Russ Stein

Who was Russ Stein?

Russell Frederick Stein was born in Warren, Ohio. After high school Stein attended Washington & Jefferson College. While in College he was the captain on W&J’s 1921 undefeated football team, which played to the only scoreless tie in the history of the 1922 Rose Bowl against the University of California. He was one of the 11 players who played in the entire game in which W&J held the Golden Bears to only 49 yards rushing, two first downs and no pass completions. Stein was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player and was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1991. He was selected to Walter Camp’s All-American team in 1921, where he joined his brother, Herb, as the first brothers to be named All-Americans in the same year. He was later inducted into the Washington & Jefferson Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

He later made his professional debut in the NFL in 1922 with the Toledo Maroons. He played for Toldeo, Canton Bulldogs, Frankford Yellow Jackets, and the Pottsville Maroons over the course of his 4 year career. Stein was also a member of the 1925 Pottsville Maroons team that won the 1925 NFL Championship, before it was stripped from the team due to a disputed rules violation.