James Tyler Laird (September 10, 1897 – August 16, 1970) was a professional

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 who played

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the Rochester Jeffersons, the

Buffalo All-Americans Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The early NFL-era franchise was variously called the Buffalo All-Stars from ...

, the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

, the Providence Steam Rollers, and the

Staten Island Stapletons The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1932. The team was based in the Stapleton section of State ...

. In 1926, he was a player-coach for the Providence Steam Rollers. Laird was also a coach for Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. In 1921 Laird played for the New York Brickley Giants, however he is not listed as being on the team as he played for the Giants only when they played non-league opponents. He also played for the independent Union Quakers of Philadelphia in 1921. Laird had a son, also named James Tyler Laird, who was the chair of the psychology department at

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

in Collegeville, Minnesota. James, Jr. married Geraldine Anderson of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The two raised two children. James, Jr. taught for a time at the army bases in Korea.

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* 1897 births 1970 deaths American football running backs Buffalo All-Americans players Canton Bulldogs players Colgate Raiders football players New York Brickley Giants players Norwich Cadets football coaches Providence Steam Roller coaches Providence Steam Roller players Rochester Jeffersons players Staten Island Stapletons players Union Quakers of Philadelphia players People from Montpelier, Vermont Players of American football from Vermont {{runningback-1890s-stub