and the body-blocking
Bill Senn to neutralize a Buffalo Bisons end, October 1929. Joe Sternaman was born in
Springfield, Illinois on February 1, 1900. He attended
Springfield High School, where he was a star athlete in three sports, earning
athletic letters in football for three seasons — in two of which he earned All-State honors, playing
guard on the basketball team, and running for the school
track and field squad. He graduated from SHS in the spring of 1919. His older brother,
E.C. "Dutch" Sternaman, was a star
halfback for the
University of Illinois who was drafted into
World War I in May 1918, just prior to assuming captaincy of the
1918 Illinois Fighting Illini football team for his senior season, and would later become a co-owner of the
Chicago Bears with his former Illinois teammate,
George Halas. Unsurprisingly, Joe followed in his older brother's footsteps, enrolling at Illinois to play for the team's legendary coach
Bob Zuppke, where his brother again played halfback for the varsity squad in
1919. Joe earned a letter in 1919 as
quarterback of the Illinois freshman football team and looked to join the varsity for the coming season. ==References==