John A . Hartwell John Augustus " Josh " Hartwell ( September 27 , 1869 – November 30 , 1940 ) was an American football player and coach , military officer , and physician . Hartwell attended Yale University , where he played end for Walter Camp ' s Bulldogs football team from 1888 to 1891 . In 1891 , Hartwell was named an All - American for a season in which Yale was unbeaten , untied , unscored against , and later recognized as a national champion by a number of selectors . Hartwell graduated from Yale in 1892 , holding both PhD and MD degrees , and began a career as a surgeon in New York City . He also continued with football as a coach . He served as the head football coach at Lehigh University in 1892 , the United States Naval Academy in 1893 , New York University in 1894 , and at his alma mater in 1895 , compiling a career college football coaching record of 21 – 12 – 2 . Hartwell ' s 1895 Yale squad went 13 – 0 – 2 and was later recognized as a national champion by Parke H . Davis . In 1918 , Hartwell was commissioned a major in the U . S . Army Medical Corps , with which he served in France during World War I . From 1910 until his retirement in 1938 , he was a professor of clinical surgery at Cornell University Medical College . Hartwell was a pioneer of thoracic surgery and an early champion of safe and effective contraception . He was a well - known outdoorsman throughout his life and a friend and caregiver to Theodore Roosevelt . Early life and college . Hartwell was born on September 27 , 1869 in Deckertown , Sussex County , New Jersey to Samuel Slawson Hartwell , an 1859 graduate of Yale University , and Mary Clarinda ( Stiles ) Hartwell . John was one of four children born to the couple . The elder Hartwell served as headmaster for a private school , allowing for an easy education to be provided to the family . However , when John was twelve , his mother died , and his father followed he a year later . Other members of the " closely knit family " came and helped the four children , converting the school building into a boarding house . The house provided the family with enough money to live on , and continued to provide education to the children . While in secondary school , John began playing sports and developed a wish to enter the medical field . In 1885 , Hartwell entered biology classes at Yale University , majoring in biology . In order to cover the cost of schooling , Hartwell took up a number of jobs ; among them were participating in athletic tests and coaching sports teams during his vacation periods . Hartwell also joined the freshman class ' s crew team . He was presented with prizes for the awards for " Excellence in all the Studies of Freshman Year " and " Excellence in Physics " , as well as being named a member of The Colony and Berzelius club . Hartwell was relatively quiet his sophomore year , quitting the class crew team . However , he was still very competitive in his studies . The following year , Hartwell rejoined the class crew team and was elected as the junior class president , while continuing to study biology . In his senior year , John Hartwell was elected as the second vice president of the school Y . M . C . A . and received an honorable mention for the Belknap Natural History Prize . He became the starting right end of the Bulldogs football team . The team went 16 – 1 , losing the last game of the season , against Princeton , which Hartwell was not able to play in after suffering a sprained wrist and an injured leg in the rivalry match against Harvard , He was also a starting member of the university crew team , before graduating and earning a Bachelor of Philosophy ( Ph . B . ) . Immediately afterwards he joined the university ' s staff and became the assistant for Professor Russell Henry Chittenden , helping to teach physiological chemistry . During that time , he was a graduate student at the Sheffield Scientific School and continued participating on the crew and football teams while teaching . After one year at the school , John Hartwell left , quit teaching , and entered Yale Medical School as a graduate student . Hartwell was elected as the captain of the crew team , and was moved back as the starting right end of the football team . The team shutout all 13 of their opponents , ten of which were major football schools . Although he was taken out of a game against the Crescent Athletic Club for being " out of practice " , Hartwell helped out with the team ' s captain ' s responsibilities and was named as a consensus member of that year ' s All - American Team . Hartwell finished his college career in 1892 , having lead the crew team to three consecutive victories , from 1888 to 1890 , while maintaining his spot as team captain and bow rower No . 6 . Hartwell was a well known member of the football team for four years , where he earned his nickname of old " Josh " Hartwell . That year he graduated from medical school , finishing at the top of the class and earning his Doctor of Medicine ( M . D . ) degree " cum laude " . Career . Coaching and early medical , 1892 – 1900 . Upon graduation from Sheffield , Hartwell entered graduate classes at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and graduated from the school the next year . Returning to football , he became the first head coach for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team , leading them through the 1892 season . The school had participated in football for eight years previously , all without a coach . In his first ever game coached , Hartwell led the Mountain Hawks to a 51 – 0 shutout victory over Swarthmore . After the win , Hartwell ' s squad went on a six - game losing streak , first falling to Princeton , 16 – 0 , and subsequently to the Orange Athletic Club , 8 – 4 , then suffering consecutive blowout losses to Princeton and Cornell , and a 4 – 0 loss at the hands of Penn . During the streak , the team lost to bitter rival Lafayette , 4 – 0 , ending a nine - game unbeaten streak in the annual competition . The losing streak was broken on November 19 , when the team beat Lafayette in the second playing of the rivalry , 15 – 6 . Hartwell concluded his tenure with Lehigh with a 21 – 0 victory over the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . After leaving Lehigh , Hartwell took up a job as the coach of the New York Athletic Club ' s crew team , holding the position for the season . In March of 1893 , Hartwell took over as the coach of the Yale crew team , leading several former teammates . Hartwell began as a one - week replacement for then - coaches Alfred Cowles , Jr . and Fred Stephenson , and was hired as an assistant coach along with John Rogers , holding the position for over two months . During that time , Hartwell remained involved with other Yale sports , at one point betting $ 1000 ( equivalent to $ respectively in 2018 ) on a tense baseball game between Cornell and Yale ( Yale won 51 ) . Later that year , Hartwell was hired as head coach for the United States Naval Academy ' s football team . He replaced fellow Yale football player and 1892 alumni Ben Crosby , who had died late the previous year from typhoid fever he contracted while coaching the Navy team . Hartwell began his tenure with Navy in a 34 – 0 blowout loss to Penn . The game was followed by two shutout wins , before Hartwell was defeated by his former team , Lehigh , 12 – 6 . The team recovered , the next week beating Georgetown , 22 – 10 , at home . After that game , Hartwell took a short break from coaching and played at left end with the New York Athletic Club in a game against Yale . Although " The Sun " stated that Hartwell " made monkeys of the Yale players " and recorded several tackles , his team was blown out . Returning to his job Hartwell ' s team won in a blowout victory over the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats , followed by a 12 – 0 shutout loss to Virginia . Navy ended their season with a 6 – 4 defeat of Army in the annual Army – Navy Game . The contest was described as " so bloody " due to multiple large fistfights breaking out between fans in the stands that the game was banned by president Grover Cleveland , and did not return until 1899 at the insisting of Theodore Roosevelt . Later life and death . Hartwell died on November 30 , 1940 of a heart attack at the South Side Sportsmen ' s Club in Oakdale , New York .