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George Sanford (American football)

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George Foster "Sandy" Sanford (June 4, 1870 – May 23, 1938) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Cornell University (1896), Columbia University (1899–1901), the University of Virginia (1904), and Rutgers University (1913–1923), compiling a career coaching record of 89–49–7. Sanford was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1971.[1]

George Sanford
Sanford in 1913
Biographical details
Born(1870-06-04)June 4, 1870
Ashland, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 23, 1938(1938-05-23) (aged 67)
New York, New York, U.S.
Playing career
1891–1895Yale
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1896Cornell
1897–1898Yale (assistant)
1899–1901Columbia
1903Yale (assistant)
1904Virginia
1905Yale (assistant)
1910–1912Yale (assistant)
1913–1923Rutgers
Head coaching record
Overall84–46–6
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1971 (profile)

Playing career

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Sanford started at center on the 1891 Yale Bulldogs football team and left guard on the 1892 team, but missed the final three games of the latter season due to a broken ankle.[2][3] He graduated from Sheffield Scientific School in 1893, but was allowed to stay on the football team due to a rule change that allowed graduate students (Sanford was attending Yale Law School) to play college football.[2] Sanford was also a member of the Yale track team and in 1894 competed in the Yale-Oxford games in England and the Amateur Athletic Union Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Travers Island, New York.[4][5] He was declared ineligible for the 1895 football season finale against Princeton because he did not register as a student before that year's deadline.[6] He graduated from Yale Law School in 1896, but passed on a legal career to go into coaching.[1]

Coaching

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Sanford began his coaching career at in 1896 at Cornell.[7][8][9] He assisted Yale during the 1897 and 1888 seasons.[10][11] In 1899, he became the first paid coach at Columbia University, receiving $5,000 a year.[12][13] He was let go in 1902 in favor of Bill Morley.[14] He spent that year out of football, instead working in the locomotive business in Chicago.[15] He helped coach Yale during the final three weeks of the 1903 season.[16] In 1904, he was the head coach at the University of Virginia.[13] In 1905, 1910, 1911, and 1912, he assisted at Yale when it did not interfere with his business commitments.[17][18][19][20]

From 1913 to 1923, Sanford was the head coach at Rutgers University.[1] His 1915 scored more points than any other eastern college football team.[21] Sanford's players at Rutgers included Paul Robeson and Homer Hazel.[1] After his retirement from coaching, Sanford remained involved with the football program as an advisor to his successor, John Wallace.[1] Throughout his time at Rutgers, Sanford did not collect a salary and worked full time as an insurance broker in New York City.[22]

Later life

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After retiring from coaching, Sanford was president of the insurance brokerage firm of Smyth, Sanford & Gerard, Inc. in Manhattan, New York City. He died of a heart attack on May 23, 1938, at the age of 67 at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. He was survived by his wife and two children.[1][23] His son, Foster Sanford Jr., was a member of the University of Pennsylvania baseball, football, and track teams and was a member of the University's board of trustees from 1958 to 1968.[24][25][26][27]

Head coaching record

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Cornell Big Red (Independent) (1896)
1896 Cornell 5–3–1
Cornell: 5–3–1
Columbia Blue and White (Independent) (1899–1901)
1899 Columbia 8–3
1900 Columbia 6–3–1
1901 Columbia 8–5
Columbia: 22–11–1
Virginia Orange and Blue (Independent) (1904)
1904 Virginia 6–3
Virginia: 6–3
Rutgers Queensmen (Independent) (1904)
1913 Rutgers 6–3
1914 Rutgers 5–3–1
1915 Rutgers 7–1
1916 Rutgers 3–2–2
1917 Rutgers 7–1–1
1918 Rutgers 5–2
1919 Rutgers 5–3
1920 Rutgers 2–7
1921 Rutgers 4–5
1922 Rutgers 5–4
1923 Rutgers 7–1–1
Rutgers: 56–32–5
Total: 89–49–7

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "G. F. Sanford Dead; Football Leader. Former Coach at Columbia and Rutgers Was Gridiron Star at Yale for Four Years. A Team-Mate Of Hinkey. Also Played Center on Eleven With Heffelfinger. Earned His 'Y' as a Sprinter Joins Rutgers in 1913. Head of Insurance Firm" (PDF). New York Times. May 24, 1938. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Sanford and Graves Eligible". The New York Times. October 29, 1893.
  3. ^ "More Bad Luck For Yale". The New York Times. November 8, 1892.
  4. ^ "Seeing the Yale Men Off". The New York Times. June 21, 1894.
  5. ^ "Entries for the Championships". The New York Times. September 11, 1894.
  6. ^ "Sanford is Ineligible". The Boston Globe. October 30, 1895.
  7. ^ "How Yale Will Line Up". The Morning Record. November 19, 1896. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  8. ^ "Cornell's Football Team: It Will Be Light This Season, but Contain Lively Players". The New York Times. September 25, 1896.
  9. ^ Patterson, Chas. E. (November 14, 1896). "Afield and Afloat". The Illustrated American. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Yale's Steady Improvement". The Evening Telegraph. November 5, 1897. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  11. ^ "Yale Coaches Confident". The Evening Telegraph. October 1, 1898. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "Name Four Coaches". The Robesonian. March 10, 1971. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Football Talk College Gossip". The Meriden Daily Journal. September 30, 1904. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "Sanford Out of Columbia". The New York Times. February 7, 1902.
  15. ^ "Approach of Football Season". The New York Times. September 21, 1902.
  16. ^ "Yale May Make a Change". Boston Evening Transcript. November 2, 1903. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  17. ^ "Yale Outlook Now Brighter". Boston Evening Transcript. September 23, 1905. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Wants Changes In Football Rules". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 2, 1910. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "Sanford Stiffens Yale's Defense". The New York Times. October 25, 1911.
  20. ^ "Old Yale Men Swarm on Football Field". The New York Times. October 29, 1912.
  21. ^ Menke, Frank (December 23, 1915). "Sport Budget". Evening Tribune. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Evans, Billy (January 31, 1922). "Sanford Coaches Rutgers For Eight Years Without Receiving A Cent". The Toledo News-Bee. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "G. Foster Sanford Dies; Rutgers Coach 11 Years". The Daily Home News. May 24, 1938. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "N.Y.U. Freshmen Blanked". The New York Times. May 10, 1925.
  25. ^ "Sixteen Get Varsity Letters And Gold Footballs at Penn". The New York Times. December 11, 1926.
  26. ^ "Penn Holds an Outdoor Meet In Snow; Sanford Is a Victor". The New York Times. January 29, 1928.
  27. ^ "University Leaders: University of Pennsylvania Trustees, 1749-present". Penn Libraries. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
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