Clarence Herschberger Clarence B . " Herschie " Herschberger ( July 24 , 1876 – December 14 , 1936 ) was an American football fullback , punter and placekicker . He played for the University of Chicago from 1896 – 1898 and became the first western player to be selected as a first - team All - American in 1898 . He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970 . Athlete at Chicago . A native of Peoria , Illinois , Herschberger enrolled at the University of Chicago in 1894 where he became an honor student and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors . He also earned a total of 13 varsity letter s in track , football and baseball . He played for Amos Alonzo Stagg ' s football teams from 1896 to 1898 and was one of the first of the great football stars developed by Stagg . He was captain of the 1898 Chicago team . Although he weighed only 158 pounds , Herschberger played fullback and was the kicker for Stagg ' s Maroons . He was known for making key plays in big games . In 1896 , Herschberger picked up a fumbled ball in a game against the University of Michigan and ran it back for a touchdown to secure Chicago ' s victory by a score of 7 to 6 . In 1898 , the Chicago football team played the University of Pennsylvania , bringing national attention to Herschberger and Stagg ' s football team . Famed football man Walter Camp saw the game and wrote , " Against Penn this year , Herschberger exhibited the best all - around kicking of the season ; punting , place - kicking and drop - kicking with accuracy and facility . " After the 1898 season , Camp chose Herschberger as the first - team fullback for his 1898 College Football All - America Team - - the first player from a western school to be so honored . In the years when Herschberger played , Stagg emphasized the kicking game . Stagg ' s goal was to move the ball inside the opponents ' 40 - yard line . Stagg then turned to Herschberger who established a record for field goals , which were then worth five points — the same as a touchdown . Herschberger was also considered an excellent punter , making him a key asset in Stagg ' s strategy of maximizing field position . The Maroons had a record of 35 – 8 during Herschberger ' s time with the team . Herschberger has also been credited with a number of innovations in the sport . He was believed to be the first player to kick spiral punts , and Stagg credited him as being the first to use the Statue of Liberty play . He has also been credited as the first player to do an onside kick and most likely the first player to ever receive an x - ray for an injury . There are accounts that Herschberger challenged Chicago ' s quarterback Walter Kennedy to an eating contest before a football game with the Wisconsin Badgers . After eating 13 eggs on the morning of the game , Herschberger was unable to play due to gastritis . Chicago lost the game 23 - 8 , leading Coach Stagg to say , " We weren ' t beaten by 11 Badgers . We were beaten by 13 eggs . " He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970 . Later years . After graduating from the University of Chicago , Herschberger worked as a football coach at Chicago , Lake Forest Academy , and Lake Forest College in Lake Forest , Illinois . From 1907 to 1921 , he lived in New York where he was associated with financier Frank Vanderlip . He later returned to Chicago where he worked in the real estate business . In December 1936 , Herschberger was found dead in the gas - filled basement of his home on W . 64th Street in Chicago His body was found by his 19 - year - old daughter , Ruth . Herschberger had attached a rubber hose to a laundry gas burner and had inhaled illuminating gas . His death at age 60 was a suicide arising from his despondency over ill health . His widow attributed the act to a nervous breakdown . Herschberger retired from the real estate business after suffering a nervous breakdown four years before he died , and had suffered from heart disease . Herschberger was survived by his wife , Grace Herschberger , two daughter ( Ruth and Harriet ) and two sons ( Clarence , Jr . , and John ) .