Harold Ballin Harold Roy " Hal " Ballin ( October 16 , 1893 – December 25 , 1979 ) was an American football player and coach . He played at the tackle position for Princeton University from 1912 to 1914 and was a consensus first - team All - American in both 1913 and 1914 . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973 . Biography . Early years . A native of New York City , Ballin attended the Lawrenceville School before enrolling at Princeton University . He made the Second Testimonial honor roll at Lawrenceville in April 1909 . Princeton . Ballin later recalled that he was " young and underdeveloped " when he enrolled at Princeton . He had been unable to make the varsity football team at Lawrenceville and qualified for the fourth and final unit of Princeton ' s freshman football team in 1911 . In 1912 , Ballin played as a substitute tackle on Princeton ' s varsity football team . It was as a junior in 1913 that Ballin became a star . Playing at the right tackle position , Ballin was selected as a consensus first - team All - American in 1913 . He was selected as a first - team All - American by , among others , Walter Camp in " Collier ' s Weekly " , University of Michigan Coach Fielding H . Yost , football historian Parke H . Davis , sports writer Tom Thorp , and the " Trenton Evening - Times " . In announcing his All - American team , Tom Thorp described Ballin ' s contributions as follows : " Ballin of Princeton as a playing mate would leave the defensive strength of the eleven unquestionable . Ballin is a Hercules in size , who has a wonderfully quick charge and carries his efforts through at all times . The remarkable defense shown by the Tigers under the shadow of their own goal posts was due to a great extent to the almost superhuman efforts of Ballin . In speed and aggressiveness , he would prove a leader of any organization in the country today . Time and time again when his end would be spilled by the opposing backs going down under kicks , he broke through and sped down the field and made the tackle almost as soon as the ball had been caught . In opening holes for his backs he was without an equal . " College Football Hall of Fame r Charles Brickley later recalled that Ballin was the hardest - hitting player he ever faced . Brickley said of Ballin : " And the hardest - hitting player I went up against was Ballin . . . In that game against Princeton [ in 1913 ] , which waa played in a sea of mud , official statistics verified by a correct counting of my bruises show that I was knocked down seventy - eight times . Thirty - eight times it was Ballin who was the catapult force that took me off my pins . Ballin weighed 220 pounds . I tipped the scales at 180 . When the game was over I had gone down to 168 . " At the meeting of the Princeton football on December 4 , 1913 , Ballin was elected as the captain of the 1914 football team . At age 20 , he was one of the youngest players ever chosen as captain of Princeton ' s football team . As captain of the 1914 team , Ballin played every minute of every game for Princeton . In recognition of his contributions in 1914 , Ballin was selected as a first - team All - American by 21 of 26 recognized selectors , including Walter Camp , " Vanity Fair " ( selected based on the votes of 175 " prominent newspapermen of the country " ) , Walter Eckersall of the Chicago Tribune , Frank G . Menke , sporting editor of the International News Service , the " New York Herald " , and James P . Sinnot of the " New York Evening Mail " . Ballin is also remembered as the last Princeton football player to play the game without a helmet . Ballin reportedly considered the helmet to be a distraction . According to newspaper accounts of the time , Ballin was " known to the sport - following public of the United States as Nig Ballin . " Football coach . After graduating from Princeton , Ballin became a football coach at Lafayette College . In May 1916 , he returned to Princeton as an assistant football coach . Following the entry of the United States into World War I , Ballin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps ; he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July 1917 . In the fall of 1917 , Ballin was assigned to Fort Crockett on Galveston Island , where he played on the Fort Crockett football team . In December 1918 , Lieutenant Ballin coached a football team made up of Marines from the Eight Regiment of the Third Provisional Brigade , United States Marine Corps . In the fall of 1919 , after completing his military service , Ballin returned to his position as an assistant football coach at Princeton . In 1921 , Ballin was hired as " director of football tactics " at Shady Side Academy and led the team to a one - loss season . In 1922 , Ballin became the head football coach at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Ballin continued as head coach for the Duquesne Dukes for the 1922 and 1923 college football seasons . Later years and death . After retiring from coaching , Ballin worked as a field engineer in Pittsburgh . In May 1973 , Ballin was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in the Pioneer Player category . He was also selected on Princeton ' s All - Century Team in December 1999 . Ballin died on Christmas Day 1979 in Clearwater , Florida , at age 86 .