Early Life and Career
Joseph Mason Reeves was born on November 20, 1872 in the village of Tampico, Illinois.
He received an appointment in 1890 to attend the Naval Academy, where he became a football hero. In addition to his on-field heroics, he is credited with the invention of the modern football helmet, in which he had a shoemaker create for him after he was told by a Navy doctor that a kick to his head could result in "instant insanity" or death. Reeves graduated from the Academy in 1894.
Upon graduation, Reeves was assigned to the cruiser USS San Francisco (Cruiser No. 5). He served in the battleship USS Oregon (BB-3) during the Spanish-American War, taking part in the action against Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete's fleet at Santiago in June and July 1898.
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