94 Years Ago Today and the First RU Football Player on Time Magazine's Cover

[Source]

Richard Swann Lull was born exactly two years before the first intercollegiate football game. He was a four-year Rutgers football letter winner between 1888-1892. The zoology major later became a paleontologist, mostly with Yale, and championed ideas of mutations unlocking mysterious genetic drives to explain evolutionary patterns. On May 5, 1925, John Scopes, a Dayton, Tennessee teacher, was charged with teaching evolution from a chapter in a textbook. What became known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial” pitted Clarence Darrow in Scopes’ defense against William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution. The June 1, 1925 edition of Time Magazine didn’t feature Scopes, or Darrow or Bryan or even Charles Darwin on its front cover. Instead, it was the portrait of Richard Lull and his theories on evolution. The trial ended on July 21, 1925 with Scopes found guilty and fined $100. The verdict was later set aside by the Tennessee Supreme Court on a technicality. Lull was approaching 90 when he died on April 22, 1957.

http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1925/1101250601_400.jpg

 

[Bones131]

Thanks for sharing this. Would never have known otherwise.

 

[Will Scarlet]

+1. Thanks. Never would have known otherwise. The depth of our alumni bench never ceases to amaze.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Wow! I never knew this. Now i want to learn more about him.

 

[Source]

Wow! I never knew this. Now i want to learn more about him.

Well.... if you are willing to consider it's a wikipedia entry, he does have an entry. Thanks again for compliments, they're appreciated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Swann_Lull

 

[Ruthinking]

I always enjoy your posts dealing with Rutgers history. It's always a welcome diversion. Thanks, and keep it up.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Don't waste our time with this useless information unless you can tell us what his 40 time was and how many stars he had.

 

[RU Husky]

so this guy is another foot soldier in the war on Christianity

 

[Source]

so this guy is another foot soldier in the war on Christianity

From Time: "...At Rutgers he was the Homer Hazel of his day—a great shot putter, a sturdy footballer. He came forward and presented the public with an explanation of what evolution is, its facts and theories and the religious attitudes with which it is compatible. He explained evolution, not Darwinism.”

 

[rutgersnyc]

The first and I am sure the only???? Thanks, Source.

 

[knightfan7]

I've said it before, the only thing better than Sources posts are speaking to him in person, a privilege I've had numerous times. I'm not an alum but always find interesting the stories he has for me whenever we meet up.

 

[srru86]

so this guy is another foot soldier in the war on Christianity

Turn It Up!

 

[Source]

I've said it before, the only thing better than Sources posts are speaking to him in person, a privilege I've had numerous times. I'm not an alum but always find interesting the stories he has for me whenever we meet up.

Thanks knightfan7. Same here. Keep the sun hot down there... I'll be along quickly enough.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Did he go on to become.. Colonel Sanders?