Dick Rauch Richard Harvie Rauch ( July 15 , 1893 – October 1970 ) was an American football player and coach in the United States . Rauch attended Penn State University . He was a player - coach for the Boston Bulldogs , New York Yankees and the Maroons over the course of his four - year career . Rauch made his professional debut in the National Football League in 1925 with the Pottsville Maroons . He was also the first NFL coach to institute daily practices . Early career . Born in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , Rauch attended high school at Harrisburg Tech in 1906 . He did not make the football team until his senior year , in 1909 . He played center on that team . After high school he went to work in the Pennsylvania Steel Mills outside of Harrisburg for six years . Rauch decided to continue his education . In 1916 he entered Bethlehem Prep , located in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , to brush up his mathematics and obtain sufficient credits to enter Penn State . At Bethlehem Prep , Rauch lettered in three sports , football , basketball and track . Penn State and the Army . In 1916 Rauch entered State College and he soon captained and played tight end on the school ' s freshman team . By 1917 he made the varsity team and played the entire season at end . At the end of the 1917 season Rauch joined the U . S . Army and was placed in the ordinance department and was stationed in Virginia . He was discharged from the Army in August 1919 , and returned to Penn State . By that time Rauch started at center , and then was put in at offensive guard . His place at center was taken by Larry Conover . Rauch continued to play guard his senior year in 1920 , with the exception of the last four games when he was shifted to offensive tackle . After graduating Penn State retained him as assistant coach in 1921 . He excelled in scouting . He performed the scouting duties for every college he served . Colgate . In 1923 , Rauch went to Colgate University as the team ' s offensive line coach . Colgate soon gave him a contract for the following year in 1924 . However he accepted an offer by the Pottsville Marroons as serve as head coach of their professional football team . Pro football . Maroons owner Dr . John Striegel hired Rauch , because he was a protégé of the strict discipline philosophy instituted by Penn State coach , Hugo Bezdek . During Rauch ' s first season with the Maroons , the team won the Anthracite League championship . The very next season the Maroon joined the NFL , and in just their first year in league , the franchise won the NFL championship before having it stripped away from them by the league in a controversial move . The next season Rauch ' s Maroon completed a 10 - 2 - 1 record and captured third place in the NFL standings . However after a 5 - 8 record in 1927 , Rauch left the team to coach the New York Yankees . Following a 4 - 8 record with the Yankees during the 1928 season , Rauch returned to the Maroons franchise which had just been sold to a group of New Englanders who move the franchise to Boston and renamed the team the Boston Bulldogs . The 1929 season was Rauch ' s last season coaching in the NFL . After a 4 - 4 record , the Maroons - Bulldogs franchise folded . Outside football . Besides being a football player and coach , Rauch also worked as an ornithologist , a steel worker , an electrician and a graduate electrical engineer . Dick spent his off - seasons writing poetry and traveled as far west as the Yukon to study the nesting habits of birds . He later put his knowledge of birds to use by exploring the Antarctic for the U . S . government .