Chris Cagle ( American football ) Christian " Red " Keener Cagle ( May 1 , 1905 – December 26 , 1942 ) was a professional American football halfback and quarterback from 1930 to 1934 , who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 . College career . He first starred at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette ( then named Southwestern Louisiana Institute or SLI ) from 1922 – 1925 , where he earned a degree in arts and sciences . In his career at Louisiana - Lafayette , he scored 235 points from touchdowns , extra points and field goals , a school record that lasted until 1989 . Besides being the football captain ( 1925 ) , he also was a star in basketball and track and field sports at Louisiana - Lafayette , where he received a degree in arts and sciences . Cagle then played college football for four years at the United States Military Academy ( Army ) 1926 - 1929 but did not graduate because he had secretly married in August 1928 in violation of Academy rules . He was forced to resign in May 1930 . Known as the " Red Thunderbolt of West Point , " he was an All - America n halfback for the last three years . His longest runs were 75 yards against Yale , 1928 ; 70 yards against Ohio Wesleyan and 65 yards against Yale , 1929 . In four years at Army he scored 169 points , averaged 6 . 4 yards per attempt in rushing and 26 . 4 yards on kickoff returns . Team captain at Army in 1929 , he was featured on the September 23 cover of " Time " magazine of that same year . Cagle was noted for playing with the chin strap loose from his helmet , and sometimes without helmet . Sportswriters liked to refer to him as " Onward Christian " because of his ability to advance the ball . Professional career . He played professional football for five seasons . He was with the New York Giants from 1930 to 1932 . In 1933 , he and fellow former New York Giants player John Simms Kelly became co - owners of the NFL ' s Brooklyn Dodgers franchise . Cagle played for the team in 1933 and 1934 . Dan Topping bought Cagle ' s half of the team in 1934 . Personal life . Born in De Ridder , Louisiana , he was one of eight children , including five brothers and two sisters . Cagle was named after an uncle , who in turn was named after the late Bishop Christian Keener of the Methodist church . He attended high school in Merryville , a small community about 20 miles ( 30 km ) southwest of De Ridder . According to local legend , he was known for getting off the school bus and racing it to school , a race that he quite often won . The football field at Merryville High School is named Keener Cagle Field in his honor . Cagle was forced to resign before graduating from West Point for a violation of Army rules ; He had secretly married Marian Haile after meeting her at Louisiana - Lafayette , and marriage was forbidden at the academy . Cagle died in 1942 , at 37 years of age , from a peculiar mishap the day after Christmas ( December 26 ) . He was discovered unconscious at the bottom of a Manhattan subway stairwell . According to " The Advertiser " report , " Cagle tripped and fell the full length of a flight of subway steps . " He died three days later of a fractured skull . At the time of his death he had lived in a Queens apartment house with his wife and was employed by an insurance company .