Elmer Henry "Bear" Ward (October 13, 1912 – March 26, 1996) 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. Ward was born in

Willard, Utah Willard is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,772 at the 2010 census. Geography Willard is located in southeastern Box Elder County and is bordered by the city of Perry to the north and the unincorporated com ...

, and attended

Box Elder High School Box Elder High School (abbreviated BEHS) is a public high school located in Brigham City, Utah. Part of the Box Elder School District, it serves approximately 1,500 students in the 10th through 12th grades in Utah's Box Elder County. The school's ...

Brigham City, Utah Brigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,899 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at ...

. He then enrolled at

Utah State Agricultural College Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

where he played

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 ...

for the Utah State Aggies football team. He was selected by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

as a first-team center on the

1934 College Football All-America Team The 1934 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1934. The nine selectors recognized by the ...

. He also played professional football for the NFL champion

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 ...

during the

1935 NFL season The 1935 NFL season was the 16th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with the Detroit Lions' 26–7 victory over the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game. Were it not for the cancellation of a Redskins-Eagl ...

. He was Utah State's first All-American athlete in any sport, and he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. He has also been inducted into the Utah State University Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Elmer 1912 births 1996 deaths American football centers Utah State Aggies football players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Utah People from Willard, Utah Sportspeople from the Salt Lake City metropolitan area