George Sanford (American football) explained

George Sanford
Birth Date:4 June 1870
Birth Place:Ashland, New York, U.S.
Death Place:New York, New York, U.S.
Player Years1:1891–1895
Player Team1:Yale
Player Positions:Center
Coach Years1:1896
Coach Team1:Cornell
Coach Years2:1897–1898
Coach Team2:Yale (assistant)
Coach Years3:1899–1901
Coach Team3:Columbia
Coach Years4:1903
Coach Team4:Yale (assistant)
Coach Years5:1904
Coach Team5:Virginia
Coach Years6:1905
Coach Team6:Yale (assistant)
Coach Years7:1910–1912
Coach Team7:Yale (assistant)
Coach Years8:1913–1923
Coach Team8:Rutgers
Overall Record:84–46–6
Cfbhof Year:1971
Cfbhof Id:1272

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.

Playing career

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.[1] 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.[3] [4] 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.[5] He graduated from Yale Law School in 1896, but passed on a legal career to go into coaching.

Coaching

Sanford began his coaching career at in 1896 at Cornell.[6] [7] [8] He assisted Yale during the 1897 and 1888 seasons.[9] [10] In 1899, he became the first paid coach at Columbia University, receiving $5,000 a year.[11] He was let go in 1902 in favor of Bill Morley.[12] He spent that year out of football, instead working in the locomotive business in Chicago.[13] He helped coach Yale during the final three weeks of the 1903 season.[14] In 1904, he was the head coach at the University of Virginia.[15] In 1905, 1910, 1911, and 1912, he assisted at Yale when it did not interfere with his business commitments.[16] [17] [18] [19]

From 1913 to 1923, Sanford was the head coach at Rutgers University. His 1915 scored more points than any other eastern college football team.[20] Sanford's players at Rutgers included Paul Robeson and Homer Hazel. After his retirement from coaching, Sanford remained involved with the football program as an advisor to his successor, John Wallace. Throughout his time at Rutgers, Sanford did not collect a salary and worked full time as an insurance broker in New York City.[21]

Later life

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.[22] [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]

Notes and References

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