William J . Olcott William James Olcott ( February 22 , 1862 – April 29 , 1935 ) was an American football player and mining and railroad executive in the Mesabi Range . He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1881 to 1883 and was captain of the 1882 and 1883 teams . After receiving his degree , he worked in the iron ore mining industry for more than 40 years . He was president of the Oliver Iron Mining Company from 1909 to 1928 and president of the Duluth , Missabe and Iron Range Railway from 1901 to 1909 . Early years . Olcott was born in Detroit , Michigan , in 1862 , the son of Harlow and Elizabeth Olcott . He moved with his family to Michigan ' s Upper Peninsula and attended school in Marquette , Michigan . University of Michigan . He subsequently attended the University of Michigan where he studied chemistry and mining . He played on the Michigan Wolverines football team , was the starting " three - quarter back " from 1881 to 1883 and served as captain of the 1882 and 1883 team s . Mining and railroad career . Olcott graduated from Michigan in 1884 . After receiving his degree , Olcott returned to Michigan ' s Upper Peninsula , where he worked in the mining business . In 1885 , he was employed as an assistant engineer to the Chapin Mine on the Menominee Range . In 1890 , he was reported to be living in Ironwood , Michigan , and working as an assistant superintendent of five mines at a salary of $ 3 , 600 . Olcott later moved to Duluth , Minnesota , where he lived for three decades . He became superintendent of the Lake Superior Consolidated Mines on the Mesabi Range . In 1897 , he was appointed first vice president of the Duluth , Missabe and Iron Range Railway and in 1901 became the company ' s president . He served as the railroad ' s president from 1901 to 1909 . In 1905 , Olcott was promoted to the position of vice president of the Oliver Iron Mining Company ; he had previously been the general manager of the company . In 1909 , he was appointed as the company ' s president . The Oliver Iron Mining Company was at the time the subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation responsible for the company ' s iron ore mining operations . He testified in 1913 in a government suit seeking to break up the steel company . Olcott had 40 , 000 men working for him and reported directly to John D . Rockefeller . Rockefeller and his family stayed at the Olcott ' s home in 1928 . Family and later years . On December 26 , 1887 , Olcott married Fannie Bailey of Ann Arbor , Michigan . In 1904 , Olcott and his wife built a 10 , 000 square foot Georgian Colonial mansion for their family in Duluth . The house was built at a cost of $ 140 , 000 and had an estate covering five city blocks surrounded by a brick and wrought iron wall . The Olcotts had two daughters who they raised in the house . The Olcott family donated the house to Duluth Teachers College in 1939 , where it housed a music school . In 1925 , Olcott and his wife established the " Olcott Lodge " , a rest lodge for wives of the Oliver Iron Mining Company at Half Moon Lake in the Mesabi Range . At the time , a newspaper account noted : " The lodge itself is a charming place , and the surroundings of lake and forest attractive and restful . The Olcotts not only have caused the beautiful lodge to be built and completely furnished and equipped , but they defray all costs of maintenance , with a competent and experienced woman in charge . " In 1931 , the camp was turned over to the Girl Scouts and has been operated since that time as the Fannie Bailey Olcott Girl Scout Camp . Olcott retired as president of the Oliver Iron Mining Co . in 1928 and traveled extensively in the seven years following his retirement , including a year in Europe and trips to Florida and California . In April 1935 , Olcott died while visiting his daughter , Mrs . Torrey Ford , in Pasadena , California . He died from pneumonia following a stroke suffered several weeks earlier . He was 73 years old at the time of his death .