Walter Rheinschild Walter Meadowfield Rheinschild ( September 26 , 1884 – October 3 , 1960 ) , known also by the nicknames " Rheiny " and " Rhino " , was an American football player and coach . He played for the University of Michigan in 1904 , 1905 , and 1907 , and was once " rated as the highest salaried amateur athlete in the business . " He later coached for Washington State University in 1908 , St . Vincent College ( now known as Loyola Marymount University ) in 1909 , Throop College ( now known as California Institute of Technology ) in 1913 , and Occidental College in 1917 . Biography . Early years . Rheinschild was born in Lawrence , Kansas in 1884 and raised in Los Angeles , California . In the 1890s , Rheinschild began playing football for the Boyle Heights Stars in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles . With Rheinschild playing fullback , the Stars won what the " Los Angeles Times " called " the ' scrub ' championship of this city . " In 1900 , Rheinschild enrolled at Los Angeles High School , where he became " a gridiron hero . " In 1901 , he played tackle for the Los Angeles High School football team that tied Belmont High School for the state championship and defeated several college teams , including the University of Southern California ( 28 – 0 ) , Pomona College ( 30 – 0 ) , Occidental College ( 32 – 0 ) , and St . Vincent College ( 95 – 0 ) . In 1902 , the powerful Los Angeles High School team again defeated college teams , including USC , Occidental , Pomona and Throop College ( now known as California Institute of Technology ) . In his senior year in 1903 , Rheinschild led Los Angeles High School to the California state championship , culminating in an 11 - 0 victory over Berkeley High School in the championship game . Rheinschild also organized the first track team at Los Angeles High School and was elected as the first captain of the track team . Bidding for Rheinschild ' s services . Rheinschild was one of the most heavily recruited high school football players in the United States in 1904 . USC coach Harvey Holmes recruited him strenuously , and Rheinschild later said that Holmes had offered him $ 75 a month for his services . At the time , USC was not a major football program , and Rheinschild reportedly wanted " nothing but the big league stuff . " The University of Wisconsin made an offer to Rheinschild which he said was $ 25 higher than USC had offered . Rheinschild recalled , " Twelve hundred looked big to me , but I wanted a winner . Wisconsin had been a joke for many seasons and I couldn ' t see it . " A former coach at Los Angeles High School , Shorty Roach , was a friend of Michigan coach Fielding H . Yost and a Michigan scout on the side . Roach encouraged Rheinschild to consider Michigan , which had not lost a game since 1900 . A Wisconsin newspaper described the bidding contest between the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan for his services : " Walter Rheinschild , one of the best academic foot ball players in Southern California , is the object of spirited bidding by foot ball managers at Wisconsin and Michigan universities . Rheinschild was a star tackle on last year ' s local high school team . He weighs 190 pounds . He declares openly that Manager Baird of Michigan offered to pay all his expenses during the season and finally offered him remunerative employment . Wisconsin , he says , offered him all traveling expenses and $ 60 a month for two hours work a day at the state capital . Rheinschild leaves tomorrow for the east . If Michigan equals Wisconsin ' s offer he will go to Ann Arbor , if not , to Madison . At Kansas City he expects to receive Baird ' s highest offer . " Rheinschild was also visited by " a delegation " from Dartmouth College seeking " to do business with the California lad . " Rheinschild later told the " Los Angeles Times " that Dartmouth had offered him $ 2 , 200 for a year ' s work on the football team . Rheinschild settled on Fielding Yost ' s team at Michigan and later told the " Times " that " he swears by all that is swearable that he never received a cent from his Alma Mater for his athletic contributions . " Michigan ' s athletic director Charles A . Baird also denied making any offers of financial assistance to Rheinschild . However , when he rejected Dartmouth ' s offer of $ 2 , 200 , eastern newspapers insinuated that Rheinschild had signed for " a Ty Cobb salary at Ann Arbor . " It was rumored that Rheinschild was receiving as much as $ 50 , 000 a year at Michigan , which if true would be as much as the U . S . President at the time . In a feature story on Rheinschild , the " Los Angeles Times " in 1914 summed up the bidding war for Rheinschild this way : " He used to be the great ' Rhiney , ' and was known from coast to coast as one of the most eminent gridiron warriors ever enticed under the Michigan colors . At one time , ' Rhiney ' was rated as the highest salaried amateur athlete in the business , and he had standing offers from a number of those colleges where football reigns , of sweet sums for his services . " University of Michigan . Rheinschild enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1904 and played for Fielding H . Yost ' s Michigan Wolverines football teams of 1904 , 1905 , and 1907 . Rheinschild also threw the shot put for the Michigan Wolverines men ' s track and field team alongside world record holder Ralph Rose , and played catcher on the Michigan Wolverines baseball team . When Rheinschild established himself as a starter for Michigan in 1905 , the " Los Angeles Herald " reported on his success as follows : " Walter Reinschild , formerly a star player of the Los Angeles high school football team , is making good with the University of Michigan squad this year . He played right tackle in the game against Vanderbilt university last Saturday and made consistent gains when given the ball . According to reports of the game Reinschild hit the opposing line low and hard and his work was a factor in winning a decisive victory for ' Hurry Up ' Yost ' s team . It looks as though Reinschild would be a fixture on the team . " In late 1905 and early 1906 , charges of professionalism were leveled at the major college football programs , including Michigan , leading to calls for reform or even elimination of the sport from college campuses . In response to the controversy , the faculty at Michigan ruled Rheinschild and two other football players , Germany Schulz and Henry Schulte , academically ineligible . As a result , Rheinschild missed the 1906 season . Rheinschild ' s hometown newspaper , the " Los Angeles Times " described the action as follows : " In 1906 a wave of athletic purity swept over the country and the faculty refused to allow Rheinschild to play , for appearance sake . . . . ' Rhiney ' assisted Yost with the coaching and did some classroom work for a change . " Rheinschild returned to the football team in 1907 . Playing at tackle and occasionally at fullback , he scored three touchdowns in Michigan ' s victory over Michigan Agricultural College ( now known as Michigan State University ) in October 1907 . He also scored touchdowns against Wabash College and Ohio State in 1907 . At the end of the 1907 season , Rheinschild was one of two Michigan players selected by Fielding H . Yost for the All - American team he selected for the North American Press Syndicate . He was also selected as an All - Western tackle by Walter Eckersall , who wrote that Rheinschild " has no equal at tackle . " Eckersall continued : " Rheinschild of Michigan played close to the top this year , and his work in the Pennsylvania game would have given him even without his work in the other games . It was the best of any tackle on the field , and clearly indicated his caliber . One of his points is getting down the field under kicks . He often beat his ends down , and was sure and deadly in his tackle . He was not made use of sufficiently in offense to get his value in that respect . He was able to lunge from his position with extreme rapidity , to assist either the offense or defense . His play was , if anything less showy than in former years , but fully as effective , and this was clearly demonstrated all year . " Rheinschild graduated from the University of Michigan in 1908 with a law degree . Coaching career . After receiving his law degree , Rheinschild went to London where he competed for the Illinois Athletic Club in the 1908 Summer Olympics . After the Olympics , Rheinschild traveled to Paris , where he claimed to have " taught the ' frog - eaters ' how to box for a few months . " Upon returning to the United States , he got a job " escorting a flock of prisoners across the continent to Mare Island " in Northern California . In the fall of 1908 , Rheinschild served as head football coach for the Washington State University Cougars in Pullman , Washington . In his first and only season as coach at Washington State , his football team compiled a record of 4 wins , 0 losses , and 2 ties . In 1909 , Rheinschild returned to Los Angeles to become head football coach at St . Vincent College ( now known as Loyola Marymount University ) . He led St . Vincent ' s to an undefeated season and the football championship of Southern California in his one year as head coach . The " Los Angeles Times " praised Rheinschild ' s efforts in turning the St . Vincent team into champions : " Rheinschild has accomplished wonders with a squad which at the outset of the season appeared to be mediocre to an unusual degree . The Saints ' athletic authorities are more than pleased with the success of ' Rheiny . ' They expected the coach to clean up the Saint athletics and get a start for next year . ' Rheiny ' did considerably more . He developed the strongest team the Saints ever had . And the eleven played clean ball too . " In 1910 , St . Vincent College withdrew from participation in Southern California intercollegiate athletics , opting to confine athletics to the Catholic student body . In 1913 , Rheinschild was hired as the football coach at Throop College ( now known as California Institute of Technology ) in Pasadena , California , where he was paid $ 40 per game — the largest salary ever paid to a football coach in Southern California . He continued coaching in the 1910s as the football coach of the Los Angeles Athletic Club . In 1915 , Rheinschild was offered coaching positions at both the University of Michigan and the University of Washington . In April 1916 , Rheinschild was hired as the football coach at Occidental College , replacing Joseph Pipal . Rheinschild coached at Occidental through the 1917 season . On Christmas Day 1917 , Rheinschild coached and played for a college all - star football team in a match against athletes from the San Pedro Submarine Base . Family , legal and business careers . Rheinschild was married in February 1909 to Enid Daniels at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Los Angeles ; following the ceremony , they couple was given a box at the Orpheum Theatre where a spot light was thrown on them between acts as " the orchestra struck up a wedding march " for the embarrassed couple . After stepping down as the coach at St . Vincent College in 1910 , Rheinschild established a law practice in the Security Building , then the tallest building in Los Angeles , located in the heart of the city ' s Spring Street Financial District . He continued with his legal practice between and after his stints as a football coach . In April 1919 , Rheinschild was tried and found not guilty of complicity in an automobile theft ; Rheinschild had been accused of hiding the automobile after it was stolen by another person . In September 1919 , Rheinschild was suspended from the practice of law for 18 months after being accused of unethical conduct in representing both parties in a loan transaction . The " Los Angeles Times " reported that " tears of mortification " came into his eyes when the suspension was announced , and " his young and attractive wife ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck and tenderly kissed him . " Two weeks later , the same judge reversed the suspension . The following month , a different judge ordered Rheinschild disbarred , stating that the action was needed to set an example for other lawyers to restrain from similar conflicts of interest . As of 1934 , Rheinschild was the president of Corona Oil Company , Ltd . , which was then drilling for oil in " the old Rancho LaSierra " in Riverside County , California . In 1942 , Rheinschild was a prosecution witness against Bugsy Siegel on charges of murdering Harry " Big Greenie " Greenberg ; Rheinschild testified he had seen Siegel near Greenberg ' s house on many occasions in the weeks prior to the murder .