About Josiah McCracken
Josiah Calvin McCracken (March 30, 1874 – February 15, 1962) was an American football player and track and field athlete. == Early life: football and track achievements == McCracken, nicknamed Joe, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee. His earliest known Ulster-Scots ancestors settled in Pennsylvania before the French and Indian War. When McCracken was eight years old, his parents moved to Garnett, Kansas, and by the age of 17, the family was living in Sterling, Kansas. McCracken excelled at both football and track and field while a school boy in Kansas. He was heavily recruited by the University of Kansas, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania. The 1896 Kansas Jayhawks football team was coached was Hector Cowan a Princeton University graduate, an 1889 All-America college football team selection, and a future member of the College Football Hall of Fame. In addition to coaching football, Cowan was a Presbyterian minister. McCracken was raised in a devout Presbyterian family. After living on the plains of Kansas for 14 years, McCracken transferred in 1896 from Cooper College, a Presbyterian institution known today as Sterling College, along with University of Kansas transfer John Outland, to attend the University of Pennsylvania and played football under future College Football Hall of Fame coach George Washington Woodruff.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.