Howard Abbott
{{Short description|American football player, lawyer, and judge (1867–1939)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Howard Abbott
|image = Howard T. Abbott.png
|image_size = 190px
|caption =Photograph of Abbott from "Notable Men of the West" (1902)
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1867|2|11}}
|birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1939|10|5|1867|2|11}}
|death_place = Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
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|citizenship = United States
|other_names =
|known_for = Football player/Judge
|alma_mater = University of Minnesota, University of Michigan
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Howard T. Abbott (February 11, 1867 – October 5, 1939) was an American football player, lawyer and judge. He played college football and was the starting quarterback for both the University of Minnesota in 1886 and the University of Michigan in 1889. He was also the captain of the first Minnesota Golden Gophers football team in 1886. He was a lawyer in Duluth, Minnesota, starting in 1891 and later became a judge.
Early years
Abbott was born in Washington, D.C. in 1867, the son of Asa T. and Fannie B. (Cross) Abbott. Starting at age eight, Abbott attended Army schools, as his father was serving in the military. In 1879, he moved with his family to Minneapolis where he attended public schools.{{cite book|title=History of Duluth and St. Louis County, Past and Present, Volume 2|author=Dwight Edwards Woodbridge |author2=John Stone Pardee |page=777|publisher=C. F. Cooper & Company|year=1910|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWPDUJamRJYC}}
College career
= Minnesota =
In 1886, Abbott enrolled at the University of Minnesota where he studied for three years. While he was a student at Minnesota, he was the captain and quarterback of the first Minnesota Golden Gophers football team in 1886.{{cite news|title=Football at Minnesota: The story of thirty years' contests on the gridiron|publisher=Minnesota Alumni Weekly|date=November 9, 1914|page=21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHRJAAAAYAAJ}}
= Michigan =
In 1889, Abbott enrolled at the University of Michigan as a law student. While studying law, he was the starting quarterback for the 1889 Michigan Wolverines football team. The 1889 team led by Abbott finished with a 1–2 record and was outscored 76–0 by Cornell and the Chicago University Club.{{cite web|title=1889 Football Team|publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library|url=https://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fbteam/1889fbt.htm|access-date=November 24, 2010}} He was also a reserve quarterback on the 1890 team.{{cite web|title=1890 Football Roster|publisher=University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library|url=http://141.211.39.65/allroster/FMPro?-DB=allrost.fp5&-Format=fbresult.htm&-SortField=name&-SortOrder=Ascend&year=1890&-max=170&-Find|access-date=November 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901031802/http://141.211.39.65/allroster/FMPro?-DB=allrost.fp5&-Format=fbresult.htm&-SortField=name&-SortOrder=Ascend&year=1890&-max=170&-Find|archive-date=September 1, 2010}}
Legal career and personal life
After receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1890, Abbott moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where he began practicing law in 1891. In November 1895, he married Gertrude P. Markell, and they had two children. He was a member of the firm of Abbott, McPherran, Lewis and Gilbert.{{cite news|title=Football at Minnesota: The story of thirty years' contests on the gridiron|publisher=Minnesota Alumni Weekly|date=November 9, 1914|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHRJAAAAYAAJ}} He later served as a judge. In 1935, Judge Abbott was honored as a pioneer of Gopher sports in a reunion held at the Minnesota Union on the 50th anniversary of the first football team.{{cite news|title=First Gopher Grid Captain to Visit 'U': Judge Howard Abbott, Member of Class of 1885, Will Attend Alumni Day Exercises, June 17|newspaper=The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, Minn.|date=June 14, 1935}}
= Death =
In October 1939, Abbott died at Rochester, Minnesota from coronary thrombosis. He had come to the Mayo Clinic three weeks earlier and died at Worrell Hospital.{{cite news|title=Duluth Attorney Dies|newspaper=The Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune|date=October 6, 1939}}[http://mn.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac./SAC/MN/1942/19421120_0003.MN.htm/qx IN RE ESTATE OF HOWARD T. ABBOTT v. H. A. DANCER] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711002434/http://mn.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac./SAC/MN/1942/19421120_0003.MN.htm/qx |date=2011-07-11 }}, Minnesota Supreme Court, November 20, 1942.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
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{{Michigan Wolverines quarterback navbox}}
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Category:University of Minnesota alumni
Category:19th-century players of American football
Category:19th-century American sportsmen
Category:Michigan Wolverines football players
Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football players
Category:Minnesota state court judges
Category:Players of American football from Duluth, Minnesota
Category:Players of American football from Minneapolis
Category:Players of American football from Washington, D.C.
Category:Deaths from coronary thrombosis
Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni
Category:American football quarterbacks