Background
Horning was born in 1892 in Phoenix, New New York
Horning was born in 1892 in Phoenix, New New York
In early 1917, Horning was signed by Barney Dreyfuss of the Pittsburgh Pirates to play professional baseball, In a draft registration card completed in June 1917, Horning described himself as a baseball player under contract to play for the Pittsbugh National League baseball club
He played college football for the Colgate Raiders and was selected in 1916 as a first-team All-American at the tackle position. He also played professional football in the Ohio State League in 1917 and 1919 and in the National Football League (NFL) from 1920 to 1923. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in both 1922 and 1923.
In 1900, the family lived in Phoenix, and Horning"s father was described as a "paper machine tender".
By 1910, the family had moved to Wheatland, New York, where Horning"s father worked as a fireman in another paper mill. Colgate University
Horning played college football for the Colgate Raiders from 1913 to 1916.
In December 1915, he was selected as the captain of the 1916 Colgate team After the 1916 season, Walter Camp, writing in Collier"s Weekly, selected Horning as a first-team All-American at the tackle position.
Pittsburgh Pirates
However, it appears from the records of Baseball-Reference.com that he never played at the professional level
Professional football and military
In the fall of 1917, Horning began his professional football career playing for the Detroit Heralds, a professional team that competed against teams in the Ohio State League. However, his first stint in professional football was interrupted by military service during World War I. Horning was inducted into the military at Fort Niagara, New York, at the end of November 1917. In 1919, Horning was hired as the assistant coach responsible for the linemen on the University of Detroit football team
He also played for the Detroit Heralds during the 1919 season.
In September 1920, the NFL (called the American Professional Football Association during the 1920 and 1921 seasons) was founded at a meeting in the Hupmobile auto showroom of the owner of the Canton Bulldogs. In the inaugural season of the NFL, Horning played for the 1920 Detroit Heralds.
The Heralds opened the 1920 season with a game against the Cleveland Panthers, played at Navin Field on October 10, 1920. Horning"s four conversions were the first special team points scored by a Detroit NFL team
Horning played a total of four seasons in the NFL. After the 1920 season, he played for the Detroit Tigers (1921), the Buffalo All-Americans (1921), and Toledo Maroons (1922–1923).
Although he was a lineman, Horning scored two touchdowns during his NFL career. One of his touchdowns came on a blocked punt against the Chicago Bears during the 1921 season, with Horning falling on the ball in the end zone after the block. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player by the Canton Daily News in both 1922 and 1923.
In 1921, Horning became the coach for the University of Detroit High School football team
Two years later, he was employed at the high school located at the corner of Glendale and 2nd in Highland Park, Michigan. In his later years, Horning lived in Beverly Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
He died there in 1982 at age 89.