George Thomas Saimes (September 1, 1941 – March 8, 2013) 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 ...

defensive back and fullback for Michigan State University and the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, which produced American Football League Championships in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and 1965. Saimes was born and died in Canton, Ohio. In 1964, he had a career-high six interceptions and earned the first of his five

American Football League All-Star Game The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to AFL–NFL ...

appearances. He made ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' All-AFL Team in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Former Pro Football writer and president of the

Pro Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

, Larry Felser, calls Saimes "the finest open-field tackler in the league." He achieved All-American Football League honors five times, and is a member of the American Football League All-Time Team, the Buffalo Bills' Wall of Fame, and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Saimes went on to be a professional football scout with the Blesto V Combine, the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, 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 ...

, and the Houston Texans. Saimes died in Canton of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

on March 8, 2013.ESPN Former Buffalo Bills star George Saimes dies
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saimes, George 1941 births 2013 deaths American football safeties Buffalo Bills players Denver Broncos players Michigan State Spartans football players Washington Redskins executives All-American college football players American Football League All-Star players American Football League All-Time Team Players of American football from Canton, Ohio Deaths from leukemia American Football League players

See also

References