Tom Shevlin Thomas Leonard Shevlin ( born March 1 , 1883 - December 29 , 1915 ) was an All - American football end and coach at Yale University and a millionaire lumberman . He is one of the few players in the history of college football to be selected as an All - American four consecutive years . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 . Early years . Shevlin was born in Muskegon , Michigan , the son of Thomas Henry and Alice Ann ( Hall ) Shevlin . His family moved to Minneapolis , Minnesota when he was a young boy , and his father became successful in the lumber business and active in Republican Party politics . Shevlin attended the Hill School in Pottstown , Pennsylvania , and then enrolled at Yale University . Athlete at Yale . Shevlin attended Yale from 1902 - 1906 . He became best known as a football player , but also competed in track and field , baseball , boxing , and hockey . By 1905 , Shevlin had a national reputation as Yale ' s premier athlete and " unquestionably one of the most remarkable all round athletes in America . " He was six feet tall and weighed " 190 pounds when in training and 212 pounds out of training . One newspaper account described his athletic prowess as follows : " The famous athlete has won a ' Y ' in three branches of sport and might win two or three more if he had time to devote to that many games . As left fielder on the baseball team , as hammer thrower on the track team and a football player Shevlin has been found worthy of the coveted letter . He also is a good sprinter , basketball player , tennis expert and boxer . . . . He can run 100 yards in less than 11 seconds and could easily make the varsity tennis and basket ball teams if he wished . He is not on the golf team simly because he has not the time to devote to the game . " Football . Shevlin played for Yale ' s varsity football team from 1902 - 1905 . He was selected as an All - American at the end position each year , making him one of a handful of four - time All - American in the history of college football . During his time at Yale , the football team defeated Princeton three times and Harvard four times . As a senior in 1905 , Shevlin was captain of the Yale football team that has been called " the best aggregation that ever represented the school . " It was said that in his years at Yale , " not an opposing rushing attack has gained a first down around his end . " The 1905 Yale team went 10 - 0 , outscored its opponents 227 - 4 , and was picked as co - national champions with the University of Chicago . For his accomplishments in leading the football team , Shevlin became known as the " Miracle man of football . " In 1905 , college football came under fire by university presidents and others who felt that its violent nature was a negative influence on institutions of higher learning . Shevlin spoke in defense of the sport . He noted that , though he loved all forms of sport , football was a particular favorite : " There ' s something primitive about football that I like . You get down to the fundamentals , as it were . Football is a war game . You have to plan it like a battle . It requires more brains to play it an develop it than any other game . . . " " The Atlanta Constitution " wrote of Shevlin : " Probably no more sensational athlete ever played on Yale teams than Shevlin . He was an all - round star , being identified with virtually every branch of sport . " At the close of his football career with Yale , " The Washington Post " wrote : " Whether Capt . Tom Shevlin can be induced to come back to act as head coach is not sure . He has planned to go into the lumber business in the West , but strong pressure will be brought to bear to induce him to return to Yale as coach . His year as captain closes with him one of the most popular leaders who ever headed a Yale team . " Track and field . While best known for football , Shevlin also received varsity letters at Yale as a hammer throw er for the track and field team . He won the 1903 collegiate hammer throw competition with a throw of 156 feet , 3 inches , and set the world ' s record in the 12 - pound hammer throw . In 1904 , he travelled to England , Scotland and Ireland to compete in international track and field competition . In 1905 , Shevlin hired world ' s champion John Flanagan to come to New Haven as his personal trainer , helping Shevlin reach a personal record with a 160 - foot throw of the hammer . Boxing . Shevlin also developed an interest in boxing . In 1904 , heavyweight boxing champion " Gentlemen Jim " Corbett agreed to a three - round bout with Shevlin at the Yale gymnasium . Corbett won the match , but praised Shevlin afterward : " He hits the hardest blow and is the best man at foot work I ever met with the exception of [ James J . ] Jeffries . " Some in the press expressed concern that Shevlin had taken up a sport that was uncommon in the Ivy League and wondered whether " society will drop " Shevlin " because he has been taking to the gloves . " Automobile racing . While at Yale , Shevlin also developed a passion for the new sport of automobile racing . In early 1905 , he purchased a $ 15 , 000 French automobile and spent considerable time racing it throughout New England . He twice left New Haven racing to beat the express train to Meriden , Connecticut . On the second occasion , the mayor of Meriden saw Shevlin " whirling riotously into town " and set the police after him . A Meriden police officer was tasked with finding Shevlin and followed his trail for two days . The pursuit was unsuccessful , but Shevlin turned himself in after hearing that a warrant had been issued for his arrest . Shevlin paid a $ 40 fine and returned to New Haven . Shevlin drew a further fine when he and a friend drove an automobile " at furious pace " up and down past the dormitories of Smith College as young women " waved responsively to the reckless autoing . " Reputation for spending . As exemplified in his purchase of the $ 15 , 000 French automobile and hiring the world ' s champion hammer thrower as a trainer , Shevlin developed a reputation as a free spender . He was known for his " flashy clothes and his loud manner " and for being " a bit wild " in his four years at Yale . The " New Haven Register " wrote that , even at a school attended by the country ' s elites , Shevlin had set a record for spending : " He is credited with having spent more money than any undergrad ever spent in the course of a year , $ 17 , 000 is the figure given . He bought everything - - flowers , taxicabs , autos ( they were just coming in when Tom was in college ) , clothes ( and such clothes ! ) , jewelry , canes , dinners , and their accompaniments - - there wasn ' t a thing that was untouched by Tom ' s versatile and seemingly bottomless purse . " Shevlin did not spend only on himself . He reportedly helped " many a poor fellow , struggling to get an education , " sometimes anonymously leaving $ 1000 on the desk of a classmate in need . Snubbing at " tap - day " . At the conclusion of the academic year , Yale held its annual " tap - day " custom in which juniors were selected for the school ' s three senior societies - - Skull and Bones , Scroll and Key , and Wolf ' s Head . By tradition , the captain of Yale ' s football team was tapped to join Skull and Bones . However , in May 1905 , Shevlin was snubbed by all three societies , resulting in a public furor . After the public snubbing , Shevlin reportedly " left the campus and whirled away in his automobile . " One newspaper speculated that Shevlin ' s automobile was the reason for the snub : " Can it be true that Tom Shevlin , Jr . . . . missed being ' tapped ' for one of the senior societies merely because he had just become the possessor of a fine , new automobile and was putting on a good deal of style with it ? It is true that he was not ' tapped ; ' equally true that he whirled up to the ' tapping ' place in a splendid automobile , but why should the possession of a 40 - horse power horseless wagon militate against a student who desires to be ' tapped ' and is entitled to the distinction ? . . . Evidently because he had made himself unpopular and in some way the cause of the unpopularity was the splendid touring car . Other automobiles there are at Yale , but the Minnesota boy had the best machine in the bunch . Envy may have had something to do with the shabby treatment handed out to young Shevlin . " There were also suggestions that it was the reckless manner in which Shevlin drove his car that led to his being snubbed . Shevlin had also drawn attention in 1904 when traveling to England as part of the Harvard - Yale track team ; his decision to stay at a different hotel than the team reportedly " cost him considerable of his rather meager popularity . " According to another story , Shevlin had placed a $ 100 bet that he would be tapped by Skull and Bones , and when word of the bet reached the group , they declined to have him . Shortly after the snub , Yale ' s famed trainer Mike Murphy announced that he was leaving Yale to take a position at Penn . Some reports indicated that Murphy was " disgusted " over the snub of Shevlin and " the growth of aristocratic as opposed to democratic sentiments " at New Haven and did not care to remain there . Others suggested that the real reason for Murphy ' s move to Penn had more to do with the question of salary , as Penn agreed to pay Murphy a salary of $ 10 , 000 per year — more than double the salary then paid to a U . S . Senator . Shevlin responded by rallying support to keep Murphy at Yale , even offering personally to pay any sum necessary to keep Murphy at Yale . In the end , Murpy went to Penn , and Shevlin stayed at Yale . Personal and family life . As the handsome son of a millionaire and one of the most famous athletes in the United States , Shevlin ' s courting of , and engagement to , Elizabeth Sherley was the subject of extensive press coverage . Sherley was reported to be one of the most beautiful young women in the South and the daughter of one of the wealthiest families of Louisville , Kentucky . Shevlin met the 17 - year - old Sherley in 1905 , and she attended all of Yale ' s football games in the fall of 1905 . The press covered the courtship with articles bearing headlines such as , " Tom Shevlin Is Downed By Cupid . " Sherley was described as " one of the prettiest girls who ever sat in a grandstand waving a blue banner and cheering a good play on the gridiron . " After beating Harvard in 1905 , newspapers reported that Shevlin said to a teammate , " I ' ve realized my first ambition today , beating Harvard . I ' ve got one more - - to marry that pretty girl you see sitting there in that box . " The news of the engagement drew national press coverage , and the announcement that Sherley had broken off the engagement a few weeks later drew even wider coverage . After the engagement was announced , Sherley traveled to Baltimore , where she was the subject of considerable attention from the city ' s men . When news of this attention reached Shevlin , he wrote to her complaining of her activities . Sherley reacted by calling off the engagement noting " it was not her fault that men wished to pay her attention . " In 1906 , Shevlin ' s courtship of Vera Gilbert , the stepdaughter of famed New York architect C . P . H . Gilbert , again put Shevlin ' s personal life in the public eye . After Shevlin announced his engagement to Gilbert , Gilbert ' s stepfather spoke publicly in opposition to the union and insisted that there was no engagement . Shevlin insisted that the couple was , in fact , engaged , and the back - and - forth between the two men received extensive press coverage in the last half of 1906 . After Shevlin ' s second engagement in less than a year was called off , one newspaper asked , " Has the little love god deserted Tom Shevlin , Yale ' s ex - football captain , when not long ago the mere effect of his big , manly self plowing across a player - strewn football field set a hundred feminine hearts a - flutter ? " In February 1909 , after renewing his courtship with Elizabeth Sherley , the two were married . The couple had two children , Betty and Thomas , Jr . In 1911 , Shevlin and his first child , Betty Shevlin , were profiled in a lengthy article on millionaire babies . The article noted : " Some of the children of the busy rich inherit more than money . Some have a heritage of beauty . There is little Betty Shevlin of Minneapolis and Yale . . . . Betty ' s father was Thomas Shevlin , famous football end , captain of the Yale team during his senior year , and present advisory coach for Old Eli ' s players . Tom was the idol of his college mates . He won numerous honors for his college , but he soon fell a victim to Cupid ' s tackle . There was no hope for Tom after he met that beautiful Kentucky thoroughbred , Miss Elizabeth Sherley . He looked into her violet eyes , saw her long black lashes , gave one glance at her radiant complexion , and , while losing his heart , did not fail to win hers . " Business career . After graduating from Yale , Shevlin returned to Minneapolis where he operated a lumber business . Shevlin ' s father died in 1912 leaving an estate valued at $ 1 . 5 million to Shevlin and his two sisters . Shevlin and his sisters formed the Shevlin Company , a holding company for the family ' s lumber interests . Shevlin was successful in the lumber business and became president of 13 separate lumber companies and a director of two Minneapolis banks . Football coach . After moving back to Minneapolis , Shevlin also spent time coaching the football players at the University of Minnesota , where the team developed a new scheme known as " the Minnesota shift . " After his death , a friend recounted a story of the passion for football displayed by Shevlin in coaching the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Northrop Field . Shevlin attended a practice in an expensive business suit , overcoat , derby and light colored gloves . Not satisfied with " verbal participation , " Shevlin joined in the scrimmages , and at the end of an hour ' s work he " was thoroughly happy , but his natty clothes were hanging from him in shreds . " On several occasions , Shevlin also returned to Yale to help coach the school ' s football team during periods of difficulty . One writer opined that Shevlin made his reputation when he brought the Minnesota shift to Yale in 1910 . When Yale was defeated 21 - 0 by Brown in 1910 , the school sent for Shevlin . Backed by Yale ' s advisory coach Walter Camp , Shevlin was called from the West to teach the Yale football team the news style of play that had developed in that region . " The New York Times " reported as follows : " Thomas Shevlin , the famous Captain and end , who was called from the West to show the Yale men how the game was being played in his section undertook to give the team the benefit of his knowledge . Then came reports of dissensions among the coaches because of a conflict of old and new ideas . " Shevlin succeeded in turning the program around in 1910 , as he coached the team to a 5 - 3 win over Princeton and a scoreless tie against Harvard . Shevlin continued assisting the Yale football team until the time of his death , and his colorful presence on the Yale sidelines was described as follows : " In that familiar heavy Persian lamb lined overcoat , wearing that familiar derby at that rakish angle , carrying that famous cane , with his horseshoe diamond pin in that flashy tie , and smoking that inevitable cigarette , he will run down the field with the varsity ends under kicks , and beat the youngsters in their togs every time . Then he ' ll get excited , and dressed though he is in top form , will rush right into a scrimmage and show ' em how it should be done , no matter how muddy the field . Practice over , Tom will go back to the Taft and order another suit . He seems to have a new suit of clothes every day . " In November 1915 , Shevlin led Yale to a 13 - 7 win over Princeton in front of 50 , 000 fans at New Haven — the largest crowd ever to view a Yale - Princeton game . After the game , Shevlin was haled as " the miracle man of football " who had " saved Yale from the worst gridiorn defeat in her history . " Shevlin had been called east in October 1915 and was credited with having " made order out of chaos " in just two weeks training the Yale team . Death and family . In the fall of 1915 , Shevlin contracted a cold while training the Yale football team . He continued to coach through his illness , and reportedly lost 12 pounds during the training . At the close of the football season , Shevlin left for California , hoping to recuperate from the illness . The rest in California improved his condition , and he cut the stay short to return to Minneapolis to attend to his business interests . After returning to Minneapolis in late December 1915 , Shevlin developed pneumonia . As his condition worsened , a telegram was sent to B . W . Sippy , a specialist in Chicago to come to his beside . Sippy was sent to Minneapolis on a special train which sped to Minneapolis in a then - record time of eight hours , but Shevlin died at his home on December 29 , 1915 at age 32 . After his death , it was written that " Shevlin gave his life to make Yale a winner . " A Midwestern newspaper wrote : " The death of Tom Shevlin at Minneapolis , Minn . , his home , closes one of the finest careers a college athlete ever led . From the time Shevlin entered Yale in 1902 he was a credit to clean amateur sports and from the time he left college in 1905 he was a credit to the business world . " Shevlin was survived by his widow and two children . Shevlin left a fortune estimated to be worth $ 3 , 500 , 000 . The estate was left in trust for his children , and his widow was left with an allowance of $ 60 , 000 per year . He also left more than $ 1 . 5 million in life insurance , most of which went to the companies that he ran . Only seven other men in the United States carried as much life insurance as Shevlin . After his death , the $ 1 . 5 million life insurance purchased by the Shevlin companies was used by life insurance in a major advertising campaign promoting the use of keyman insurance . The following text from a full - page advertisement in " The Atlanta Constitution " is an example : " The value of an officer or worker in any partnership or corporation is most realized at his death . Then insurance in favor of the business should be ready to replace him . Tom Shevlin ' s firm lost its most valuable asset in Tom Shevlin ' s death , but insurance of about a million dollars will replace his loss . There ' s a real moral in this for Atlanta partnerships and corporations - - be prepared . "