Birtie Maher

Gilbert Thomas "Birtie" Maher (December 16, 1892 – December 3, 1980) was an American football player.

Birtie Maher

Personal information
Born:	(1892-12-16)December 16, 1892 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died:	December 3, 1980(1980-12-03) (aged 87) Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College:	Detroit
Position:	End
Career history
Detroit Heralds (1911–1920)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 2 Games started: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Maher was born in 1892 to Irish immigrant parents in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit.^[1][2] He played college football for the University of Detroit as its star halfback in 1913,^[3] and for the Detroit Heralds starting in 1911.^[4] When the Heralds joined the new National Football League (NFL) in 1920, Maher was a member of Detroit's first NFL team.^[5]

References

1. "Gilbert Maher, 1913 player on U. of D. football team". The Detroit News. November 19, 1915. p. 4B. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com reports a place of birth in County Mayoin Ireland. This assertion is contrary to multiple other sources reporting Detroit as Maher's place of birth. Sources reflecting Detroit as the birth place include an obituary The Detroit News, a 1900 U.S. Census record for 1900, a World War I draft registration card, and a World War II draft registration card available on Ancestry.com.
3. "Maher Not to Play Against Ohio Eleven: U. of D. Star Halfback Will Be Unable to Play in Heidelberg Game". Detroit Free Press. November 12, 1913. p. 14. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
4. "Team-Mates for Years, Shields and Maher Now Lead Rivals: Stars of 1914 State Title Game Captain Opposing Teams in Sunday's Game for the Same Championship--Two Other Heralds of Last Year With Maroons Now". Detroit Free Press. November 19, 1915. p. 16. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
5. "Birtie Maher NFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 4, 2015.