Tiny Maxwell
Encyclopedia
Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell (September 7, 1884 – June 30, 1922) was a professional football
player and referee
. He was also a sports editor with the Philadelphia Public Ledger
.
. There he excelled in football and track and field
. He also played the mandolin
and was a student actor in the school's Shakespearean plays.
while attending the University of Chicago
. He played for the Maroons
in 1902, under coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
. Stagg also recruited Maxwell for his size and style of play. Maxwell weighed 240 pounds, in an era when the average offensive lineman weighed under 200 pounds. Maxwell's struggle with a speech impediment made his physical presence less intimidating and in fact increased his popularity. Bob played guard for Chicago in 1902 and 1903. While attending the University of Chicago, Maxwell was also a boxer
and competed in track and field. He later set the school's record in the hammer throw
and shot put
. He set the school's shot put record on July 4, 1904, when he recorded a 42'9" throw.
In the fall of 1904, Maxwell transferred to Swarthmore College
. There he prompted the interest of the school's president, who personally encouraged him to improve his studies and even directed the college treasurer to send his tuition bills to a member of the Swarthmore College Board of Managers. It was around this time that he was given the nickname "Tiny". According to Amos Stagg, Maxwell was called "Fatty" while attending the University of Chicago. During his two years at Swarthmore, the school's football team went 6-3 in 1904 and 7-1 in 1905, losing only a now infamous game to the University of Pennsylvania
.
, Maxwell's nose was broken, his eyes were swollen nearly shut and his face dripped with blood. Maxwell reportedly continue to play until near the end of the game, when his face was so bloody and swollen that he could no longer see, yet he never complained of the physical beating. Swarthmore lost the game to Penn 11-4. Because of his size, Penn had three linemen block Maxwell.
A newspaper photo was taken of face. The photo then found its way to President Theodore Roosevelt
. The photograph of Maxwell's face shocked and enraged President Roosevelt into threatening to abolish football, if the colleges themselves did not take steps to eliminate the brutality and reduce injuries.
Several writers and scholars have made exhaustive searches for the photo of Maxwell's battered face, but none have ever been found. Though the events surrounding the Roosevelt-Maxwell story supposedly occurred in 1905, the story didn't appear until it was mentioned in the second edition of Frank G. Menke
's Encyclopedia of Sports published in 1944. Meanwhile, Maxwell died in 1922. The 1960s and 1970s update of the Encyclopedia also continued to run the Maxwell-Roosevelt story. The Maxwell Football Club
, formed by sportswriters and athletic officials to honor Maxwell, picked up the story and made it more credible. As a result, it became the official account of 1905
and was enshrined in Jack Falla’s history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) and at the College Football Hall of Fame
.
What is absolutely certain is that on October 9, 1905, Teddy Roosevelt held a meeting of football representatives from Harvard
, Yale
, and Princeton
. Though he lectured on eliminating and reducing injuries, he never threatened to ban football or mentioned the Maxwell injury. He also lacked the authority to abolish football. In fact he was actually a fan of the game. The President's sons were also playing football at the college and secondary levels
at the time.
By December, sixty-two colleges agreed on a set of innovations that significantly changed the game of football. Yardage for a first down was changed from five to 10 yards; there was a neutral
zone established between opposing lines, and the time of the game was reduced from 70 to 60 minutes. The year also saw the legalization of the forward pass
.
All-American team. One was their quarterback
Wilmer Crowell, and the other was Maxwell. However Bob left Swarthmore in 1906 without receiving his degree.
, later moving to the Canton Bulldogs
of the Ohio League
He then played for the Pittsburgh Lyceums
after pro football disappeared from Ohio
after the 1906 season. During this time, Maxwell insisted on wearing his Swarthmore jersey with its big "S" in all team pictures during his pro career.
, and Tigers end, Walter East
, of conspiring to fix a two game championship series between the two clubs. When the Tigers won the second a final game of a championship series and were named pro football's champions, Wallace was accused of throwing the game for Canton.
However E. J. Stewart
, the Tigers' coach and the editor of the Massillon Independent, charged that an actual attempt was made to bribe some of the Tiger players and that Wallace had been involved. His accusation was that an attempt had been made to bribe some Massillion players before the first game. According to Stewart, Tiny Maxwell and Bob Shiring
of Massillon had been solicited to throw the first game by East. Maxwell and Shiring then reported the offer to the Tigers' manager and the scandal ended before it began. The scandal was said to have ruined professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s.
the famed Penn-Dartmouth
game at the Polo Grounds
in 1919, referred to as "The Bloodiest Battle of World War I". Lou Little
, a Penn tackle who later coached at Georgetown and Columbia, said Maxwell alone prevented an open riot.
In 1921, Maxwell served as the referee for a game between the Union Quakers of Philadelphia
and the pre-National Football League
, Frankford Yellow Jackets
.
, he began writing a sports column for the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Two years later Maxwell became sports editor of the Public Ledger, a position he held until his death. Maxwell's column was reported as being stylish and good humored. In friendly bet between Record Herald and a rival newspaper, Maxwell defeated his colleague in an eating contest.
. As they were returning that night, Maxwell noticed a car stopped directly in front of him on the road. Fearing a holdup, he speeded up to go around the car. However he instead ran head-on into a truck, that was taking a group of Boy Scouts
home from a picnic. According to Nan Pollock, one of those in Maxwell's party, Maxwell was pinned beneath the wreckage. He told his friends to "Help the others! I can wait."
Maxwell spent the next few days in a hospital located in Norristown, Pennsylvania
, where he was suffering from seven broken ribs, a punctured lung and a dislocated hip. Pneumonia
developed, and delirium
soon followed. On the night of June 29, Maxwell was visited by his neighbor and close friend, Charles Heeb. Emerging from his delirium he talked of packing his bags and going home. "Take two hours' sleep, and I'll go with you," Heeb told him. Maxwell agreed and he drifted off to sleep where he later died.
In 1937, the Maxwell Football Club was founded in Philadelphia to award trophies in his name and promote football safety. The Club also annually awards the Maxwell Award
to the best college football player in the nation, as determined by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and NCAA head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club.
He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1974.
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 referee
Official (American football)
In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field...
. He was also a sports editor with the Philadelphia Public Ledger
Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
The Public Ledger was a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania published from March 25, 1836 to January 1942. Its motto was "Virtue Liberty and Independence". For a time, it was Philadelphia's most popular newspaper, but circulation declined in the mid-1930s.-Early history:Founded by William...
.
Early life
Not much is known of Maxwell's childhood. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 7, 1884. He is known to have had a sister, named Katerine Doust at the time of his death. Maxwell began his athletic career began at Englewood High SchoolEnglewood Technical Prep Academy
Englewood Technical Prep Academy or sometimes referred to as simply Englewood High School , part of the Chicago Public School system, served the Englewood community on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois....
. There he excelled in football and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. He also played the mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and was a student actor in the school's Shakespearean plays.
College
Before playing professional football, Maxwell played at the college levelCollege 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...
while attending 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...
. He played for the Maroons
Chicago Maroons football
The Chicago Maroons are the college football team representing the University of Chicago. The Maroons play in NCAA Division III as a member of the University Athletic Association. From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power...
in 1902, under coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
. Stagg also recruited Maxwell for his size and style of play. Maxwell weighed 240 pounds, in an era when the average offensive lineman weighed under 200 pounds. Maxwell's struggle with a speech impediment made his physical presence less intimidating and in fact increased his popularity. Bob played guard for Chicago in 1902 and 1903. While attending the University of Chicago, Maxwell was also a boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and competed in track and field. He later set the school's record in the hammer throw
Hammer throw
The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...
and shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
. He set the school's shot put record on July 4, 1904, when he recorded a 42'9" throw.
In the fall of 1904, Maxwell transferred to Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
. There he prompted the interest of the school's president, who personally encouraged him to improve his studies and even directed the college treasurer to send his tuition bills to a member of the Swarthmore College Board of Managers. It was around this time that he was given the nickname "Tiny". According to Amos Stagg, Maxwell was called "Fatty" while attending the University of Chicago. During his two years at Swarthmore, the school's football team went 6-3 in 1904 and 7-1 in 1905, losing only a now infamous game to the University of Pennsylvania
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...
.
The bloodied face photo
In 1905, 18 players died playing college football and 159 were seriously injured. During an October 7, 1905 game between Swarthmore College and Penn, played at Franklin FieldFranklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
, Maxwell's nose was broken, his eyes were swollen nearly shut and his face dripped with blood. Maxwell reportedly continue to play until near the end of the game, when his face was so bloody and swollen that he could no longer see, yet he never complained of the physical beating. Swarthmore lost the game to Penn 11-4. Because of his size, Penn had three linemen block Maxwell.
A newspaper photo was taken of face. The photo then found its way to President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. The photograph of Maxwell's face shocked and enraged President Roosevelt into threatening to abolish football, if the colleges themselves did not take steps to eliminate the brutality and reduce injuries.
Fact vs fiction
Several writers and scholars have made exhaustive searches for the photo of Maxwell's battered face, but none have ever been found. Though the events surrounding the Roosevelt-Maxwell story supposedly occurred in 1905, the story didn't appear until it was mentioned in the second edition of Frank G. Menke
Frank G. Menke
Frank Grant Menke was an American newspaper reporter, author, and sports historian. He wrote for the Hearst Newspapers from 1912 to 1932 and his articles appeared daily in 300 newspapers across the country. He was billed by the Hearst syndicate as "America's Foremost Sport Writer"...
's Encyclopedia of Sports published in 1944. Meanwhile, Maxwell died in 1922. The 1960s and 1970s update of the Encyclopedia also continued to run the Maxwell-Roosevelt story. The Maxwell Football Club
Maxwell Football Club
The Maxwell Football Club was established in 1935 to promote safety in the game of American football. Named in honor of the late Robert W...
, formed by sportswriters and athletic officials to honor Maxwell, picked up the story and made it more credible. As a result, it became the official account of 1905
and was enshrined in Jack Falla’s history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) and at the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
What is absolutely certain is that on October 9, 1905, Teddy Roosevelt held a meeting of football representatives from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Yale
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...
, and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Though he lectured on eliminating and reducing injuries, he never threatened to ban football or mentioned the Maxwell injury. He also lacked the authority to abolish football. In fact he was actually a fan of the game. The President's sons were also playing football at the college and secondary levels
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at the time.
By December, sixty-two colleges agreed on a set of innovations that significantly changed the game of football. Yardage for a first down was changed from five to 10 yards; there was a neutral
Neutral zone (American football)
In American football, the neutral zone can be described as the length of the football from one tip to the other when it is spotted on the field prior to the snap of the ball during a scrimmage down...
zone established between opposing lines, and the time of the game was reduced from 70 to 60 minutes. The year also saw the legalization of 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...
.
All-American honors
At the end of 1905 season two Swarthmore players were selected on Walter Camp'sWalter 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...
All-American team. One was their quarterback
Wilmer Crowell, and the other was Maxwell. However Bob left Swarthmore in 1906 without receiving his degree.
Pro football
In the fall of 1906 Maxwell played professional football for 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...
, later moving to the 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...
of the Ohio League
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship . As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio...
He then played for the Pittsburgh Lyceums
Pittsburgh Lyceum (American football)
The Pittsburgh Lyceum were a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1906 until 1910. They were regarded as one of the professional football teams in Pittsburgh from 1907 until 1909. The team was also the last championship Pittsburgh would produce until the 1970s...
after pro football disappeared from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
after the 1906 season. During this time, Maxwell insisted on wearing his Swarthmore jersey with its big "S" in all team pictures during his pro career.
Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting Scandal
In 1906 Maxwell was a figure in betting scandal between the Massillon Tigers and the Canton Bulldogs. The Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting Scandal was the first major scandal in professional football. It was more notably the first known case of professional gamblers' attempting to fix a professional sport. It refers to an allegation made by a Massillon newspaper charging the Bulldogs' coach, Blondy WallaceBlondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace was an early professional football player. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania. He also played two years at Peddie Institute, in New Jersey, winning state championships in 1896 and 1897...
, and Tigers end, Walter East
Walter East
Walter East was the Akron Zips men's basketball head coach in 1909. In twelve games, he guided the team to a 5-7 record.-Scandal:He is best known for fixing a championship football series in 1906 between the Canton Bulldogs and the Massillon Tigers of the "Ohio League"...
, of conspiring to fix a two game championship series between the two clubs. When the Tigers won the second a final game of a championship series and were named pro football's champions, Wallace was accused of throwing the game for Canton.
However E. J. Stewart
E. J. Stewart
Edward James "Doc" Stewart was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator...
, the Tigers' coach and the editor of the Massillon Independent, charged that an actual attempt was made to bribe some of the Tiger players and that Wallace had been involved. His accusation was that an attempt had been made to bribe some Massillion players before the first game. According to Stewart, Tiny Maxwell and Bob Shiring
Bob Shiring
Robert Shiring was a professional football player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best known for playing for the Massillon Tigers from 1903 until 1907. However he also played for the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League in 1902...
of Massillon had been solicited to throw the first game by East. Maxwell and Shiring then reported the offer to the Tigers' manager and the scandal ended before it began. The scandal was said to have ruined professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s.
Coach
In 1909, Maxwell became an assistant coach for Swarthmore College. He later accepted an assistant coaching job at Penn. While coaching, Maxwell also enrolled at Jefferson Medical College, located in Philadelphia where he completed his pre-clinical studies. However he withdrew from the school after two years. As a student at Jefferson, Bob again played guard on the school's football team.Referee
Because of his tremendous size, quickness, and knowledge of the rules, Maxwell was soon in demand to officiate major games as Harvard-Yale, Army-Navy and Pitt-Penn State. Walter Camp later said that Maxwell set the standard for fairness and competence. He also officiated several professional football games as well. Bob workedthe famed Penn-Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
game at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
in 1919, referred to as "The Bloodiest Battle of World War I". Lou Little
Lou Little
Lou "Luigi Piccolo" Little was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Georgetown College, now Georgetown University, from 1924 to 1929 and at Columbia University from 1930 to 1956, compiling a career college football record of 151–128–13...
, a Penn tackle who later coached at Georgetown and Columbia, said Maxwell alone prevented an open riot.
In 1921, Maxwell served as the referee for a game between the Union Quakers of Philadelphia
Union Quakers of Philadelphia
The Union Quakers of Philadelphia were a professional independent football team, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921. The team evolved from a number of pro players who played with the Union Club of Phoenixville during their 1920 season. During their only season of operation, the club won...
and the pre-National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
.
Notable experiences
- During a Yale-Harvard game, Maxwell obstructed a Harvard tackler, preventing him from bringing down a Yale ball carrier. As Yale's players celebrated the resulting big gain, Maxwell told them, "Gentlemen of Yale, I fully expect to be invited to your annual banquet and be awarded my varsity 'Y.' I have j-just turned in the best Yale play of the day."
- During a Pitt-Penn State game, after Maxwell had followed a PittUniversity of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
runner for the length of the field in a breakaway play against Penn State, the Nittany Lions' captain insisted that the Pitt back had stepped out of bounds at his own 10-yard line. He then asked Tiny to come back with him to Pitt's 10 yard line, he'd point out the cleat mark. Maxwell responded by saying as he panted "Young man," if y-you want me to go back and look at that cleat mark, you'll have to hire me a t-taxi."
- During a match-up involving a Catholic and non-Catholic college, a lineman for the Catholic institution bit the finger of one of the players from the non-Catholic school. When the bitten player complained, Maxwell replied, "I'll tell you what to do. Next year schedule the game on a Friday because they don't eat meat then."
Reporter
In 1914, after a journalistic apprenticeship in Chicago as a reporter for the Chicago Record HeraldChicago Record Herald
The Chicago Record Herald was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the Chicago Morning Herald, the Chicago Times Herald and the Chicago Record. It was succeeded by the Chicago Herald Examiner....
, he began writing a sports column for the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Two years later Maxwell became sports editor of the Public Ledger, a position he held until his death. Maxwell's column was reported as being stylish and good humored. In friendly bet between Record Herald and a rival newspaper, Maxwell defeated his colleague in an eating contest.
Death and legacy
Early in the summer of 1922, Maxwell and some friends went for a drive in the countryside north of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. As they were returning that night, Maxwell noticed a car stopped directly in front of him on the road. Fearing a holdup, he speeded up to go around the car. However he instead ran head-on into a truck, that was taking a group of Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
home from a picnic. According to Nan Pollock, one of those in Maxwell's party, Maxwell was pinned beneath the wreckage. He told his friends to "Help the others! I can wait."
Maxwell spent the next few days in a hospital located in Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, where he was suffering from seven broken ribs, a punctured lung and a dislocated hip. Pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
developed, and delirium
Delirium
Delirium or acute confusional state is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior...
soon followed. On the night of June 29, Maxwell was visited by his neighbor and close friend, Charles Heeb. Emerging from his delirium he talked of packing his bags and going home. "Take two hours' sleep, and I'll go with you," Heeb told him. Maxwell agreed and he drifted off to sleep where he later died.
In 1937, the Maxwell Football Club was founded in Philadelphia to award trophies in his name and promote football safety. The Club also annually awards the Maxwell Award
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
to the best college football player in the nation, as determined by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and NCAA head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club.
He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1974.