Corbin was born in
Union, Connecticut, the son of William Melvin Corbin, a manufacturer and merchant who served in the Connecticut General Assembly, for one session as a representative and then as a state senator, and his wife, née Josephine Walker. He attended
Hartford Public High School. His interest in Yale football continued after graduation at practice session and games at the
Yale Bowl; he became known to undergraduates as "Pa" Corbin. Corbin described how a center used to snap the ball with his foot: "By standing the ball on end and exercising a certain pressure on the same, it was possible to have it bound into the quarterback's hands." ==Teaching career==