Archie Weston Archie Bruce " Beak " Weston ( June 9 , 1895 – April 1981 ) was an American football player who was a quarterback for the University of Michigan in 1917 and a halfback in 1919 . He was selected as a first - team All - American in 1917 by " Chicago Tribune " sports editor Walter Eckersall . Youth in Michigan ’ s Upper Peninsula . Weston was born in Alpena , Michigan to Frank and Jane Weston . He was raised in Sault Ste . Marie , and was a star player on Sault Ste . Marie High School ' s 1913 state championship football team . The Sault Ste . Marie “ Blue Devils ” were a football powerhouse with Weston . In a 1972 interview with his home town newspaper , Weston recalled the 1913 championship team : “ We were an awful bunch of roughnecks – there was no football team in the state tougher than we were that year . We blasted all of them and loved doing it . ” Weston was asked about a 1913 newspaper report that he had been tackled by an irate woman during a 24 - 7 win over Alpena . He recalled the incident : ” The game was played there , and the fans hated us . We were too rough to suit them . I was running around the left end toward the Alpena side of the field . There was nobody near me as I ran the end , and all of a sudden , this woman dives from the sideline and drops me for no gain . Well , I was so surprised I couldn ’ t get up at first . ” Playing for the University of Michigan . All - American in 1917 . Weston began the 1917 college football season as a second substitute quarterback for Fielding H . Yost ' s University of Michigan football team . Cliff Sparks started the first two games as Michigan ' s quarterback , with Lowell Genebach as his substitute . Sparks was injured in the second game of the season , and Yost gave Weston the start against Mount Union College . Weston seized the opportunity and put on an offensive display that attracted national attention . On the second play of the game , Weston " straight - armed and dodged the entire Mount Union team , running sixty - five yards for a touchdown . " Weston scored a total of five touchdowns in the first two quarters and led the Wolverines to a 69 - 0 win over Mount Union . Following the game , one newspaper called him a " sensation " under the headline : " Yost Discovers Star Performer . " " Weston celebrated his first day of play on a Michigan varsity team by tearing up the enemy so fast that had to quit giving himself the ball - - he made so many gains that he was wearing out his team making them keep up with him . " An Iowa newspaper also took note of Weston ' s debut : " Weston brought his rating up from that of a second substitute quarterback to that of the star of Yost ' s men . He played an unrivaled game despite his handicap of weighing only 143 pounds . He is the lightest and fastest man on the team . " Weston won the starting quarterback position and led the Wolverines in the next six games , outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 234 to 3 . After his first three starts , Weston faced a major test against a strong Nebraska team . In a profile of the Wolverines published the week before the game , " The Lincoln Daily Star " focused on Weston : " Weston is continuing to improve at the quarterback . Work seems to agree with him ; he has put on three pounds of weight since he became famous two weeks ago , being no longer the lightest man on the squad . " Leading the Wolverines to a 20 - 0 win over Nebraska , his reputation continued to grow . The Wolverines followed the shutout of Nebraska with a 69 - 0 win over Kalamazoo and a 42 - 0 win over eastern power Cornell . Weston gained over 300 yards on the ground against Kalamazoo and Cornell , making him a favorite for All - American honors . In the game against Cornell , Weston also intercepted a pass in the first quarter and returned it 80 yards for the first of his three touchdowns . The Syracuse Herald described Weston ' s interception return : " After Cornell ' s backs were held they tried a forward pass , Pendleton chucking the leather into Weston ' s hands . The little ' Eel ' grabbed the spheroid and dashed down the field with it seventy - five yards for a touchdown . " His performance against Cornell also included runs of 45 , 35 , and 25 yards , leading sportswriters to note his " remarkable skill as an open field runner . " The Associated Press reported on Weston ' s performance against Cornell as follows : " Weston , Michigan ' s little quarterback , made most of Michigan ' s gains and his wonderful open field running kept the crowd on edge . . . . Quarterback Weston , the smallest field general Michigan has ever had , played a game that will live long in Michigan history . . . . Every touchdown that Michigan made was directly or indirectly the result of Weston ' s magnificent gains . " After conquering Cornell at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor , the undefeated Michigan team traveled east to Philadelphia to play Penn . News of Weston ’ s skills had spread to the East Coast . However , it was reported after the game that " the football fans of the East who gathered at Philadelphia for the Penn - Michigan game to get a glimpse of Weston , the Michigan quarterback , who is touted as a greater player than the famous Willie Heston , were treated to a disappointment . " During the first half of play , Weston got into a fistfight with Penn halfback Strauss , and both players were ejected from the game . The Associated Press reported that the ejection of Weston was a serious loss and that the Michigan team " did not play with sustained power " after Weston ’ s departure . His replacement at quarterback , Genebach , fumbled a punt , allowing Penn to recover the ball at the ten - yard - line in the third quarter . Penn won the game 16 - 0 , and one eastern sports editor noted , “ Weston , it appears , would make a better battler than a football star . ” Weston ’ s difficulties continued when it was announced two days before the season ’ s final game that he would be barred from participation for his poor academic performance . After starting the season with eight wins and no losses , the Wolverines finished the years with losses in the final two games , both without Weston . This led sports columnist Grantland Rice to compare Weston to Ty Cobb : " Detroit ’ s Tigers can get along without Ty Cobb as easily as Michigan can get along without Weston . Michigan with Weston could beat Nebraska 20 to 0 . Michigan , minus Weston , was soft and woolly picking . A good quarterback is more to be chosen than great riches , or than tackle s , halfbacks or end s . " Weston ’ s loss of academic eligibility caused most All - American and All - Western selectors to overlook him . One newspaper wrote , “ It is certain that Weston of Michigan , had he not been declared ineligible , would have been the easy pick for the honor . ” The one major All - American selector who chose Weston as his first - team All - American quarterback was Walter Eckersall of the Chicago Tribune . Eckersall was the referee for the Michigan - Cornell game , where he had been an up - close witness to Weston ’ s performance . Another reporter credited Weston with being the “ backbone ” of Michigan ’ s offense . ” Weston was one of the sensations of the west this year . Flashing to recognition from the scrub eleven , he proved the backbone of Michigan ’ s offense and is expected to be the Wolverines ’ field general next year . ” Military service in 1918 . The United States entered World War I before the 1917 college football season began . Weston enlisted in the U . S . Army , and during the 1917 season had already been commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers . He was granted leave to play by the Army during autumn 1917 , but in December 1917 he announced he hoped to be called to active duty . By April 1918 , newspapers reported a majority of members of Michigan ’ s 1917 football team , including Weston , were on active duty in the military . Weston was assigned to Chanute Aviation Field in Rantoul , Illinois , where he was quarterback and captain of the Chanute Field football team . However , Weston and two others were dismissed from the Army in October 1918 “ following an incident in Decatur , in which the automobile in which he was riding was painted yellow because of alleged violation of the gasless Sunday order . ” Switch to halfback in 1919 . After the war , Weston returned to the Michigan football team . He started all seven of Michigan ’ s games in 1917 as a halfback ( five as left halfback and two as right halfback ) , and Cliff Sparks took over as quarterback . The 1919 Michigan team finished with a disappointing 3 - 4 record and a 7th place finish in the Western Conference . Later years . Following his university days , Weston moved to Connecticut , where he married and raised a family . He remained active , speaking to the Sault Ste . Marie football team , attending Michigan football games , and traveling between Michigan and his home in Waterbury , Connecticut . Archie Weston died in Waterbury in April 1981 , at the age of 85 . He was survived by his wife , Lena .