Sauer, George H. Sr.
Football
b. Dec. 11, 1910, Stratton, NE
d. Feb. 5, 1994
An All-American fullback for the University of Nebraska in 1933, the 6-foot, 210-pound Sauer was named outstanding player of the East-West Shrine Game after scoring both touchdowns in the West's 12-0 victory over the East.
Sauer joined the Green Bay Packers of the NFL in 1934 and retired as a player after the Packers won the 1936 league championship. In his three seasons, he gained 656 yards in 190 attempts, a 3.5 average, and scored 6 touchdowns.
In 1938, Sauer became head coach at the University of New Hampshire. His teams there won 21 games, lost 17, and tied 1 in 5 seasons, including a 6-0-0 record in 1942. He served in the U. S. Navy from 1943 to 1945, then coached the University of Kansas to a 15-2-3 record in 1946 and 1947. Kansas lost to Georgia Tech, 20-14, in the 1948 Orange Bowl.
At the U. S. Naval Academy in 1948 and 1949, Sauer's teams won only 3 games while losing 13 and tying 2. He moved on to Baylor and had a 38-19-3 record in six seasons there. His teams lost 17-14 to Georgia Tech in the 1952 Orange Bowl and lost 33-13 to Auburn in the 1955 Gator Bowl.
Sauer left coaching after the 1955 season and served as Baylor's athletic director through 1960. He became the first general manager of the New York Titans when the American Football League was established in 1961, and remained with the team after it was reorganized and renamed the Jets in 1963. As director of player personnel, he drafted and signed his son, George Sauer Jr., who became one of Joe Namath's favorite receivers.