Harold Weekes

An early 20th-Century gridiron star at Columbia made quite and impact for his team as he athleticism allowed him to do that only few were capable of even trying.

Harold Weekes is a very interesting person of early football using the skills of their players to find an advantage. Weekes is most well known for one of the most dangerous plays in football history, the flying hurdle. In this feat of danger Weekes would stand on top the shoulders of one of his Columbia teammates.  That player would then help propel the ball carrying Weekes over top the heads of the defenders. If the acrobatic runner could stick the landing he was off to the races.
In 1899 as a freshman Harold used his speed on a decisive 55 yard kick return for a stunning 5-0 victory over an undefeated Yale. When he graduated in 1903 Harold Weekes had used his athleticism to aid Columbia to 29 victories in that span, 19 by shutout. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954, posthumously 4 years after he passed.

The picture in the banner above is from the Wikipedia Commons photo collection of the Public Domain of Photograph of University of Michigan football coach Fielding H. Yost circa 1905

Special thanks to Dr. John Behee, and his wonderful book  Coach Yost: Michigan's Tradition Maker.