Sam Thorne

Bio

Brinck Thorne was the slick-running halfback who provided the scoring during one of football's most incredible eras of success. They were the Yale glory years of the mid-1890s, a period during which the Bulldogs raced to a 39-1-2 record. The defeat, a bitter 6-0 decision to rival Princeton in 1893, ended a 36-game winning streak which included 21 shutout decisions in a row. Two years later, Thorne saw that Yale got its revenge. In the final game of his playing career, Thorne scored two touchdowns, set up another and kicked a pair of conversion points in leading Yale to a 20-10 victory over Princeton. The following year, Thorne was named head coach and led the Bulldogs to 13 victories in 14 games. During his three seasons, Yale out-scored its competition, 1137-63. He received consensus All-America recognition as the team's senior captain in 1895. During his only season as head coach, Thorne was instrumental in the resumption of the Yale-Harvard football series, which had been suspended for two years due to violence that erupted in the 1894 meeting. A native of New York City, Thorne went on to serve as president of several eastern coal companies.

Career Highlights

• 1895 Consensus All-America
• 1894 Second Team All-America
• 1893 Second Team All-America