David S. Schaff

David Schley Schaff (17 October 1852, in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania – 2 March 1941, in Winter Park, Florida) was a United States Presbyterian clergyman, educator and pioneer of American football. He was the son of theologian and historian PhilipSchaff. He prepared for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, the gymnasium at Kornthal, Germany, and at the Rugby School in England. Schaff graduated from Yale in 1873 (A.B.) and from Union Theological Seminary in 1876. In 1877, he was ordained in the Presbyterian ministry. He served as a pastor in Hastings, Nebraska from 1877-1881. He then led a congregation in Kansas City, Missouri from 1881 to 1889. After traveling in the Holy Land, Schaff was called to Jacksonville, Illinois where he was a pastor from 1890 to 1897. He then became Professor of Church History at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio until 1903. Schaff then taught church history at Western Theological Seminary, an antecedent of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, until 1927. Pittsburgh Theological Seminary named an annual lecture after Schaff for his service to the seminary. In 1927, Schaff began a term as Lecturer in American Church History at Union Theological Seminary.