By Darin Hayes October 9, 1886 – Walter Steffen, A halfback/quarterback from the University of Chicago.
The footballfoundation.org website bio on Walter tells us that he was one of the favorite players of head Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg while with the University of Chicago Maroons. Stagg loved the shiftiness of the youngster so much that after his sophomore season, Steffen was moved to the quarterback position. Walter Steffen was an All-American each of his 3 seasons with the Maroons, and he accounted for a whopping 156 points himself during the period he played from 1906 through 1908.
After his eligibility was exhausted, Walter joined Stagg’s coaching staff and attended graduate school, eventually earning his law degree. He was soon thereafter named a judge in the Chicago court system. He couldn’t get the gridiron out of his blood, though, as he soon took over the head coaching duties at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh in 1914 and held the position off and on through the 1932 season.
His final coaching record stood at a respectable 88-53-6, especially when considering the competition the team faced, which included Notre Dame, USC, Yale, Army, Pittsburgh, and Georgia Tech. The College Football Hall of Fame inducted Walter Steffen into their museum in 1969.
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