Ralph Warren ( American football ) Ralph Herbert Warren ( August 21 , 1871 – September 3 , 1928 ) was an All - American football player . He played end for Princeton University from 1889 – 1891 and was selected to the 1890 College Football All - America Team . Warren was the subject of intense press coverage in January 1892 when he disappeared for several days , showing up at his parents ' home days later . Warren was said to have been " temporarily out of his mind " following an injury sustained in a football game . Biography . Warren was the son of a prominent New York family . He attended preparatory school at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey where he played halfback and was captain of the school ' s football team . In 1889 , Warren enrolled at Princeton University . Warren was tall and thin , standing five feet , eleven inches tall , and weighing only 152 pounds . At Princeton , Warren was switched from a halfback to a left end . Despite his small size , Warren became a starter as a freshman for Princeton ' s football team — considered the best in the United States at the time . He began in 1889 on Princeton ' s freshman team but was elevated to the scrub team and then the varsity before the season ' s end . The following newspaper account describes Warren ' s quick progression to varsity : " In his freshman year he began work by trying for his class team . His work soon caused " Snake " Ames , then captain of the Princeton eleven , to invite the smooth - faced youth to take a place at right end on the scrub team . Warren filled his position so admirably that Ames had no cause for regret when circumstances called for a new man and Warren was placed on the ' varsity team . He played in the Harvard game , but it was in the memorable battle of ' 89 on the Berkeley Oval that the freshman distinguished himself . Aided by Donnelly ' s splendid interference he dropped on the ball when McBride muffed it . Princeton thus scored four points and Warren had established his reputation . " An 1890 profile of the Princeton football team described Warren as follows : " Ralph Herbert Warren , always called ' Pop ' in college , completes the quartette of the old team . He is looked upon as one of the best end rushers now playing . A sure tackler and always well down the field on a punt , he is an invaluable man . He , too , however , has a disabled knee , and if he does not recover in time for the Yale game , it will be hard to fill his place . When he began playing last year he was only a Freshman . " Warren became a star in his sophomore season of 1890 and was rewarded with his selection as one of two ends to be named to the 1890 College Football All - America Team . Fellow end Jesse Riggs was selected as captain of the 1891 Princeton football team , but he resigned the position before the season began . After Riggs ' resignation , the team voted to make Warren the team ' s captain as a junior . At the time , university teams did not have full - time professional coaches , and the team ' s captains selected the other players for the team , ran the practice sessions , formulated the plays and were the leaders of the team . Accordingly , " The World " of New York wrote in 1891 : " The captaincy of a football team was never so important as now , and McClung of Yale , Warren of Princeton , and Trafford of Harvard are names which will be ' oft upon the lips of man ' in the next two months . " As captain , Warren spent much of his time in 1891 directing the team : " Capt . Warren has spent much of his time this season on the field in directing the play without taking a hand in the game . He is rather , behind , therefore , in his individual work at right end . " In November 1891 , a profile of Warren was published under the headline : " Capt . Warren , of Princeton , the Great Footballist . " The profile described Warren as one of the " heroes of football " and focused on his leadership role as captain of the Princeton team : " There are critics of the game who say that Capt . Warren is too easy in his treatment his team and that he does not make the most of their ability as players . This is no reflection on the unquestionable excellence of his play as an individual member of the eleven . Warren is tall and slender . He is a painstaking and trustworthy rather than a brilliant player , and there is time yet for him to more than justify his choice as leader of the Princeton team . His thoroughness is a leading characteristic of the man . " Princeton ' s final game of the 1891 football season was a Thanksgiving Day game against Yale played before a crowd of 40 , 000 at Manhattan Field . Warren won the coin toss at the start of the game , but Princeton went down to defeat by a score of 19 to 0 . In addition to having been soundly defeated , Warren was injured in the Yale game . He suffered a bruised nose and a severe twist of the neck . In late December 1891 , Warren walked out of a friend ' s house in Washington , D . C at 6 o ' clock on a cold morning without an overcoat . He disappeared for several days , finally showing up at his parents ' house in New York on New Year ' s Day . Warren ' s uncle told reporters that his nephew ' s story of what had happened over the past days was largely incoherent and that the family attributed his actions to his football injuries . Warren ' s cousin told " The World " of New York the following : " In our opinion , he is temporarily out of his mind , and we will not allow anyone to see him . . . . We think his mental troubles are caused by three things - - the injuries he received in the Thanksgiving Day football game , his disappointment in losing that game and his being so much behindhand in his college studies . Ever since the game he has had fits of despondency . " Warren did not return to the Princeton football team as a senior in 1892 .