Byron Ledare "By" Bailey (October 12, 1930 – January 18, 1998) born to Rollin Edward and Cora Helen (Bruner). Bailey, was a professional

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

player, primarily as a fullback and defensive back with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

. Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, Bailey is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...

, the B.C. Lions Wall of Fame, and the

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

Athletic Hall of Fame. Bailey's #38 jersey is one of eight numbers

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the B.C. Lions. In 2006, Bailey was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Bailey scored the first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

in the history of the B.C. Lions' franchise, on August 28, 1954, against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

College career

Bailey's family moved from

in the early 1940s to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, where Bailey played high school football at

West Seattle High School West Seattle High School (known to students as "Westside") is a comprehensive public high school in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood that serves grades nine through twelve as part of the Seattle Public Schools. History and facilities The s ...

. Following his high school graduation, Bailey played collegiately as a halfback at

, where he is 5th place all-time for the longest run from scrimmage, 84 yards, against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in a 1949 contest. Bailey was inducted into the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

Professional career

National Football League

Bailey was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 25th Round of the 1952 NFL Draft. He played sparingly, but was with the team when they won the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

NFL Championship game, 17-7, over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

. The following year, Bailey was traded to the then last place Green Bay Packers, where he finished the 1953 season with 29 yards on 13 rushing attempts, and 8 pass receptions for 119 yards.

CFL BC Lions

Unhappy with his playing time in Green Bay, Bailey, recruited by

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

legend and the first

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the B.C. Lions

Annis Stukus Annis Paul Stukus (October 25, 1914 – May 20, 2006) was a Canadian football player, coach and general manager, and ice hockey general manager. Stukus was born in Toronto. He played for the Toronto Argonauts from 1935 to 1941, leading the te ...

, joined the Lions for their inaugural, 1954 season. Bailey scored the first touchdown in B.C. Lions' history on August 28, 1954, during an 8-6 loss to the

. Bailey also scored the first, winning touchdown in B.C. Lions' history on September 18, 1954, during a 9-4 victory over the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

. Bailey was the Lions' leading rusher and offensive captain from 1955 to

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

, and twice led the CFL Western Division in kick-off returns. In 1957, Bailey was named to the CFL Western Division All-Star Team as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. That same year, Bailey won the Bobby Bourne Memorial Trophy as the Lions' "Most Popular Player." Bailey was also honored with a "By Bailey Night" by the Lions during the 1960 season, the first player to receive such an honor. Bailey began his career as a fullback in the Lions' double fullback offensive backfield. In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, when the Lions dropped the double fullback position, Bailey played outside

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He wore #88 as an offensive player and #38 when on defense. Bailey retired following the B.C. Lions first Grey Cup Championship in 1964. Over his 11-year career with the Lions, which covered 158 games, Bailey rushed for 3,643 yards on 783 attempts, and caught 101 passes for 1,161 yards. He was the first B.C. Lion player inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1975, and was inducted into the

the same year. In November, 2006, Bailey was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

Post football life and death

Following his retirement from the B.C. Lions in 1964, Bailey worked as an executive with the

Crown Zellerbach Crown Zellerbach was an American pulp and paper conglomerate based in San Francisco, California, purchased in a hostile takeover in 1985. Most of its pulp and paper assets were sold to James River Corporation, now part of Georgia-Pacific. I ...

paper company. His wife of 36 years, Diana, died in 1986. After remarrying in 1989, Bailey moved north of Kelowna,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

near where the Lions would hold their spring training camps. Bailey died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at age 67 on January 18, 1998, at his home in

Winfield, British Columbia Winfield is a neighbourhood and formal ward within the District Municipality of Lake Country, British Columbia, located adjacent to the northern city boundary of Kelowna. The community, formerly an unincorporated settlement, is now one of t ...

. His funeral was held in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

References

Sources

Lionbackers.com Profile - #38 By Bailey (Fan Site)Byron Bailey's Find-a-grave site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Byron 1930 births 1998 deaths American players of Canadian football BC Lions players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football defensive backs Canadian football linebackers Canadian football running backs Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players Players of American football from Nebraska Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Washington State Cougars football players West Seattle High School alumni