Abe Cohn Abraham Jerome " Abe " Cohn ( June 27 , 1897 – October 23 , 1970 ) was an American football and basketball player , coach and official . He played football and basketball at the University of Michigan from 1917 to 1920 . He coached football and basketball at Whitworth College from 1921 to 1922 and at Spokane University from 1923 to 1924 . He was also an official for the Pacific Coast Conference and the supervisor of the Washington State Liquor Board ' s licensing bureau from 1934 to 1968 . Early years . Cohn was born in Portland , Oregon in 1897 . His parents , Hyman ( sometimes listed as Herman ) and Eva Cohn , emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1884 or 1885 , and were identified in U . S . Census records as " Russian Yiddish . " At the time of the 1900 Census , Cohn was living with his parents and four older siblings in Spokane , Washington . Cohn ' s father and two uncles founded the Cohn Brothers furniture store in Spokane in the 1890s . Over the next 40 years , the family continued to operate the store at the same location . Cohn attended Spokane ' s Lewis and Clark High School where he was a star football and basketball player . He was " remembered by Spokane football enthusiasts as the plunging back of the 1915 Lewis and Clark high school football team . " University of Michigan . Cohn enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1916 . He was a member of the law school class of 1921 . While at Michigan , he played halfback for the Michigan Wolverines football teams of 1917 , 1918 and 1920 . The 1918 team completed the season undefeated and has been rated by some as the national championship team of 1918 . After Michigan ' s victory over Case to open the 1918 season , the " Detroit Free Press " called Abe Cohn " an eye opener " as a ground gainer and noted : " He made a gain practically every time he was given the ball and , when he was stopped , it always took two or three men to turn the trick . " Cohn did not try out for the football team in 1919 . Having only one year of varsity eligibility remaining , and with many players returning to college following service in World War I , Coach Yost recommended that Cohn save his final year for the 1920 season . He returned to the Wolverines football team in 1920 . The 1921 " Michiganensian " ( University of Michigan yearbook ) noted , " Cohn was especially valuable , filling in at end when the occasion demanded . " The authors added , " A heavy , fast player , who was a regular halfback , but could take his place at end or fullback if occasion demanded . He is one of the stars lost by graduation . " Cohn also played for the Michigan Wolverines men ' s basketball team . He was a starting forward in 1918 . Later years . After graduating from Michigan , Cohn returned to Spokane . In September 1921 , he was appointed as the football and basketball coach at Whitworth College . He coached at Whitworth for two years and also coached at Mead High School in the mornings . Cohn was the head football coach at Spokane University in 1923 and 1924 . In 1924 , " The Michigan Alumnus " reported that Cohn was affiliated with Cohn Brothers Furniture , the furniture business begun by his father . Cohn remained a partner in the furniture business until the store ' s closure in 1960 . In 1932 , Cohn was living in Seattle , Washington . He served as a football and basketball official for 30 years , including approximately eight years as a football official for the Pacific Coast Conference from 1930 to 1937 . Cohn also worked for many years for the State of Washington Liquor Board . He began with a position as the assistant manager of Liquor Store No . 2 in Seattle . He was the supervisor of the Liquor Board ' s licensing bureau from 1934 until his retirement in 1968 . Cohn was married to Alta Clark . In October 1970 , Cohn died of a heart attack in Seattle . He was age 73 at the time of his death .