File:Buck Saunders.png | |
No. 9 | |
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Position: | Blocking back |
Personal information | |
Born: | Belleville, Wisconsin | July 5, 1892
Died: | October 16, 1959 Monterey County, California | (aged 67)
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Gilroy (CA) |
College: | California |
Career history | |
Player stats at PFR |
Ward Bishop Saunders Sr. (July 5, 1892 – October 16, 1959) was an American football player and county agricultural agent. He played one game as a blocking back for the Toledo Maroons of the National Football League during the 1922 season.[1] He played rugby and college football at the University of California, where he received the nickname "Buck".[2]
Early life and education
Saunders was born on July 5, 1892, in Belleville, Wisconsin.[3] He lived the first few years of his life in Ohio.[4] When five years old, Saunders moved to the central coast area of California,[4] where he attended Gilroy High School.[3][5] After graduating, he enrolled at the University of California in 1912.[3] He tried out for the rugby team in his freshman season and was mentioned in a September 1912 article by The Pomona Daily Review as showing an "early impression" on the coach.[6] Saunders made the team and was one of their substitute forwards that year.[7]
Saunders earned his first varsity letter in 1913.[3][8] He continued playing rugby through 1914, and switched to football in 1915 when they restarted the program. One news article stated that he had been the team's "hero" in several rugby matches.[9] He was later described as having had an "outstanding career" at the school, which earned him the lifelong nickname "Buck."[2] He often played as a guard in football.[10] He graduated in 1916.[3]
Saunders enlisted in World War I on June 30, 1918, and was discharged on November 26.[11] He was a member of the 15th Co., Machine Gun Officer Training Section, at Camp Hancock in Georgia.[11]
Professional career
In 1922, Saunders was signed by the Toledo Maroons of the National Football League (NFL). He played the blocking back position (now known as quarterback) and made an appearance in one official game as a substitute.[1] He also appeared in their non-league game against the Washington Pros, scoring a touchdown on a long pass from Rat Watson after coming in as a substitute for Guil Falcon.[12] The Maroons finished the season with a record of 5–2–2, fourth place in the league.[13]
Later life
Saunders worked as an orchardist after graduating from the University of California and grew to have a "wide experience" in the job.[14] The Oakland Tribune wrote of him: "Sanders[sic] is part owner of a big orchard near Gilroy, and though only 28 years of age has had considerable experience in orchard development work."[15] After the resignation of J. O. McKinney as San Benito County, California, agricultural commissioner in 1923, Saunders was the first to apply for the position.[14] He won the position, which he served in for the rest of his life, and began on August 10 of that year.[2] In 1933, he was also appointed the county's sealer of weights and measures.[2]
Saunders later served as the first president of the San Benito County Employees Association, a president of the State Association of Agricultural Commissioners,[2] and was a member of several Masonic groups, including the Grange, the Farm Bureau, the American Legion and the Woodmen of the World.[4]
Death
In the morning of October 16, 1959, while testifying at an assembly subcommittee hearing on squirrel poisons, Saunders collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital.[2] The chief deputy coroner said the he had had a chronic heart condition previously.[4]
Saunders was buried at the Masons & Odd Fellows Cemetery in Gilroy.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Buck Saunders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "San Benito official dies after attack at hearing". The Salinas Californian. October 16, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved November 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Buck Saunders Stats". Pro Football Archives.
- ^ a b c d "Ward B. Saunders, San Benito Farm Leader, Dies". Santa Cruz Sentinel. October 18, 1959. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gilroy". Mercury News. October 16, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
- ^ "Tom Dills And Clint Evans Back". The Pomona Daily Review. September 10, 1912. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Erskine, Douglas (November 9, 1912). "Climax Of 1912 Rugby Season Thrills Coast To-Day". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Game Lineup". The San Francisco Examiner. November 7, 1913. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McKay, W. R. (October 28, 1915). "California Expects To Outpoint U. Of W." Hanford Kings County Sentinel. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "20,000 Await Gridiron Clash At U. C. Tomorrow". Oakland Tribune. November 5, 1915. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c National Archives at Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941; NAID: A1, 2110-C; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General
- ^ "Toledo Maroons Outplay District Pro Eleven, 16-0". The Washington Herald. November 13, 1922. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1922 Toledo Maroons (NFL)". Pro Football Archives.
- ^ a b "Untitled". Santa Cruz Evening News. July 18, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "One Applicant on File for Position". Oakland Tribune. July 19, 1923. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.