Paul Veeder
Encyclopedia
Paul L. Veeder was an All-American football player for Yale University
. Veeder played halfback, fullback, quarterback and punter for the Yale Bulldogs from 1904–1906 and was selected as an All-American in 1906.
in Andover, Massachusetts
, where he was quarterback of the school's 1903 football team.
Veeder enrolled at Yale in the fall of 1903. He played for Yale's football team from 1904 to 1906. Veeder was 5 feet, 10 inches in height and weighed 167 pounds. He played mostly at halfback, but also quarterback and fullback. He also handled punting and place kicking for Yale. A November 1904 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Veeder averaged 50 yards per punt. He was also considered an excellent defensive back, with coaches rating him as "a capital man to bore through an opposing line." Veeder also played baseball as a pitcher at Yale, and in March 1907, the Sporting Life noted: "He is said to possess good curves and speed and good control."
In April 1905, The Washington Post reported that Veeder won the first prize for punting at the annual Yale kicking contest with a total of 175 points. In 1904, the Trenton Times reported that "the fleet quarter and half back" had missed the Princeton game after becoming involved in "a slight scholarship complication," but the matter was closed in time for him to play in the Harvard game.
In the 1906 college football season
, the forward pass
was introduced to the game of football. The first legal forward pass has been credited to Bradbury Robinson
of St. Louis University, but some publications say the "first forward pass in a major game" was thrown by Veeder in the Yale-Harvard game on November 24, 1906. Veeder helped Yale defeat Harvard 6-0 in front of a crowd of 32,000 at New Haven. In a game that commentators noted was unlike any game played before, Yale relied heavily on the newly-permitted forward pass, and Veeder completed a 30-yard pass to Harvard's 3-yard line for a first down. The completion led to Yale's only touchdown. In 2007, The Washington Post identified Veeder's 30-yard pass as one of the few significant forward passes thrown in the first season of the forward pass.
The famous Chicago football expert Walter Eckersall
later wrote that Veeder was one of the finest football players to come from Chicago:
At the end of the 1906 season, Veeder announced he would return to Yale for another season of varsity football player, and one Washington newspaper called him Yale's "star punter and half back."
Veeder graduated from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School
in June 1907. He returned in the fall of that year as an academic student and became the coach of Yale's backs. In November 1907, The New York Times wrote about Veeder's innovations with the newly-developed "on-side kick
" play:
This strategy had been used by St. Louis coach Eddie Cochems
and perhaps others the previous season.
Veeder remained a part of Yale's coaching staff at least through the 1909 and 1911 seasons.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Veeder played halfback, fullback, quarterback and punter for the Yale Bulldogs from 1904–1906 and was selected as an All-American in 1906.
Biography
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Veeder attended the Latin School of Chicago. He left Chicago to enroll at Phillips AcademyPhillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, where he was quarterback of the school's 1903 football team.
Veeder enrolled at Yale in the fall of 1903. He played for Yale's football team from 1904 to 1906. Veeder was 5 feet, 10 inches in height and weighed 167 pounds. He played mostly at halfback, but also quarterback and fullback. He also handled punting and place kicking for Yale. A November 1904 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Veeder averaged 50 yards per punt. He was also considered an excellent defensive back, with coaches rating him as "a capital man to bore through an opposing line." Veeder also played baseball as a pitcher at Yale, and in March 1907, the Sporting Life noted: "He is said to possess good curves and speed and good control."
In April 1905, The Washington Post reported that Veeder won the first prize for punting at the annual Yale kicking contest with a total of 175 points. In 1904, the Trenton Times reported that "the fleet quarter and half back" had missed the Princeton game after becoming involved in "a slight scholarship complication," but the matter was closed in time for him to play in the Harvard game.
In the 1906 college football season
1906 college football season
The 1906 college football season was the first in which the forward pass was permitted. Although there was no national championship, there were two teams that had won all nine of their games as the 1906 season drew to a close, the Princeton Tigers and the Yale Bulldogs, and on November 17, 1906,...
, the forward pass
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
was introduced to the game of football. The first legal forward pass has been credited to Bradbury Robinson
Bradbury Robinson
Bradbury Norton Robinson, Jr. was a pioneering American football player, physician, and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and at Saint Louis University from 1904 to 1907. In 1904, though personal connections to Wisconsin governor Robert M. La...
of St. Louis University, but some publications say the "first forward pass in a major game" was thrown by Veeder in the Yale-Harvard game on November 24, 1906. Veeder helped Yale defeat Harvard 6-0 in front of a crowd of 32,000 at New Haven. In a game that commentators noted was unlike any game played before, Yale relied heavily on the newly-permitted forward pass, and Veeder completed a 30-yard pass to Harvard's 3-yard line for a first down. The completion led to Yale's only touchdown. In 2007, The Washington Post identified Veeder's 30-yard pass as one of the few significant forward passes thrown in the first season of the forward pass.
The famous Chicago football expert 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:...
later wrote that Veeder was one of the finest football players to come from Chicago:
"Of the recent players who have made names for themselves on Eastern College teams none is so conspicuous as Paul Veeder. This remarkable football player is a product of the Chicago Latin School. He went to Yale at the conclusion of his prep course, and after two years of hard work finally managed to make the team. He was placed at full back and was pronounced by Walter CampWalter CampWalter 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 one of the best backs that ever represented Yale on the gridiron and as proof of his conviction Camp placed him on the All American team."
At the end of the 1906 season, Veeder announced he would return to Yale for another season of varsity football player, and one Washington newspaper called him Yale's "star punter and half back."
Veeder graduated from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was...
in June 1907. He returned in the fall of that year as an academic student and became the coach of Yale's backs. In November 1907, The New York Times wrote about Veeder's innovations with the newly-developed "on-side kick
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
" play:
"Veeder ran off a new on-side kick which is one of the novelties of revised football for 1907. His idea is to make a drop kick, booting the top instead of the bottom of the ball, driving the oval low over or into the line, and putting every one on side. He worked the kick so cleverly that in nearly every case the scrubs retained possession of the ball."
This strategy had been used by St. Louis coach Eddie Cochems
Eddie Cochems
Edward Bulwer "Eddie" Cochems was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota State , Clemson , Saint Louis University , and Maine . During his three years at St...
and perhaps others the previous season.
Veeder remained a part of Yale's coaching staff at least through the 1909 and 1911 seasons.