John Maxwell (August 13, 1884 â September 18, 1953) was an American college football and college baseball player. He played football as a quarterback at Clemson Agricultural CollegeâÂÂnow known as Clemson UniversityâÂÂfrom 1902 to 1903.
Maxwell was born on August 13, 1884, in Anderson, South Carolina.
Maxwell was a quarterback for coach John Heisman's Clemson Tigers of Clemson University, and is a member of Clemson's athletic Hall of Fame. In 1915, Heisman selected Maxwell as one of just two quarterbacks for his list of the 30 greatest Southern football players. Heisman noted he learned fast, "never have I seen a man develop at the rate he did."
Maxwell started every game in 1902. One account from his first game against North Carolina A&M reads "Maxwell, the new quarterback, is a jewel." The Tigers closed the season with an 11 to 0 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee back "Toots" Douglas holds the record for the longest punt in his school's history, when he punted a ball 109 yards (the field length was 110 yards in those days) with the help of the wind during the Clemson game. Heisman described the kick:
Both Maxwell and Douglas were selected All-Southern in different publications.
The 1903 team faced Cumberland in a game billed as the championship of the South, which ended in an 11âÂÂ11 tie. At the start of the second half, Maxwell returned the kickoff 100 yards for Clemson's first touchdown. It was John Heisman's last game as Clemson head coach. Maxwell was selected All-Southern.
Maxwell was also a catcher on the Clemson Tigers baseball team.
Maxwell lived for many years in Richmond, Virginia, where he was president of the phosphate division of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation. He retired in the 1940s, and purchased the Hesse Farm on the Piankatank River, near Cobbs Creek, Virginia. He resided there in his retirement until his sudden death there, on September 18, 1953.