Joseph Duff

{{Short description|American football player and coach, United States Army officer}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Joseph Duff

| image = Joseph Duff (American football).jpg

| caption = Duff from The Owl, 1914

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1889|1|28}}

| birth_place = Carnegie, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1918|10|10|1889|1|28}}

| death_place = Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France

| alma_mater =Princeton University

| player_years1 = 1911

| player_team1 = Princeton

| player_positions = Guard

| coach_years1 = 1912

| coach_team1 = Princeton (assistant)

| coach_years2 = 1913–1914

| coach_team2 = Pittsburgh

| overall_record = 14–3–1

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

National (1911)

| awards =

Consensus All-American (1911)

| coaching_records =

}}

Joseph M. Duff Jr. (January 28, 1889 – October 10, 1918) was an All-American football player and coach who was killed in action during World War I. Duff graduated from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling at Princeton University. He played guard for Princeton and was selected for Walter Camp's All-American eleven in 1911. After graduating from Princeton, Duff became an assistant football coach at the school for the 1912 football season, assisting head coach Logan Cunningham. He served as the football coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 1913 and 1914 and graduated from the School of Law in 1915.{{cite book|url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pittcommence;didno=1919e49956;idno=1919e49956;view=image;seq=0015|title=University of Pittsburgh Commencement Program|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|date=June 13, 1919|access-date=May 27, 2013}} He became a member of the Allegheny County Bar{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85541496/|title=Court Pays Tribute to Lieut Joseph Duff|date=November 26, 1918|work=The Gazette Times|location=Pittsburgh|page=7}} and went to work in the law firm of his brother James H. Duff.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/144818253/|title=Joe Duff, Former Pitt Grid Coach, Killed in France|date=November 25, 1918|work=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=19 Jan 2018}}

In June 1917, he was in the Reserve Officers Training Camp in Fort Niagara, but was not given his commission due to a vision problem. Undeterred, he enlisted in the U.S. military in World War I and went to France as a private in the 313th Machine Gun Battalion,{{cite book|title=Good War, Great Men.|last1=Capets|first1=Andrew|date=September 8, 2017|publisher=Andrew Capets|isbn=978-0692116470|page=133}} 80th Division. He was promoted to the rank of a lieutenant on September 30, 1918{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/85541485/|title=Joe Duff, Football Star Is Killed In France|date=November 25, 1918|work=The Gazette Times|location=Pittsburgh|page=8}} and transferred to the 32nd Division to lead a machine gun company for the 125th Infantry.{{cite book|last1=Capets|first1=Andrew|title=Good War, Great Men.|date=September 8, 2017|isbn=978-0692951026|page=134}} He was killed in action on Côte Dame Marie in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France on October 10, 1918.{{cite news|title=Football Star Killed in Action October 10|publisher=The Tucson Citizen|date=November 25, 1918}}{{cite news|title=Joseph Duff Killed|publisher=The Evening Times (Pawtucket)|date=November 25, 1918}}{{cite news|title=Lieut. Joseph Duff Killed: Former Princeton Gridiron Star Was Promoted from the Ranks|work=The New York Times|date=November 26, 1918|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/11/26/106216806.pdf }}