His most celebrated innovation was the penalty flag, which he created and introduced on October 17, 1941. The flag was first used in a game against Oklahoma City University at Youngstown's Rayen Stadium. Prior to the introduction of the penalty flag, officials used horns and whistles to signal a penalty. This made it difficult for the players, since they would hear the whistle and sometimes stop, even though the infraction was caused by the other team. This would deprive the non-guilty team of the yardage they might rightfully have gained. Also, the fans and media sometimes could not recognize an infraction on the field because they had failed to hear the signal. At the 1941 contest at Rayen Stadium, Oklahoma City Coach Os Doenges and four game officials–Hugh McFee, Jack McFee, Bill Renner, and Carl Rebele–--agreed to use the flag as an experiment. Jack McFee later employed the penalty flag at the Ohio State-Iowa game, during which league commissioner Major John Griffith was present. Beede's first wife, Irma, was often jokingly referred to as the "Betsy Ross of Football," because she sewed the first penalty flag. Beede asked her to fashion a flag that was brightly colored with white stripes. Irma Beede reportedly used pieces of their daughter's Halloween costume and an old bed sheet for the flag, and curtain weights to add weight and heft. The original flag was 16" square with weight all at one end. The penalty flag has been modified over the years, and today, it is a yellow cloth that is filled with sand at one end. Family and death Beede and his wife, Irma, had two daughters, Gretchen and Susan, and a son, Rudd. Rudd drowned in 1957. On December 10, 1972, just a month after having retired from Youngstown State University, Beede died in a drowning accident at Little Beaver Creek near his farm in Elkton, Ohio, located in Columbiana County. Head coaching record References External links 1903 births 1972 deaths American football fullbacks Carnegie Mellon Tartans football players Geneva Golden Tornadoes football coaches Westminster Titans football coaches Youngstown State Penguins football coaches Newberry College alumni Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio Deaths by drowning in the United States Accidental deaths in Ohio