Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-15
Second Virginia Student
to Lose Life in Foot Ball

Since foot ball has been played at Vir-
ginia but two men have lost their lives
from 1t. third was injured for life.
The first accident occurred in November,
1895. in a game between the law and
medical school teams. George Phelan.
who was playing left tackle for the law
team. became exhausted and retired from
the game. So far as his teammates or
the opposing players could tell, Phelan
had not been hurt in any way.
Later he became unconscious and was
removed to the hospital, where he died
the following day.
An examination showed that Phelan did
not die from the effects of any blow. but
from heart failure. 1t subsequently de-
veloped that he had weak heart and
was in no condition to play a strenuous
was one OF the best tennis players In
college and took regular exercise at all
times led the captain of the law school
team to select him for the game.
Throughout the game he played well
and showed no sign of distress. There
were no marks on him to indicate con-
cussion Of the brain or other injury, and
after post-mortem examination the
physicians declared he died from heart
failure due to exhaustion.
This accident put a stop to interclass
games at Virginia, the authorities declar-
ing that the participants in such games
were rarely in the proper physical con-
dition to stand the strain.
The Case Of Robinson.
The following year q serious accident
befell Morgan Robinson of Richmond,
Va, one of the most prominent and pop
ular students at college. Robinson stood
high in his classes and was president of
the General Athletic Association. He was
extremely fond OF foot ball, and although
not up to the varsity form was q good
man on the scrub team. Late one No
vember afternoon the varsity and the
scrubs were indulging in q fifteen-minute
practice game, and Robinson, who was
captain of the scrubs, was playing left
tackle. The varsity right halfback at
and tackle. Robinson and the scrub left
end met him as he struck the line and
the three collided with a good deal Of
force. The left end escaped without any
injury. but Robinson's head came in con-
tact with the left knee of the varsity
back.
All three laughed as they disentangled
themselves. Robinson shook his head
and said:
That was a good one. but you can't
get through this side of the line
He got back into position and continued
playing. When the practice ended he
logged half a mile around the running
track with the rest Of the scrubs. The
in a semi-conscious condition. He was
hurried to the hospital, where an ex-
animation showed that he was suffering
from paralysis due to q clot on his brain.
He was Ill for weeks, and as soon az he
recovered sufficiently he was taken home.
After more than a year Of treatment he
recovered and re-entered college.
The Death Of Bahen.
The Christian tragedy is the second Of
it's kind to occur in Washington. The
other case was that Of George Bahen OF
Georgetown University, known to foot
ball fame as Shorty" Bahen. He died
as the result of injuries received in a
game between Georgetown and the Co
lumbia Athletic Club foot ball teams in
1894 In speaking of this case John
Hadley Doyle. who is familiar with all
the details. said today:
The injury and death Of Bahen in 1894
attracted the attention Of the whole
country. and especially among the medi-
cal fraternity was the case a most inter-
esting one from surgical point of view.
Every appliance known to science at
and spine of Bahen, and he was kept
alive with a broken spine from Thanks
giving day, 1894, until March II, 1895,
when death claimed him.
When his death was announced there
was universal hue and cry for the doing
away with the game in college life. but,
like in the present decade, the hue and
cry was soon forgotten and the game
iourished in the fall Of 1895 just as Wig
Orously as II had previously, with the
possible exception of Georgetown Col
lege. where, as the result of Bahen's death,
the university authorities put a ban on
the game and II ceased as one Of the
sports of the college for a period Of five
years.
I'm those days Georgetown College and
the Columbia Athletic Club were the
rivals for honors in the athletic field, and
between the two the most intense rivalry
and downright hatred existed. 1t was
this feeling, known to exist, that led the
grand jury to investigate the death Of
Bahen.
Days Of Hard Playing.
Those were the days Of mass forma-
tons. flying wedges and v shape wedges.
a series OF plays that reminded one more
Of the human catapault than anything
else, and on that Thanksgiving day these
plays were used by both Georgetown and
the Columbia Athletics. with disastrous
results to both sides.
The game was played on the grounds
now used by the American League as
ball park and attracted a crowd that