Clarence Bertram "Herschie" Herschberger was an American football player and coach.
17 Facts About Clarence Herschberger
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Clarence Herschberger played college football as a fullback, punter and placekicker at University of Chicago from 1896 to 1898.
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Clarence Herschberger became the first western player to be selected as a first-team All-American, in 1898.
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Clarence Herschberger was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1970.
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Clarence Herschberger earned a total of 13 varsity letters in track, football and baseball.
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Clarence Herschberger played for Amos Alonzo Stagg's football teams from 1894 to 1898 and was one of the first of the great football stars developed by Stagg.
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Clarence Herschberger was known for making key plays in big games.
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Clarence Herschberger was considered an excellent punter, making him a key asset in Stagg's strategy of maximizing field position.
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Clarence Herschberger has been credited with a number of innovations in the sport.
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Clarence Herschberger was believed to be the first player to kick spiral punts, and Stagg credited him as being the first to use the Statue of Liberty play.
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Clarence Herschberger has been credited as the first player to do an onside kick and most likely the first player to ever receive an x-ray for an injury.
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Clarence Herschberger was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970.
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Clarence Herschberger later returned to Chicago where he worked in the real estate business.
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In December 1936, Herschberger was found dead in the gas-filled basement of his home on W 64th Street in Chicago His body was found by his 19-year-old daughter, Ruth.
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Clarence Herschberger had attached a rubber hose to a laundry gas burner and had inhaled illuminating gas.
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Clarence Herschberger's death at age 60 was a suicide arising from his despondency over ill health.
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Clarence Herschberger's widow attributed the act to a nervous breakdown.