Larkin was born on March 17, 1882, in Ithaca, New York, where he received his early education.[1] He played as a quarterback for Ithaca High School.[2] Larkin played baseball as a catcher for the Haverling team.[3] He enrolled at Cornell University for his undergraduate education in 1902,[3] and played on the football team. The Elmira Morning Telegram wrote, "He was a fast, tricky end, who knew all of the possibilities of the position."[4]
Upon the expiration of his college athletic eligibility, Larkin coached football as an assistant at Cornell.[6][7] In 1907, he served as an assistant at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School under head coach Glenn "Pop" Warner,[6] and helped coach the line and played on the practice team at Georgetown.[8][9]Bill Stern later described Larkin's coaching as "a gem of brevity and logic".[10] One season at Carlisle, Larkin explained to his players the game: "Boys, football is like this: When white man has ball, knock down white man. When Indian has ball, knock down white man."[11] At Carlisle, he "drilled Warner's Indians to look after Chicago's forward passes and fake plays".[12]
He turned down the opportunity to coach at Georgetown for the 1908 season despite strong support from the school's alumni and students.[6] He instead coached the ends at Cornell as the "head field coach".[12] In October, he spent a week confined with blood poisoning before returning to the sidelines.[13] In 1906 and 1907, Larkin also managed the DuBois, Pennsylvania based DuBois Miners baseball club of the Interstate League, having played baseball in the minor leagues beginning in 1904.[14][15]
In 1911, Larkin coached the ends at Carlisle,[4] and then assisted Ray Van Orman in coaching the ends at Cornell.[19] During the 1913 season, Warner, a long-time friend, lent his assistant and former Carlisle star Albert Exendine to coach the Georgetown football team in its final games as a favor to Larkin.[20] Exendine served as head coach at Georgetown for nine more seasons.[21] Larkin suffered a brief illness and died on August 18, 1948.[1]
^Morris Allison Bealle, King of American Football: The Story of Football at Maryland Agricultural College, Maryland State College and the University of Maryland: 1890–1952, pp. 64–66, Columbia Publishing Co., Washington, D.C., 1952.