Mahan enrolled at Harvard in 1912 and played halfback for Harvard's varsity football team. Although he weighed only 165 pounds, Mahan played every minute of every football game for Harvard from 1913–1915. Mahan was selected as a first-team All-American in each of those years, leading Harvard to a three-year record of 24-1-2.
Mahan carries against Princeton, 1915
Mahan played his first varsity game for Harvard in 1913 against the University of Maine and scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard run. And in the 1915 Harvard-Princeton game, he threw a pass for a 61-yard gain on a fake punt.
As a senior and team captain in 1915, Mahan climaxed his college football career by scoring four touchdowns and kicking five extra points in a 41-0 win over Yale, the worst defeat in Yale's 44 years of college football to that time. In the biography of Mahan at the College Football Hall of Fame, it is said that Mahan electrified the crowd in the 1915 Harvard-Yale game with "one of the greatest individual performances of the game's Pioneer Era."
Harvard's sole loss during Mahan's three years on the team was a 10-0 loss to Cornell in 1915. After the game, Mahan apologized to Harvard coach Percy Haughton. Haughton reportedly responded, "Mahan, you are the greatest football player God ever made."
Mahan later described his technique for evading tacklers as follows: "I simply give them the foot—right or left—and then take it away."
When Jim Thorpe was asked to choose the greatest football player of all time, he selected Mahan. He explained his choice as follows:
"Eddie Mahan of Harvard was the greatest football player I have ever seen. He had everything, he could run, pass and kick. He was big, weighed 190 pounds, was smart enough to play quarterback and also good enough to play in the line. To me that's proof enough that Mahan was the tops. He was a specialist in all lines."
In his book about the early days of football, Bill Edwards wrote the following about Mahan: "If the future football generals develop a better all-around man than Eddie Mahan, captain of the great Harvard team of 1915, whose playing brought not only victory to Harvard but was accompanied by great admiration throughout the football world, they may well congratulate themselves."
In November 1925, football writer W.B. Hanna compared Red Grange to Mahan:
"In the writer's opinion, Grange and Mahan are the greatest backs he ever saw, from the standpoint of advancing the ball. Grange seems to run with more power than Mahan and a trifle more laboriously, because he is not quite so light-footed. It may be doubted whether he is as fast, but that is mere guesswork. Football, carrying the ball, seemed play to Mahan. Grange does not do his work in quite that effortless manner."
Mahan was frequently mentioned among the greats of the game. In 1927, George Trevor of the New York Sun selected an all-time backfield made up of Mahan, Walter Eckersall, Jim Thorpe, and Willie Heston of Michigan. In 1928, Grantland Rice named Mahan to his all-time team and wrote, "Mahan lacked the crashing force of a Heston or a Coy, but he was one of the smoothest running backs anyone ever saw." Western football expert Walter Eckersall added, "Mahan is awarded the honor of being Harvard's greatest football player, a terror to the opposition offensively and defensively. As a line plunger he ranks with the greatest in history."
In 1951, Mahan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the first group of inductees.
Mahan carries against Princeton, 1915
Mahan played his first varsity game for Harvard in 1913 against the University of Maine and scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard run. And in the 1915 Harvard-Princeton game, he threw a pass for a 61-yard gain on a fake punt.
As a senior and team captain in 1915, Mahan climaxed his college football career by scoring four touchdowns and kicking five extra points in a 41-0 win over Yale, the worst defeat in Yale's 44 years of college football to that time. In the biography of Mahan at the College Football Hall of Fame, it is said that Mahan electrified the crowd in the 1915 Harvard-Yale game with "one of the greatest individual performances of the game's Pioneer Era."
Harvard's sole loss during Mahan's three years on the team was a 10-0 loss to Cornell in 1915. After the game, Mahan apologized to Harvard coach Percy Haughton. Haughton reportedly responded, "Mahan, you are the greatest football player God ever made."
Mahan later described his technique for evading tacklers as follows: "I simply give them the foot—right or left—and then take it away."
When Jim Thorpe was asked to choose the greatest football player of all time, he selected Mahan. He explained his choice as follows:
"Eddie Mahan of Harvard was the greatest football player I have ever seen. He had everything, he could run, pass and kick. He was big, weighed 190 pounds, was smart enough to play quarterback and also good enough to play in the line. To me that's proof enough that Mahan was the tops. He was a specialist in all lines."
In his book about the early days of football, Bill Edwards wrote the following about Mahan: "If the future football generals develop a better all-around man than Eddie Mahan, captain of the great Harvard team of 1915, whose playing brought not only victory to Harvard but was accompanied by great admiration throughout the football world, they may well congratulate themselves."
In November 1925, football writer W.B. Hanna compared Red Grange to Mahan:
"In the writer's opinion, Grange and Mahan are the greatest backs he ever saw, from the standpoint of advancing the ball. Grange seems to run with more power than Mahan and a trifle more laboriously, because he is not quite so light-footed. It may be doubted whether he is as fast, but that is mere guesswork. Football, carrying the ball, seemed play to Mahan. Grange does not do his work in quite that effortless manner."
Mahan was frequently mentioned among the greats of the game. In 1927, George Trevor of the New York Sun selected an all-time backfield made up of Mahan, Walter Eckersall, Jim Thorpe, and Willie Heston of Michigan. In 1928, Grantland Rice named Mahan to his all-time team and wrote, "Mahan lacked the crashing force of a Heston or a Coy, but he was one of the smoothest running backs anyone ever saw." Western football expert Walter Eckersall added, "Mahan is awarded the honor of being Harvard's greatest football player, a terror to the opposition offensively and defensively. As a line plunger he ranks with the greatest in history."
In 1951, Mahan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the first group of inductees.
Mahan enrolled at Harvard in 1912 and played halfback for Harvard's varsity football team. Although he weighed only 165 pounds, Mahan played every minute of every football game for Harvard from 1913–1915. Mahan was selected as a first-team All-American in each of those years, leading Harvard to a three-year record of 24-1-2.
Mahan carries against Princeton, 1915
Mahan played his first varsity game for Harvard in 1913 against the University of Maine and scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard run. And in the 1915 Harvard-Princeton game, he threw a pass for a 61-yard gain on a fake punt.
As a senior and team captain in 1915, Mahan climaxed his college football career by scoring four touchdowns and kicking five extra points in a 41-0 win over Yale, the worst defeat in Yale's 44 years of college football to that time. In the biography of Mahan at the College Football Hall of Fame, it is said that Mahan electrified the crowd in the 1915 Harvard-Yale game with "one of the greatest individual performances of the game's Pioneer Era."
Harvard's sole loss during Mahan's three years on the team was a 10-0 loss to Cornell in 1915. After the game, Mahan apologized to Harvard coach Percy Haughton. Haughton reportedly responded, "Mahan, you are the greatest football player God ever made."
Mahan later described his technique for evading tacklers as follows: "I simply give them the foot—right or left—and then take it away."
When Jim Thorpe was asked to choose the greatest football player of all time, he selected Mahan. He explained his choice as follows:
"Eddie Mahan of Harvard was the greatest football player I have ever seen. He had everything, he could run, pass and kick. He was big, weighed 190 pounds, was smart enough to play quarterback and also good enough to play in the line. To me that's proof enough that Mahan was the tops. He was a specialist in all lines."
In his book about the early days of football, Bill Edwards wrote the following about Mahan: "If the future football generals develop a better all-around man than Eddie Mahan, captain of the great Harvard team of 1915, whose playing brought not only victory to Harvard but was accompanied by great admiration throughout the football world, they may well congratulate themselves."
In November 1925, football writer W.B. Hanna compared Red Grange to Mahan:
"In the writer's opinion, Grange and Mahan are the greatest backs he ever saw, from the standpoint of advancing the ball. Grange seems to run with more power than Mahan and a trifle more laboriously, because he is not quite so light-footed. It may be doubted whether he is as fast, but that is mere guesswork. Football, carrying the ball, seemed play to Mahan. Grange does not do his work in quite that effortless manner."
Mahan was frequently mentioned among the greats of the game. In 1927, George Trevor of the New York Sun selected an all-time backfield made up of Mahan, Walter Eckersall, Jim Thorpe, and Willie Heston of Michigan. In 1928, Grantland Rice named Mahan to his all-time team and wrote, "Mahan lacked the crashing force of a Heston or a Coy, but he was one of the smoothest running backs anyone ever saw." Western football expert Walter Eckersall added, "Mahan is awarded the honor of being Harvard's greatest football player, a terror to the opposition offensively and defensively. As a line plunger he ranks with the greatest in history."
In 1951, Mahan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the first group of inductees.
Mahan carries against Princeton, 1915
Mahan played his first varsity game for Harvard in 1913 against the University of Maine and scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard run. And in the 1915 Harvard-Princeton game, he threw a pass for a 61-yard gain on a fake punt.
As a senior and team captain in 1915, Mahan climaxed his college football career by scoring four touchdowns and kicking five extra points in a 41-0 win over Yale, the worst defeat in Yale's 44 years of college football to that time. In the biography of Mahan at the College Football Hall of Fame, it is said that Mahan electrified the crowd in the 1915 Harvard-Yale game with "one of the greatest individual performances of the game's Pioneer Era."
Harvard's sole loss during Mahan's three years on the team was a 10-0 loss to Cornell in 1915. After the game, Mahan apologized to Harvard coach Percy Haughton. Haughton reportedly responded, "Mahan, you are the greatest football player God ever made."
Mahan later described his technique for evading tacklers as follows: "I simply give them the foot—right or left—and then take it away."
When Jim Thorpe was asked to choose the greatest football player of all time, he selected Mahan. He explained his choice as follows:
"Eddie Mahan of Harvard was the greatest football player I have ever seen. He had everything, he could run, pass and kick. He was big, weighed 190 pounds, was smart enough to play quarterback and also good enough to play in the line. To me that's proof enough that Mahan was the tops. He was a specialist in all lines."
In his book about the early days of football, Bill Edwards wrote the following about Mahan: "If the future football generals develop a better all-around man than Eddie Mahan, captain of the great Harvard team of 1915, whose playing brought not only victory to Harvard but was accompanied by great admiration throughout the football world, they may well congratulate themselves."
In November 1925, football writer W.B. Hanna compared Red Grange to Mahan:
"In the writer's opinion, Grange and Mahan are the greatest backs he ever saw, from the standpoint of advancing the ball. Grange seems to run with more power than Mahan and a trifle more laboriously, because he is not quite so light-footed. It may be doubted whether he is as fast, but that is mere guesswork. Football, carrying the ball, seemed play to Mahan. Grange does not do his work in quite that effortless manner."
Mahan was frequently mentioned among the greats of the game. In 1927, George Trevor of the New York Sun selected an all-time backfield made up of Mahan, Walter Eckersall, Jim Thorpe, and Willie Heston of Michigan. In 1928, Grantland Rice named Mahan to his all-time team and wrote, "Mahan lacked the crashing force of a Heston or a Coy, but he was one of the smoothest running backs anyone ever saw." Western football expert Walter Eckersall added, "Mahan is awarded the honor of being Harvard's greatest football player, a terror to the opposition offensively and defensively. As a line plunger he ranks with the greatest in history."
In 1951, Mahan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the first group of inductees.
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