Edmond H . Barmore Edmond Herbert Barmore ( February 5 , 1860 – November 26 , 1931 ) was an American football player and businessman . He played for the first college football team at the University of Michigan in 1879 and was the first Michigan Wolverines football player to play at the quarterback position . He later went into the business of building steamships in Jeffersonville , Indiana , from 1881 to 1886 . He moved to Los Angeles , California , in 1886 , where he founded and operated the Los Angeles Transfer Company for approximately 40 years . Early years . Barmore was born in Jeffersonville , Indiana , on the banks of the Ohio River , in 1860 . He was the son of Captain David S . Barmore ( 1832 - 1905 ) and Mary E . ( Cash ) Barmore . His father was one of the leading builders of steamboats used along the Ohio and Mississippi River s . He attended public schools in Indiana and Michigan . University of Michigan . Barmore enrolled in the Literary Department at the University of Michigan in October 1878 . In the spring of 1879 , a group of students formed the university ' s first college football team . Barmore played at the halfback position on the 1879 Michigan Wolverines football team and participated in the first Michigan football team , a victory over Racine College played at White Stockings Park in Chicago . The following year , he played for the undefeated 1880 Michigan Wolverines football team and was the first Michigan Wolverines player to hold the position of quarterback . While attending Michigan , Barmore was also Director of the Athletic Association and a prize winner in long - distance running . He was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity at Michigan . Barmore left Michigan in June 1881 . Business career . After leaving Michigan , Barmore joined his father in the boat - building business at Jeffersonville , Indiana , on the opposite shore of the Ohio River from Louisville , Kentucky . He and his father built all manner of riverboats , from small tugboat s " to the large and powerful three and four - decked steamboats of modern commerce that ply the Ohio and Mississippi between Pittsburgh , St . Louis and New Orleans , carrying each its hundreds of passengers and thousands of tons of freight . " From 1881 to 1886 , Barmore and his father did business under the name D . S . Barmore and Son . In 1886 , Barmore and his father sold their business in Jeffersonville , and Barmore moved to Los Angeles , California . In Los Angeles , Barmore founded the Los Angeles Transfer Company . Barmore operated the Los Angeles Transfer Company as its sole owner for many years . The " Los Angeles Times " wrote that Barmore had a " practical monopoly " on the transfer business at railroad stations , but the long - established business experienced financial difficulties when Barmore expanded into the taxicab business . In July 1917 , Barmore made an assignment of the business to three trustees for the benefit of the company ' s creditors . In December 1917 , Barmore filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in the United States District Court . He listed his total liabilities , as head of the company , as $ 231 , 933 against assets of approximately $ 175 , 000 . The company continued through the bankruptcy , and Barmore retained ownership until 1926 . Barmore was a long - time member of the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles . Family and later years . Barmore was married in July 1884 to Mary G . Downham . They had two children , Edmond H . Barmore , Jr . and David S . Barmore . In 1908 , Barmore purchased a large Craftsman style home with Tudor influences , including a three - gabled dormer , at 1317 Alvarado Terrace . In 1909 , the house was featured on the cover of " Better City " ( " pictured at right " ) in a story about the fashionable new Alvarado Terrace neighborhood . The house , now known as the Boyle - Barmore House , is one of the designated properties in the Alvarado Terrace Historic District . In November 1931 , Barmore died at his home at 1545 West Ninth Street in Los Angeles . He had been in failing health for two years and became seriously ill two weeks before his death . He was buried at Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles and was survived by his wife , Mary G . Barmore , and his two sons .