Henry Paul "Bob" Gude, Jr. (February 25, 1918 – October 6, 1998) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He was a prominent

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Gude was frequently compared to former Commodore greats

Carl Hinkle Carl Columbus Hinkle, Jr. (March 3, 1917 – November 15, 1992) was an American college football player who was a stand-out center for the Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt Univers ...

and Pete Gracey. "He was Vanderbilt's main defensive cog." Gude was twice All- SEC. Gude was named to the Fox-Movietone All-American team in 1941. He was drafted in the 14th round of the

1942 NFL Draft The 1942 National Football League Draft was held on December 22, 1941, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Two members of the draft class have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bill Dudley, the first overall selection by the P ...

by the Chicago Bears. While serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Gude was a sergeant who played army football under

Wallace Wade William Wallace Wade (June 15, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Alabama fro ...

References

1918 births 1998 deaths American football centers Chicago Bears players Philadelphia Eagles players Vanderbilt Commodores football players All-American college football players Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers {{collegefootball-player-stub

See also

References