Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
; he was the only individual who was not a University of Illinois student to be honored by a memorial at the new stadium. His image wearing a doughboy uniform is also carved into the exterior of Chicago's Rockefeller Chapel
Rockefeller Chapel
Rockefeller Chapel is, by order, the tallest building on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. It was meant by patron John D...
completed in 1928.