Hector Cowan Princeton Star

July 12, 1863 - Hobart, New York - Hector William "Hec" Cowan is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame as possibly the member of any of the football halls of fame with the earliest birth date.

Think about it, he was born while the Civil War was still in the news. He was the captain of the Princeton squad in the late 1880s and in 1889 was selected by Caspar Whitney to the very first All-American Team as a Tackle per the FootballFoundation.org.

Yale star Pudge Heffelfinger claimed that Cowan was one of the toughest opponents that he ever played against, per the National Football Foundation. Heffelfinger was quoted as saying, "He had the strongest shoulders and arms I've ever been up against, and his stubby legs drove like pistons when he carried the ball.

Hector could carry a couple of tacklers on his back, yet he was plenty fast in the open." Mr. Cowan went on to coach after graduation at North Carolina and Kansas and had success in these duties as well.

Eventually, Hec became a Presbyterian Minister while in Missouri.