John Cranston ( American football ) John Samuel Cranston ( November 18 , 1865 – December 17 , 1931 ) was an American football player and coach . He played for Harvard University from 1888 - 1890 . He was selected as an All - American in 1889 and 1890 — the first years in which College Football All - America Teams were selected . He was also the first football player to wear protective " nose armor , " which was invented by a Harvard teammate to protect his " weak nose . " He later served as a football coach at Harvard from 1893 - 1903 . During the 1905 football reform movement , Cranston was part of the reformist camp and proposed the abolition of professional coaches . Biography . Football player . A native of Sheridan , New York , Cranston began his football career at Phillips Exeter Academy in 1887 . As a freshman in November 1888 , he began playing center after a knee injury to Harvard ' s starting center , Findlay . In 1889 , a Pennsylvania newspaper described Cranston as " a capital center rusher and snapper back . " " The World " of New York called Cranston one of Harvard ' s best men , and experienced player who was " as strong as a bull . " Cranston was selected as a guard on the first College Football All - American Team selected by Casper Whitney in 1889 . In 1890 , a newspaper reported that " the former invincible Cranston " was not playing to the level he had in 1889 - - " The old men , instead of improving with age , are rather deteriorating in the quality of their play . " " The New York Tribune " offered a more positive take on Cranston in November 1890 : " John Cranston , the Crimson ' s center rusher , is one of the oldest and strongest men on either team . He has played four years on the Harvard team , becoming center rusher in his freshman year . He played a right guard in the two following years , but returned to his old place , because there was no one else to fill the old place . Cranston is aggressive and active and always gives his opponent a great deal of work . " The " Springfield Republican " wrote that Cranston was not a great blocker and " is rather pugnacious and wastes time splitting heads ; but he is a strong , heavy man , and will do his part very nearly as it ought to be done . " At the end of the 1890 season , Cranston was again selected for on the College Football All - America Team , this time as the center . In 1891 , " The New York Times " reported that Cranston had left Harvard : " Cranston is another man who will be missed . Year before last he played in the center but last year he was the left guard . Late in the Spring Cranston withdrew from college , and in all probability will not enter Harvard again . Although his game last year was not up to his usual standard , he was an extremely valuable man . " First player to wear " nose armor " . Cranston was also noteworthy as the first player to wear equipment to protect his face during an American football game . Football was a brutal game that resulted in many serious injuries and deaths in the 19th century , prior to modern innovations of helmets and padding . Though he was an excellent football player , Cranston was known to have " a weak nose . " In order to protect Cranston ' s nose , and to allow him to play on Harvard ' s football team , Harvard ' s captain Arthur Cumnock invented a device that he called " nose armor . " Cumnock ' s invention gained popularity , and in 1892 , a newspaper article described the growing popularity of the device : " By the invention of nose armor football players who have been hitherto barred from the field because of broken or weak noses are now able to thrust an armor protected nose ( even though it be broken ) into the center of the roughest scrimmage without danger to the sensitive nasal organ . The armor is made of fine rubbber and protects both the nose and teeth . " Harvard crew and coaching . Cranston also rowed with Harvard ' s crew . Cranston returned to Harvard as an assistant football coach in 1893 and became one of the leading coaches at the school over the next several years , helping William H . Lewis develop the centers . In March 1903 , Cranston was appointed as Harvard ' s head football coach . At the time of his appointment , the " Boston Morning Journal " summarized his accomplishments as follows : " John Cranston played at Harvard in 1888 , 1889 and 1890 , two years as centre and one as guard on the ' varsity team . In his freshman year he rowed on the ' varsity crew , and before entering college played four years of football at Exeter . He stands as the best center Harvard ever boasted , and his long experience in football , and his past coaching , coupled with remarkable business ability , should work wonders with the Crimson candidates when they report for the eleven next September . " Cranston took over as head coach after Harvard lost to Yale , 23 - 0 , in 1902 . He told reporters that Harvard ' s prospect were not good , and the team would have to work hard , and talk less , if it were to rebound . Cranston said the team had the 23 - 0 score from the prior year " printed right on the seats of our trousers . " In 1905 , college football was struck by scandals involving professionalism , as some schools were accused of hiring " ringers , " and also by concerns over the sport ' s brutality and injuries . Cranston sided with the reformers and published an article in the " Boston Journal " advocating that universities ban the use of professional coaches and require that only university undergraduates may be involved in coaching . The proposal was endorsed by the reform movement , though Harvard ' s long - time assistant coach William H . Lewis rejected the proposal . Lewis argued that Cranston ' s undergraduate coaching system would result in " the blind leading the blind , " and suggested that universities might then also consider doing away with professors and tutors , leaving college students to go to school and " dig for themselves . " Cranston drew further attention in late 1905 when he published a further article in the " Boston Journal " opining that were being overdone at universities . Under the headline , " Wishes He Had Not Been a Famous Athlete When In College , " Cranston wrote : " I have had several serious sicknesses since I left college which I attribute to the great strain of my athletic training . On the whole I can ' t say that athletics have benefitted me any in my business career . I sincerely believe I would have been better off in my life since college if I had left athletics alone . . . . I ' ve never received any benefit in business life from athletics . I am not a broken down man by any means , but I only speak the truth when I say I should have been better off had I left athletics alone . "