Hall of Fame Inductee Search
Paul "Shorty" Des Jardien
Position:Center
School: Chicago
High School: Chicago, IL (Wendell Phillips HS)
Years: 1912-1914
Inducted: 1955
Place of Birth: Coffeyville, KS
Date of Birth: 8/24/1893
Place of Death: Monrovia, CA
Date of Death: 3/7/1956
Height: 6-5
Weight: 190
Member Biography:
He was 6-5, and skinny at 190 pounds and his teammates
called him "Shorty". Paul Des Jardien was an athlete with
natural gifts which helped him adapt to any sport. He was a
member of the Chicago teams which had a 17-3-1 record
through the 1912-14 seasons. In 1913, the Maroons finished
7-0, won the conference championship and boasted All-
America honors for their center, Des Jardien. The lanky
lineman had the highest respect for his coach, Amos Alonzo
Stagg, though he often chuckled at Stagg's restrictions and
training rules. Des Jardien remembered Stagg cautioning the
players to "Watch your diets! Keep the hotdogs in the stands
where they belong. I never ate one in my life." Paul was a
four-sport letterman. Football and baseball were his best
sports, and after graduation he spent one baseball season with
the Cleveland Indians.
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