Cannonball: Football Great Eddie Tryon

Having enrolled in Suffield Academy, Joseph Edward "Eddie" Tryon relocated to Suffield, Connecticut, in 1919. Eddie's mother conducted a general store near Congamond Lake, and the family had a cottage in Southwick, Massachusetts. During the busy vacation season, Eddie handled the ice end of the business to earn money to pay for his schooling. He also worked at his father's garage in Westfield. 

J. Eddie Tryon

At Suffield Academy, Eddie was a football and track star. He also played basketball. As a member of the graduating class of 1922, the school paper wrote a tribute to him, saying he was a shining example of "clean sportsmanship and fair play." The article also said everyone loved Eddie for his "modesty and optimism."

Upon graduating, Eddie went to Colgate University, where he became a star running back (1922-1925). Being a slippery-hipped runner, he was a great open-field man: elusive and quick, with unerring accuracy and equally vicious tackles. (Eddie was also a Colgate track letterman for 4-years and did weightlifting and pole vaulting. He once held the school's discus record.)

Eddie scored five touchdowns as a freshman in a 59-0 victory over Columbia in 1922; a Colgate record unequaled until the 1980s. Eddie was named All-American in 1925. He graduated from Colgate in 1926.

Luanna Phelps (circa 1925)

Eddie married Suffield native Luanna Esther Phelps on August 30, 1927. (Sadly, Launna had heart trouble. She suffered a nervous breakdown following the birth of her daughter Barbara in 1929, and she died a few weeks later while on an operating table in a New Jersey hospital.)

Eddie went on to play professional football (New York Yankees, 1926-1927). But he gave that up to pursue a career in coaching, having landed a job at Rutherford High School in Rutherford, New Jersey, where he became athletic director (1928-1946). Eddie's daughter attended Rutherford High School, whose 1946 senior class dedicated that year's yearbook to him.

Eddie later coached football at Hobart College in Geneva, New York, from 1946 until he retired in either 1962 or 1964. He coached the team to two undefeated seasons, 1954 and 1957. Regardless of his retirement date, Eddie held the longest tenure of any coach in the history of Hobart football. 

After retirement, Eddie returned to Suffield Academy, where he continued coaching as a part-time assistant.

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Hall of Fame Inductions

National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame, Mason, Ohio (1963).

Helms Foundation Hall of Fame, Los Angeles (1963).

Colgate Athletic Hall of Fame (1979).

Hobart Hall of Fame (1995).

Suffield Athletic Hall of Fame (2005).

* * *

In 1925, a young man arrived in New Haven, Connecticut. He introduced himself to sports writers as football great Eddie Tryon. In reality, he was Jack Weller, or was he? 

Like Eddie Tryon, Weller was good-looking, well-mannered, and well-dressed.

Weller

Thinking Weller was Tryon, the sports writers and New Haven's social elite feted him at theater parties and dances, entertained him, and paid for lavish dinners. In return, Weller, as Tryon, gave interviews. (The big scoop was the fake Tryon telling reporters he was going professional, careerwise - something the real-life Tryon was against.)

Weller, as the pseudo-Eddie Tryon, started asking for money, claiming he had experienced an embarrassing hardship. When one of the lenders became suspicious, he notified the police, who began an investigation. 

New Haven police arrested Weller on January 3, 1926. They first held him on a technical charge of idleness but later changed it to obtaining money under false pretenses. 

Weller went by different names. In Northampton, Massachusetts, where police wanted him for theft, he was known as John "Jack" Connors. 

When Weller had lost his job, his co-worker, John McCarthy, took him in. However, on December 27, Weller disappeared with a suitcase full of the McCarthy family's clothing, jewelry, and money. Weller was sentenced to five months in the House of Corrections for the McCarthy theft. 

It is unclear what happened to Weller, but Utica, New York authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest for forgery.

The real Eddie Tryon remarried. He married Miss Mildred Brown on May 11, 1934, in Rutherford, New Jersey. 

Joseph Edward Tryon: July 25, 1900 - May 1, 1982.

Luanna Esther (Phelps) Tryon: May 1906 – April 11, 1929.

Mildred Grace (Brown) Tryon: July 9, 1902 - October 17, 1975.

Barbara Jean (Tryon) Halse: March 11, 1929 -

Sherwood Meaker Halse: February 29, 1924 -

Sherwood Halse's mother invited 14 boys and girls to celebrate him turning eight on February 29, 1932. Being a leap-year baby, this would be his first birthday in four years. Unfortunately, Sherwood caught a cold, forcing the cancellation of the party, and he spent his birthday eating cake - all alone. 

Eddie, Luanna, and Mildred are buried next to each other in Westfield, Massachusetts.