George Henry Sauer Sr. (December 11, 1910 – February 5, 1994) 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, coach, college sports administrator, and professional football executive.

Career

Sauer attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

where he was an All-American halfback under

Dana X. Bible Dana Xenophon Bible (October 8, 1891 – January 19, 1980) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi College (1913–1 ...

from 1931-1933. After college, he played for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

of 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) from 1935 to 1937, helping them win the 1936 NFL championship as their starting left halfback. Sauer left professional football in 1937 and coached at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

from 1937 to 1941, compiling a record of 22-18-1. He left his coaching position and enlisted in the

U.S. 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 o ...

in 1942 and was commissioned as an officer after completing the requisite training. After he completed his military service, he coached for two years at

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, he compiled a 15–3–2 (.786) record, winning the conference title in each season. After he left Kansas, Sauer coached at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

(1948–1949), and

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

(1950–1955), compiling a career college football record of 78–55–9 and earning trips to both the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

and the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

. Sauer remained at Baylor as Athletic Director until 1960 when he became the first

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the New York Titans of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. The Titans later reorganized and in 1963 were renamed in as the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. As director of player personnel, Sauer drafted and signed his own son,

George Sauer Jr. George Henry Sauer Jr. (November 10, 1943 – May 7, 2013) was an American football wide receiver who played six seasons for the American Football League's New York Jets, and later played in the World Football League. He played college footb ...

as a wide receiver. Sauer remained with the Jets until 1969 when he was named general manager of the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

. Sauer appeared as an imposter on the February 26, 1962 episode of the game show To Tell The Truth.

Death and legacy

Sauer died in 1994 after a 10 year battle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife Lillian, son George Sauer Jr., and daughter, Dana. Sauer was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

as a player in 1954 and in 1998 was inducted into the University of New Hampshire Wildcats' Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer, George 1910 births 1994 deaths All-American college football players American football halfbacks Baylor Bears athletic directors Baylor Bears football coaches Green Bay Packers players Kansas Jayhawks football coaches National Football League general managers Navy Midshipmen football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players New England Patriots executives New Hampshire Wildcats football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats men's basketball coaches New York Jets executives Pensacola Naval Air Station Goslings football players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Hitchcock County, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Basketball coaches from Nebraska Military personnel from Nebraska American people of German descent