September 28, 1881 – Harry “Dutch” Van Surdam was the quarterback of Wesleyan from 1902 through 1905. Harry helped shape early American football, starring as a dynamic quarterback before revolutionizing the game as a pioneering coach and an elite, long-tenured official.
Football Bio
September 28, 1881 – Dutch Van Surdam, who played quarterback for Wesleyan from 1902 through 1905, was born.
Harry Van Surdam circa 1904.
According to the National Football Foundation’s website, Dutch later transitioned into coaching and led programs at Marietta, Sewanee, and Texas Mines.
Van Surdam stayed up to date on the rulebook, too, as shown in 1906 when his Marietta team used the new passing rule to throw a 56-yard pass against Ohio University.
This keen understanding of the rules later led him to officiating football. Harry became known as the “dean of Eastern officials” as he enforced the rules from 1921 through the 1962 season!
The National Football Foundation selected Harry Van Surdam for induction into its College Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
As gracious a man as he was, he donated the plaque he received for the honor to his alma mater, the high school in Hoosick Falls, New York.[National Football Foundation]
The Football Fix: The 1906 Forward Pass
The 1906 season was a monumental turning point in football history, marking the first year the forward pass became legal. The rules committee—pushed by President Theodore Roosevelt to make the game safer—instituted the pass to open up the field and reduce brutal mass collisions. Van Surdam’s immediate adoption of the play at Marietta, resulting in a staggering 56-yard completion, proved his visionary understanding of offensive strategy long before the pass became a standard weapon.
Accolades and Football Accomplishments
- Enforced the rules of the game for 42 years as an official (1921–1962), earning the respected moniker “Dean of Eastern Officials.”
- Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
- Starting quarterback for the Wesleyan University Cardinals from 1902 to 1905.
- Served as head football coach at Marietta College, Sewanee (The University of the South), and Texas Mines (now the University of Texas at El Paso).
- Pioneered early aerial offenses, dialing up a 56-yard forward pass in 1906, the very first year the play was legalized.
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