Walter Eckersall Walter H . " Eckie " Eckersall ( June 17 , 1886 – March 24 , 1930 ) 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 . Eckersall grew up in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago just south of the University of Chicago . His talent emerged at Hyde Park High School , where he dashed 100 yards in 10 . 0 seconds , an Illinois record for 25 years , and excelled on the football field . In 1903 , he quarterbacked Hyde Park to an undefeated season and then led the Hyde Park squad to a 105 to 0 trouncing of Brooklyn Polytechnic at Marshall Field on December 5 , 1903 to claim the unofficial national high school football championship . Eckersall later wrote about his years at Hyde Park in a column picked up for national syndication in 1918 . Much of the article was about African American player and World War I veteran Lieutenant Samuel Ransom . Eckersall was highly recruited out of high school and both Fielding H . Yost of the Michigan and Amos Alonzo Stagg of the Chicago Maroons . Stagg resorted to chicanery , snatching Eckersall off a train platform to keep him from attending a recruitment rendezvous arranged by Michigan coaches in Ann Arbor in 1904 . College career . National championship game of 1905 . In 1905 , the sophomore quarterback led the Maroons to the national championship . In the final game of the season on November 30 , Chicago and Michigan met in a battle of undefeated Western Conference powerhouses met at Chicago ' s Marshall Field in front of 27 , 000 spectators , at that time the largest crowd to view a football game . Michigan was 12 – 0 and had a 56 - game undefeated streak on the line , while Chicago was 10 – 0 . The game was a punting duel between Eckersall and Michigan ' s John Garrels and was scoreless until early in the third quarter when a Michigan punt and Chicago penalty pinned Chicago inside their own ten - yard line . On third down , as Eckersall attempted to punt , he encountered a fearsome rush , but evaded the Michigan tacklers and was able to scramble to the 22 - yard line and a first down . After three more first downs , the drive stalled and Chicago was forced to punt again . Eckersall ' s booming punt carried into the end zone where it was caught by Michigan ' s William Dennison Clark who attempted to run the ball out . He advanced the ball forward to the one - yard line , but was hit hard by Art Badenoch and then was brought back inside his own end zone by Mark Catlin for a two - point safety . Under the rules of the time , forward progress was not credited , and a ball carrier could be carried backwards or forwards until he was down . The rest of third and fourth quarters continued as a defensive stalemate . Chicago ' s 2 – 0 victory snapped Michigan ' s 56 - game unbeaten streak and gave Chicago the national championship for 1905 . As a tragic note to this game , Clark received the blame for the Michigan loss , and in 1932 he shot himself through the heart . In a suicide note to his wife he reportedly expressed the hope that his " final play " would be of some benefit in atoning for his error at Marshall Field . Legacy . In Eckersall , Stagg saw the promise of " a selfless performer , marked by complete dedication " to victory . During his career , Eckersall led Chicago to a 25 – 2 – 1 record ( . 911 winning percentage ) , with Chicago outscoring their opponents 856 – 66 . The two losses were to Michigan in 1904 and to Wisconsin in 1906 . The tied was a 6 – 6 stalemate with Illinois in 1904 . Following his career , Eckersall ' s was selected to Walter Camp ' s " All - Time All - America Team " honoring the greatest college football players during the sport ' s formative years . Eckersall was selected to Camp ' s All - American Team for 1904 , 1905 , and 1906 . Later life . After his playing days , Eckersall remained a prominent figure in football . He had a successful dual career as a sportswriter for the " Chicago Tribune " , and as a referee . As an official , Eckersall was considered one of the best and officiated at many high profile games . Highly regarded as an authority on football , he selected the " Chicago Tribune " ' s all star team . His " All Western Eleven " carried prestige . Eckersall is also a footnote in the story of Knute Rockne , and the well - documented history of Notre Dame , because of his presence at many of their games . Eckersall was an idol of Rockne , who grew up in Chicago and watched Eckersall play in high school and in college . Death . Eckersall ' s boozing and carousing often contradicted Stagg ' s prescription of football as a surefire builder of moral character . Stagg gradually distanced himself from his greatest player , especially when Eckersall reneged on a $ 20 debt and was later featured in a national ad campaign for cigarettes — a habit Stagg regarded as sinful . In March 1930 , Eckersall was hospitalized for illnesses associated with his hard living , Stagg came to his bedside with the firm advice to " turn over a new leaf . " " Eckie " promised his old coach that he would ; however , the former football star died of cirrhosis of the liver and pneumonia on March 24 , 1930 at the age of 43 . Memorials . The Chicago Public Schools constructed a sporting facility at 2423 East 82nd Street in 1949 , named " Walter Eckersall Stadium " .