Benjamin H. Southworth

Benjamin H. Southworth
Date of birth	November 1, 1878
Place of birth	Hillsdale County, Michigan, U.S.
Date of death	January 3, 1924
Place of death	Schoolcraft, Michigan, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)	Guard/Center
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	187 lb (85 kg)
US college	Michigan
Career history
As player
1900–1901	Michigan
Career highlights and awards
	National champion (1901);

Benjamin Harrison Southworth (November 1, 1878^[1] – January 3, 1924) was an American football player, physician and surgeon. He was a member of the University of Michigan's 1901 "Point-a-Minute" football team that finished the season 11–0, outscored opponents 550 to 0, and won the first college football bowl game, the 1902 Rose Bowl. Southworth was one of 15 players who traveled from Ann Arbor to play in the first Rose Bowl game.

Early years

Southworth was born in 1878 on a farm in Reading Township, Hillsdale County, Michigan. At the time of the 1880 United States Census, he was living on the family farm in Reading with his parents, J.L. and Emily Southworth, and three older brothers, H.E., H.D. and J.B.^[2]^[3]

University of Michigan

Southworth enrolled as a medical student at the University of Michigan in 1899 and played college football on the 1900 and 1901 Michigan Wolverines football teams.^[4]^[5] He was a member of the famed 1901 "Point-a-Minute" team that finished the season 11–0 and outscored opponents 550 to 0.^[5] He appeared as a substitute in three games during the 1901 season—at center in the Albion game, left tackle in the Buffalo game, and left guard in the Beloit game.^[6] He was one of 15 players whose expenses were paid by Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association,^[7] allowing Michigan to field a team in the 1902 Rose Bowl, which Michigan won by score of 49 to 0. A profile of the 1901 team noted, "Southworth, the big guard, is a junior medic. He has the weight, and with an increase of speed will develop into a 'Varsity player."^[6]

Medical career and family

Southworth later attended Rush Medical College in Chicago, graduating in 1903. He became a medical doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Southworth was living in Schoolcraft, Michigan with his wife Kathryn.^[8] In a draft registration card at the time of World War I, Southworth indicated that he was a physician and surgeon in Schoolcraft.^[9] At the time of the 1920 United States Census, he was living in Schoolcraft Township with his wife.^[10] Southworth and his wife had four children, Maynard (1906–1968), Benjamin (1908–1967), Marion (1912–2008) and Genevieve (1920–2013). Southworth died from diabetes mellitus in January 1924.^[11]^[12]

His son, Maynard N. Southworth, attended medical school at the University of Michigan and was a member of the varsity wrestling and baseball teams in the late 1920s.^[13]

References

^ Census entry for Benjamin Southworth. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Ann Arbor Ward 6, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: T623_746; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 89.
^ Census entry for J.L. Southworth and family. Ancestry.com 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Reading, Hillsdale, Michigan; Roll: 581; Family History Film: 1254581; Page: 257D; Enumeration District: 92; Image: 0189.
^ Rush McNair (1938). Medical memoirs of 50 years in Kalamazoo. p. 56.
^ "1900 Football Team Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "1901 Football Team Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Jesse J. Ricks (1901). The Michigan Daily-News Football Year-Book. Ann Arbor Printing Company.
^ "Notes of College Athletics" (PDF). The New York Times. December 29, 1901.(listing Southworth as one of the 15 Michigan football players traveling to Pasadena at the expense of the Tournament of Roses Ass'n for the first Rose Bowl game)
^ Census entry for Benjamin H. Southworth and family. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Roll: T624_655; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0163; Image: 232; FHL Number: 1374668.
^ Draft Registration Card for Benjamin Harry Southworth, born November 1, 1878. Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Registration Location: Kalamazoo County, Michigan; Roll: 1675764; Draft Board: 0.
^ Census entry for Benjamin Southworth. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo, Michigan; Roll: T625_776; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 192; Image: 329.
^ Ancestry.com. Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004. Original data: Hafner, Arthur Wayne, ed. Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929. Chicago: American Medical Association, 1993.
^ "Deaths" (PDF). Journal of the American Medical Association.
^ 1929 Michiganensian, p. 210.