Albert Benbrook Albert " Benny " Benbrook ( August 24 , 1887 – August 16 , 1943 ) was an American football guard who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1908 - 1910 . He was chosen by Walter Camp as an All - American in 1909 and 1910 and was the team ’ s captain in 1910 . He is considered one of the best college football linemen in the early years of the sport , and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971 . Early years . Benbrook was a native of Benbrook , TX ( born in Ft . Worth ) and moved to Chicago in 1898 . He was a “ weight man ” and football player at Chicago ’ s prestigious Morgan Park Academy before enrolling at Michigan . All - American football player at Michigan . Benbrook played on the “ scrubs ” team as a freshman in 1907 , before making the varsity squad in 1908 . As a sophomore in 1908 , he was the second heaviest man on the team behind the team ’ s captain Germany Schulz . 1909 season . In 1909 , Benbrook started all seven of the Wolverines ’ games at left guard and was the team ’ s only All - American . He helped lead the team to a 6 - 1 record , including wins over Ohio State ( 33 - 6 ) , Syracuse ( 43 - 0 ) , Penn ( 12 - 6 ) , and Minnesota ( 15 - 6 ) . The team ’ s only loss was an 11 - 3 defeat against Notre Dame on November 6 , 1909 . No other team scored more than six points against the Wolverines that year , and they outscored their opponents 115 to 34 . In 1909 , Benbrook drew attention when he announced that he wanted to challenge heavyweight champion Jack Johnson to a boxing match . He was the first Midwestern lineman to be named to Walter Camp ’ s All - American in both 1909 and 1910 . In 1909 he was the unanimous choice of thirteen eastern critics who met to select the All - American team by a majority vote . 1910 season . In January 1910 , Benbrook was elected captain of the Michigan team . He initially lost a close election to end , J . Joy Miller , but Miller was barred from the team . Miller was removed by the faculty when it was learned he had failed to enroll in classes in the fall of 1909 . Ultimately , the 1910 season was an unsatisfying one . The team finished , 3 - 0 - 3 . In one of the lowest scoring seasons in school history , the team scored only 29 points and allowed only nine points . They played to a scoreless tie against Penn , and played to 3 - 3 ties against both Ohio State and Case . The final game of the 1910 season was the Little Brown Jug game against Minnesota . Fielding H . Yost rated the 1910 Minnesota game as one of “ the greatest game he ever saw . ” According to accounts of the game , Benbrook and Stanfield Wells were “ at their very peak that day , ” as Michigan won , 6 - 0 . There was no score late in the game , when a forward pass took Michigan to the Minnesota three - yard line . After Michigan ran twice without success , Benbrook called for a run to his side . Pushing Minnesota tacklers aside he opened a hole that led to a touchdown and the only scoring of the game . Honors and accolades . The University of Michigan Athletics History web site describes Benbrook ’ s contributions this way : “ Football critics regard Benbrook as the first of the great running guards . Despite his giant 240 pound frame , Benbrook moved with cat - like quickness and was faster than most backs . ” After choosing Benbrook to his All - American teams in 1909 and 1910 , Walter Camp said of Benbrook : “ He leads his mates across the line with his quick , ripping charge that simply smothers the opposition . A tremendous player . ” Walter Eckersall described Benbrook as the greatest guard in history . And in 1951 , legendary Illinois coach Robert Zuppke chose Benbrook as a guard for his first - team All - Time All - American team . Another writer concluded : “ There have been many great linesmen , but his record and the verdict of many experts seems to put Benbrook in advance of them all . ” In 1971 , he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Benbrook ’ s biography at the College Football Hall of Fame notes : “ A testament to the ability of Albert Benbrook was that he was the first western linemen to become a two - time All - American . Weighing over 200 pounds he was considered huge for his time . What made Benbrook such a dominating force was his exceptional quickness . ” In 2005 , he was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the " Motown Sports Revival , " ranking 22nd on the all - time team . Service in World War I . When Benbrook enlisted in the U . S . Army during World War I , his participation received considerable publicity . In November 1917 , eight All - American football players , including Benbrook and Michigan ’ s James B . Craig and Ernest Allmendinger , were made officers in a ceremony in Chicago . In March 1918 , Benbrook ’ s photograph was published in newspapers around the country with the following caption : “ Al Benbrook , the old Michigan football star and regarded by many as the greatest guard ever developed in America is soon to buck the Hun ’ s line in the greatest game of all . Benbrook is now a lieutenant stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor . ” An article published the following month featured the same theme : “ The foremost football guard ever developed is soon to go over to buck the Hun line in the greatest game of all . ” Later years . He was employed by American Seating Company as a salesman from 1931 until his death in 1943 . Though he lived in Chicago , Benbrook died in Dallas , Texas while on a business trip . He was 55 years old when he died . He was survived by his widow , Dena Piehl Benbrook and a 21 - year - old son , James Benbrook , who was a paratrooper at Fort Benning , Georgia at the time of his father ’ s death .