Lea, Langdon ("Biffy")
Football
b. May 11, 1874, Germantown, PA
d. Oct. 4, 1937
When Lea was a sophomore at Princeton, sportswriter and All-America selector Caspar Whitney already thought he was the best tackle in college football. He wrote, "Biffy's all-around tackle play--his blocking and tackling--were unsurpassed. . . "
A four-year starter, Lea was an All-American three times, from 1893 through 1895. While he started, Princeton won 41 games, lost 5, and tied 1. When he captained the team as a senior in 1895, they won 10, lost 1, and tied 1. Legendary coach "Pop" Warner, who played for Cornell in 1893 and 1894, named Lea to his all-time All-American team in 1920.
Lea coached the University of Michigan to a 7-2-1 record in 1900. For players planning to try out for the team, he posted a set of rules: "The word 'Can't' is not in the football vocabulary. Any man feeling that way about any part of the game in detail is not wanted on the field and will please stay away." He returned to Princeton to help with coaching as a volunteer the following the year.