Henry Jackson "Choc" Sanders (July 26, 1900 – March 16, 1972) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player, athletics coach and administrator, and educator. He player football as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

(SMU), where was first

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for the

Mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...

and captain of the 1929 SMU Mustangs football team. Sanders served as the head football coach at John Tarleton Agricultural College—now known as

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a Public university, public research university in Stephenville, Texas, United States. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 15,000 students in the fall of 2022. It is Carnegie C ...

—in

Stephenville, Texas Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. It sits on the North Bosque River, which rises nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. Located in north-central Texas, Stephenville' ...

from 1936 to 1937. Sanders was an assistant football coach at John Tarleton from 1930 to 1935 under W. J. Wisdom before succeeding him as head football coach in 1936. Sanders resigned after the 1937 season and was replaced by James Earl Rudder. In 1938, Sanders was hired by Allen Academy in

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city in and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of C ...

, where he coached football,

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 (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and track. In 1944, he left Allen Academy to coach at Lamesa High School in

Lamesa, Texas Lamesa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,674 at the 2020 census, down from 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. M ...

. Sanders was an assistant football coach at Lamesa in 1944 under H. S. "Gob" Fitzgerald. The following year, he served as Lamesa's head football coach. Sanders was succeeded as head football coach in 1946 by Jim Neill, and was appointed faculty manager and coordinator of physical education and athletics. He was later

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at Lamesa and also coached basketball, baseball, and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. Sanders resigned from his position at Lamesa in 1948, and moved with his wife to

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. Sanders died on March 16, 1972, at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, following a short illness.

Head coaching record

Junior college football

References

External links

* 1900 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American educators American football guards American track and field coaches SMU Mustangs football players Tarleton State Plowboys football coaches High school athletic directors in the United States High school basketball coaches in Texas High school football coaches in Texas High school tennis coaches in the United States High school track and field coaches in the United States All-Southern college football players Players of American football from Garland, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Baseball coaches from Texas Basketball coaches from Texas Tennis coaches from Texas Educators from Texas {{1930s-collegefootball-coach-stub