Laurens Corning Shull

Laurens Corning "Spike" Shull (January 17, 1894 – August 5, 1918) was an All-American football player who was killed in action during World War I. He played football, baseball and basketball for the University of Chicago from 1913 to 1916. He died of wounds suffered at the Battle of Château-Thierry in July 1918.

Early life Shull was born in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of a prominent Iowa attorney, Deloss C. Shull.

University of Chicago After graduating high school, Shull enrolled at the University of Chicago where he won three varsity letters in each of three sports – football, basketball and baseball. He was selected as a first-team All-Western player and a second-team All-American in 1915. In announcing Shull's selection for the 1915 All-Western team, Walter Eckersall wrote:

Shull of Chicago is placed at right tackle because of consistent playing. He was the main cog in the Maroon forward wall and seldom allowed substantial gains to be made through him. He generally mixed in every play, varied his charges and was always down the field under kicks. The Maroon followed the ball with rare cunning and has had enough experience to hold his own with any lineman in the West.

Shull was also captain of the Chicago Maroons baseball team in 1916 and a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, the Three Quarters Club, the Skull and Crescent, the Order of the Iron Mask, the Owl and Serpent and in his last year was selected a university marshal. He was also president of the Young Men's Christian Association during his junior year and was a delegate to a YMCA conference of student leaders at Ithaca, New York. He sailed for Liverpool, England on September 7, 1917, and was dispatched to France and was assigned to a Scottish regiment for training in trench warfare. In December 1917, he became an officer in the 26th Infantry, Company F (later transferred to Co.G), First Division. His image wearing a doughboy uniform is also carved into the exterior of Chicago's Rockefeller Chapel completed in 1928.