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The unexpected death on December 26 of retired NFL superstar Reggie White incited an outpouring of fond remembrances for the "Minister of Defense," a man known as much for his outspoken faith as for his ferocious pursuit of quarterbacks. White dominated professional football in the 1990s and attracted intense scrutiny when in 1993 he cited God's leading before signing a lavish free-agent contract with the Green Bay Packers.

For more than a decade, White exemplified the growing and obvious influence of Christianity on professional sports and football in particular. He relentlessly rebutted the tired critique of Christian athletes as too soft for competition, and his zeal for the faith helped shape public perception of like-minded competitors as intensely devoted and unceasingly brash. Yet while White's aggressive brand of faith-filled football may appear to be a contemporary phenomenon, it was in fact intrinsic to the game's formative years.

If not for his soft voice and quiet demeanor, Amos Alonzo Stagg would have finished his divinity degree and joined the pastorate. Instead, Stagg fulfilled his calling during the first half of the 20th century at the University of Chicago, where as head coach he invented the tackling dummy, numbered jerseys, huddles, athletic letters, and men in motion. When the forward pass became legal in college football, he had 64 such plays ready to spring upon unsuspecting adversaries.

Stagg was more than just a technical innovator, though. He placed athletics within the eternal narrative of Christ and his church. Stagg was born in 1862 in West Orange, New Jersey, during the initial stages of the Civil War. His devotion to hard work produced success both in the classroom and on the athletic fields during his youth. At the same time, he honed his spiritual disciplines in the Presbyterian church. Acting on the guidance of trusted mentors—his pastor, Sunday school teacher, and sister—Stagg enrolled at Yale University with the intent of becoming a Presbyterian minister.

There Stagg excelled at baseball and football, earning recognition on the first All-American football team. His pitching abilities secured him lucrative offers from professional baseball clubs, but the sport's hard-drinking reputation and his love for amateur competition gave him pause. He still wanted to become a pastor, but Stagg struggled to express his faith in front of large groups. During one conference in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, he eavesdropped on legendary university evangelist and ecumenist John Mott, who asked an associate why Stagg "simply can't make a talk."

Stagg had no such problems living his faith, however, and decided to pursue coaching. He accepted his first job out of college in 1888 as head football coach at the School of Christian Workers, a YMCA training school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Anchoring the center of his offensive line was none other than James Naismith, another faith-informed sports innovator. Naismith bounced his ideas about the new game of "basketball" off Stagg, who was prevented by a prior engagement from playing in that sport's landmark first game.

When the 30-year-old Stagg was offered the head-coaching position at the University of Chicago in 1892, he told the university president, "After much thought and prayer, I decided that my life can best be used for my Master's service in the position you have offered." His vision for football's ability to impart virtue to its participants led to the violent sport's acceptance by wary college administrators. Teamwork, sacrifice, and determination would aid colleges in their mission to develop well-rounded Christian men, Stagg argued.

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January (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49