Alex Moffat

September 22, 1862 – Alex Moffat was a former halfback from Princeton University.

The website footballfoundation.org refers to Alex as “collegiate football’s first great kicker.” Legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg said, “Moffat invented the spiral punt in 1881 and thereby changed the whole science of punting.” 

Moffat was the captain of his 1883 Princeton Tigers team, and that season he proved worthy of the position. In the game against Harvard that season, Alex kicked 5 field goals, including two drop kicks with his right foot and two others with his left! The final goal was scored from a place kick. The Tigers won 7 games out of 8 that fine season, as only the Yale Bulldogs defeated them in a 6-0 skirmish.

The Princeton captain was a solid tackler on defense for the Tigers, making few errors. Alex was a stellar runner as well as a kicker. Moffat’s incredible 1883 season ended with him totaling 7 touchdowns, 16 field goals, and seven point after kicks. The National Football Foundation enshrined Alex Moffat posthumously into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.