Walter Camp's "official" Selections
The only individual who has been recognized as an "official" selector by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the 1912 season is Walter Camp. Accordingly, the NCAA's official listing of "Consensus All-America Selections" mirrors Camp's first-team picks. Nine of Camp's first-team All-Americans in 1912 played on teams from the Ivy League. The only two players recognized by Camp from outside the Ivy League were Jim Thorpe from the Carlisle School and Bob Butler of Wisconsin.
The dominance of Ivy League players on Camp's All-America teams led to criticism over the years that his selections were biased against players from the leading Western universities, including Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame. Camp's first-team All-Americans in 1912 included:
- Douglas Bomeisler, end from Yale, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
- Charles Brickley, halfback for Harvard, led Harvard to a perfect 9-0 record in 1912. and later served as the head football coach at Johns Hopkins, Boston College, and Fordham.
- Bob Butler, tackle from Wisconsin, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972. Camp said of Butler, "He was powerful, active, and excellent at sizing up plays, good at blocking his man, and dangerous in his breaking through."
- George Crowther, quarterback at Brown, nicknamed "Kid" because he weighed between 130 and 135 pounds while playing at Brown.
- Wesley Englehorn, tackle for Dartmouth, later served as head coach at Washington State.
- Sam Felton, end for Harvard, was considered one of the best punters in the country.
- Hank Ketcham, center for Yale, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
- Leroy Mercer, fullback for Penn, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
- Stan Pennock, guard from Harvard, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
- Jim Thorpe, halfback for Carlisle, inducted into both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame. He won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics, but had the medals taken back for violations of amateurism rules.
Read more about this topic: 1912 College Football All-America Team
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