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Harold Ballin

Tackle

Inducted 1973

Date of Birth

10/16/1893

Birthplace

New York, NY

School

Princeton University (1912-1914)

Bio

By his own recollection Harold Ballin was "young and underdeveloped" when he arrived as a freshman at Princeton University. Unable to make his prep school team at Lawrenceville Preparatory School, he managed to make the fourth and final unit of the freshman team at Princeton. After an undistinguished sophomore season, Ballin developed into an All-America tackle almost overnight. Growing to 180 pounds he led the way for Hall of Fame runner Hobey Baker during his 1913 junior year. In his senior season, he added another 14 pounds to his weight, became the team's captain and won his second consensus All-America mention. Ballin was a true iron man as he played every minute of every game in 1914. Making his accomplishment even more outstanding is the fact he played without a helmet, a piece of equipment that he considered a distraction. In his senior year he played in the first game ever held at Princeton's Palmer Stadium. After receiving a degree in engineering he coached for three seasons before becoming a field engineer in Pittsburgh.