Dr. Benjamin F. Roller

Halfback / Punter / Kicker / Coach

Seattle Athletic Club Blue Diamonds 

A beast of a running back in 1905, Roller standing 6' tall and 200 lbs scored eight touchdowns in two games and kicked 12 PATs scoring 56 points for the Blue Diamonds enroute to an undefeated season which included a 0-0 tie and 6-0 win over the Multnomah Winged M's.  His then-record of scoring four rushing touchdowns in a game stood tied 6 years later and unbroken for 33 years.  His feat of rushing for four touchdowns in back-to-back weeks in December of 1905 has not been matched in over 100 years.  Ben served as the team coach and trained the squad on the plays and tactics he learned out east, leading Seattle to victory over Multnomah on New Years Day, the clubs' first win over the Portlanders in 11 years.

When Roller wasn't scoring touchdowns, he was paving the way for others to score as well as demolishing runners from the defensive side of the ball.  An accomplished punter, "Doc's" boots helped flip the field in the tie game with Multnomah and keep the M's on the long side of the field.

Benjamin came to Seattle as the "runt" of the family from Illinois where he started college at De Pauw University.  While attending the University of Pennsylvania, he ran out of money and began playing "professionally" for the Philadelphia Phillies of the first National Football League in 1902 after starring for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Duquesne Country and Athletic Club and the Philadelphia Athletic Club from 1898-1901.  Originally a guard because of his size, his running ability soon had him switched to the backfield where he starred.  He accepted a position as professor of physiology at the University of Washington and opened a private practice as a surgeon.

Following the 1905 season Doc Roller found fame as a professional wrestler in the Northwest earning up to $4,000 pay days against the likes of Frank Gotch and Ed "Strangler" Lewis.  Roller retired in 1919 as argueably the #2 American Heavyweight wrestler of the era.