Hall of Fame
Position: Halfback
Years: 1891-1894
Place of Birth: Port Barrancas, FL
Date of Birth: Apr 12, 1870
Place of Death: Cuba
Date of Death: Oct 18, 1896
Height: 5-9
Weight: 173
Other College: Pennsylvania
High School: Port Barrancas, FL (Port Barrancas HS)
Winchester Dana Osgood played halfback four years for Cornell, 1888-89 and 1891-92, and two for Pennsylvania, 1893-94. Cornell had a 28-8 record in his playing time, Pennsylvania went 24-3. In 1893 Penn lost to Yale 14-6 but Osgood was acclaimed because he scored a touchdown for Penn. It was the first touchdown scored against Yale in three years. In 1894 Penn went 12-0 and was national champion. At Cornell, Osgood received a medal as the school's best all- around athlete. He ran the 440 and put the shot for the track team, was an accomplished gymnast, boxer, wrestler, tennis player, and set a record of 5:28 for the 2-mile bicycle race. He was the son of Henry Osgood, an Army captain, and was born April 12, 1870, in Port Barrancas, Florida. When Cuba began its fight for independence from Spain, Osgood volunteered for the Cuban forces. He was commissioned a major in artillery and was killed in combat in 1896. This was two years before the U.S. entered the fray in what was known as the Spanish American War. Osgood stood 5-9, weighed 173, and was an elusive runner. Pudge Heffelfinger, the old Yale star who became a writer, gave this description of Osgood: "It was downright uncanny to watch him run, opponents missed him by inches. His body undulated like a snake's. He was the Red Grange of the pioneer era.
