Morris Hiram "Red" Badgro (December 1, 1902 – July 13, 1998) 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 and football coach who also played professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1981.
A native of
Orillia, Washington Orillia, Washington was a former community, southwest of Renton in the Green River Valley of King County in the U.S. state of Washington. At one time, it had a schoolhouse. Today it lies on the border between the cities of Kent, Tukwila and Rent ...
, he attended the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
(USC) where he played baseball,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and football. He then played nine seasons of professional football as an
end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
for the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
(
1927
Events January
* January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.
* January 7
* ...
–
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
),
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
(
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
–
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
), and
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
(
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
). He was selected as a first-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
in
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
,
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
, and
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
. He scored the first touchdown in the
first NFL Championship Game and was a member of the
1934 New York Giants team that won the
second NFL Championship Game.
Badgro also played professional baseball as an
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
for six years from 1928 to 1933, including two seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
for the
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...
(1929–1930). After his career as an athlete was over, Badgro served as a football coach for 14 years, including stints as the ends coach for
Columbia (1939–1942) and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
(
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
–
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
).
Early years
Badgro was born in 1902 in
Orillia, Washington Orillia, Washington was a former community, southwest of Renton in the Green River Valley of King County in the U.S. state of Washington. At one time, it had a schoolhouse. Today it lies on the border between the cities of Kent, Tukwila and Rent ...
.
His father, Walter Badgro (1865–1940), was a farmer in Orillia. He attended Kent High School where he was twice named captain of the basketball and baseball teams.
Badgro later recalled that his focus was on baseball and basketball in high school, noting that he only played "maybe three games of football in four years" of high school.
University of Southern California
Badgro enrolled at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
(USC) on a
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
scholarship. At USC, was a multi-sport star in baseball, basketball, and football. Playing at the end position for the USC football team, he was selected by the
United Press
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
as a first-team player on the
1926 All-Pacific Coast football team. He was a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
for the USC basketball team and was named to the
All-Pacific Coast Conference basketball team in 1927. During the 1927 baseball season, he led USC with a .352
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
, scored 25 runs in 21 games, and was named to the All-California baseball team.
Professional athlete
Football
Badgro played 10 seasons of professional football. During the 1927 season, he appeared in 12 games for the New York Yankees.
[ The Yankees folded after the 1928 season, and Badgro opted to focus on professional baseball. He did not play professional football in 1929.
After playing ]Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
in 1929 and 1930, Badgro qualified as a free agent in professional football and signed with the New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
for $150 a game. He gained his greatest acclaim as the starting left end for the Giants from 1930 to 1935. He was regarded as a sure-tackling defender and an effective blocker and talented receiver on offense. Giants coach Steve Owen said of Badgro: "He could block, tackle, and catch passes equally well. And he could do each with the best of them." Highlights from Badgro's prime years include the following:
* In 1930, he appeared in 17 games at left end, 14 as a starter, and was selected by the ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' as a second-team end on the 1930 All-Pro Team
The 1930 All-Pro Team consisted of American football players chosen by various selectors for the All-Pro team of the National Football League (NFL) for the 1930 NFL season. Teams were selected by, among others, the ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' (GB), ...
.[
* In 1931, he appeared in 13 games, 11 as a starter, and was selected by the NFL as a first-team end on the official ]1931 All-Pro Team
The 1931 All-Pro Team consisted of American football players chosen by various selectors for the All-Pro team of the National Football League (NFL) for the 1931 NFL season. Teams were selected by, among others, the ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' based ...
.[
* In 1932, he appeared in 12 games, 11 as a starter.][
* In 1933, he appeared in 12 games, 10 as a starter, and was selected by the ''Chicago Daily News'' as a second-team end on the ]1933 All-Pro Team
The 1933 All-Pro Team consisted of American football players chosen by various selectors for the All-Pro team of the National Football League (NFL) for the 1933 NFL season. Teams were selected by, among others, the NFL coaches (NFL), the United Pre ...
.[ He helped lead the Giants to the ]1933 NFL Championship Game
The 1933 NFL Championship Game was the first scheduled championship game of the National Football League (NFL) since its founding in 1920. It was played on December 17 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the attendance was estimated at 25,000.
The ...
where he scored the first touchdown in the first NFL Championship Game, a 29-yard touchdown on a pass from Harry Newman
Harry Lawrence Newman (September 5, 1909 – May 2, 2000) was an All-Pro American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan Wolverines (1930–32), for whom in 1932 he was a unanimous first-team All-American, and the reci ...
.
* In 1934, he appeared in 13 games, all as a starter, for the Giants team that won the 1934 NFL Championship Game. He was selected by the NFL and the ''Chicago Daily News'' as a first-team end on the 1934 All-Pro Team. He also led the NFL with 16 receptions.[
* Playing against the ]Boston Redskins
The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won five ...
in 1935, Badgro blocked a punt, and teammate Les Corzine returned it for a go-ahead touchdown.
Badgro concluded his playing career with the Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
in 1936.[
]
Baseball
Badgro also played professional baseball. He played minor league ball in 1928 for the Tulsa Oilers
The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...
in the Western League and the Muskogee Chiefs in the Western Association, compiling a .351 batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
in 513 at bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association in 1929.[
In June 1929, Badgro made his major league debut with the St. Louis Browns. Over the 1929 and 1930 season, he appeared in 143 games, 80 of them as a right fielder and 13 as a center fielder. He compiled a .257 batting average in 382 major league at-bats and appeared in his final major league game on September 18, 1930.]
Badgro continued to play in the minor leagues for several years, including stints with the Wichita Falls Spudders
The Wichita Falls Spudders were a minor league baseball team that formed in 1920 and played its last game in 1957. They were based in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The first Spudders team ran from 1920–1932 and played in the Texas League as an affiliat ...
of the Texas League (1931–1932) and Seattle Indians
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
of the Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(1933).[
]
Coaching career
In 1937, Badgro returned to USC to finish the credits he needed to graduate.[ At the same time, he was a member of Howard Jones' football coaching staff at USC, responsible for working with USC's frosh players.
In June 1938, Badgro was hired as the football coach at ]Ventura High School
Ventura High School (VHS) is a public high school in Ventura, California. The school is part of the Ventura Unified School District and serves students in the western portion of Ventura and surrounding unincorporated communities including Casita ...
in Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...
. He also coached football, baseball, and basketball for Ventura Junior College.[Whittington, "What a Game They Played", p. 51.]
In June 1939, he was hired as an assistant coach (responsible for ends) under Lou Little
Luigi "Lou Little" Piccirilli December 6, 1891 – May 28, 1979) was an American football player and coach born in Boston, Massachusetts. City of Boston, Birth Registrations, number 8583, December 6, 1891After Lou's birth, his father changed his ...
at Columbia. He remained at Columbia through the 1942 season.
In 1944, Badgro was employed in a Seattle war plant.
In February 1946, Badgro was hired as an assistant football coach at the University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. When Howard Odell
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
took over as Washington's head coach, he retained Badgro as his ends coach. Badgro was again retained when John Cherberg
John Andrew Cherberg (October 17, 1910 – April 8, 1992) was an American politician, football coach, teacher and television executive. He served as the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Washington from 1957 to 1989, a longer tenure than any other lie ...
took over as head coach in 1953. He resigned his coaching post at Washington in January 1954 in order to pursue private business in Kent, Washington
Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...
.
Family, later years, and honors
Badgro was married to Dorothea Taylor. After retiring from football, Badgro worked for the Department of Agriculture in the State of Washington.[
In 1967, Badgro was inducted into the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame. Badgro was inducted into the ]Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in 1981 at age 78. At that time, he was the oldest person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Badgro died in July 1998 at age 95 in Kent, Washington
Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...
. He had been hospitalized after a fall. He was buried at Hillcrest Burial Park in Kent.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Badgro, Red
1902 births
1998 deaths
American football defensive ends
American football ends
Forwards (basketball)
Major League Baseball right fielders
Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players
Columbia Lions football coaches
New York Yankees (NFL) players
New York Giants players
St. Louis Browns players
USC Trojans baseball players
USC Trojans football coaches
USC Trojans football players
USC Trojans men's basketball players
Washington Huskies football coaches
Longview Cannibals players
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Muskogee Chiefs players
Seattle Indians players
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
Wichita Falls Spudders players
High school football coaches in California
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Kent, Washington
Players of American football from Washington (state)
Baseball players from Washington (state)
Basketball players from Washington (state)
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in Washington (state)
American men's basketball players