Arthur Bluethenthal

Arthur Bluethenthal, nicknamed "Bluey" (November 1, 1891 – June 5, 1918), was an All-American football player for Princeton University, who died in combat fighting for France in World War I.

Early life The son of Leopold and Johanna Bluethenthal, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy prior to attending Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1913.

American football career Player At Princeton University the 5′-9″, 186-pound Bluethenthal played center from 1910 to 1912. In 1911, he was named first team All-America by a number of newspapers, Walter Camp second team All-America, and first team All-East in a consensus of 28 newspapers. That year, the Tigers were 8–0–2, and yielded only 15 points the entire year. In 1912, Walter Camp selected him as third team All-America. Bluethenthal is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Coach After he graduated in 1912, Bluethenthal became the line coach for the Princeton Tigers, and then for the University of North Carolina.

World War I

In 1916, a year before the United States entered World War I, he joined the French Foreign Legion and served at the Battle of Verdun with the French 129th Infantry Division. France awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Star for conspicuous bravery. He was killed in battle in aerial combat with four German planes while directing artillery fire on June 5, 1918, near Maignelay, France.

France posthumously awarded him a second Croix de Guerre, with Palm. He also received the Médaille Militaire.

Bluethenthal was Jewish, and was a member of Wilmington's Temple of Israel, the first synagogue in North Carolina.