Cecil Belvedire "Cy" Souders (January 3, 1921 – August 30, 2021) 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 with ...

player. He played professionally in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. Until his death on August 30, 2021, he was reputedly the oldest living former NFL player.

Early life

Souders was born in

Bucyrus, Ohio Bucyrus ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Crawford County, located in northern Ohio approximately 28 miles (45 km) west of Mansfield and southeast of Toledo. The population was 11,684 at the 2020 census. The c ...

. He played football for

Bucyrus High School Bucyrus High School is a public high school in Bucyrus, Ohio, United States. The school is administered together with Bucyrus Middle School as the Bucyrus Secondary School, and serves students in grades six through twelve in the Bucyrus City Schoo ...

. He was team captain his senior year and was chosen to play with the Ohio High School All-Stars, which played against the Florida All-Stars in the Kumquat Bowl in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

on December 26, 1938. He was captain of this team which played to a scoreless tie.Crawford County Sports Hall of Fame
/ref>

College and military career

While at the Kumquat Bowl, Souders was recruited by

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

and planned to go there on a full scholarship. Returning to Ohio after the game,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

Ernie Godfrey and Cy’s girlfriend, Jean Hoover, convinced him to stay in Ohio and play for OSU. Souders was a three-time

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n at OSU from 1942-1946. He also played in two

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

s and one All Star game. He had been a member of the Buckeyes' "taxi squad" in 1939, but he left the team and was married. In 1942, he received a letter from new coach

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Clevela ...

, and Souders returned to football, living near the stadium with wife Jean and daughter Sharon. While on a two-year hiatus from Ohio State, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

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 opposin ...

. He reported for duty during the 1944 season and served into late 1945.

NFL

Souders was drafted in the 25th round of the

1945 NFL Draft The 1945 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1945, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected halfback Charley Trippi. Player selections Round o ...

by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, but ended up playing three years with the Detroit Lions. In 1947 he played in 11 games (starting four) with 15 receptions for 184 yards and his only career touchdown. In 1948 he played in 12 games, starting six, with two receptions for 19 yards. In 1949, he played in 12 games, starting four, with no receptions. He ended his career with 17 receptions for 203 yards.

Personal life

Souders and Jean Hoover, who was a Bucyrus High School cheerleader, were married in 1939 in Kentucky. After football, he was a salesman for Suburban Motor Freight Company, managing the Detroit terminal. After 38 years, he became executive vice president, retiring in 1984. As of 2019, Souders and his wife of 80 years, Jean, were living in Avon Park, Florida though later moved back to Ohio. Souders died in Hilliard on August 30, 2021, at the age of 100. In 2002, Souders was inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Bucyrus City Schools Hall of Fame.Bucyrus enshrines school’s first Hall of Fame class
/ref>

References

External links

NFL.com player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Souders, Cecil 1921 births 2021 deaths American football ends American football tackles Detroit Lions players Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football players Ohio State Buckeyes football players United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Bucyrus, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American centenarians Men centenarians