Sprague, "Bud" (Mortimer E.)
Football
b. Sept. 8, 1904, Dallas, TX
d. April 25, 1973
Sprague played tackle for some very good University of Texas teams from 1922 through 1924, but Texas was not nationally known for its football during that period. He became much better known when he entered the U. S. Military Academy after graduating from Texas. He was named to Walter Camp's All-American team in 1926.
As a senior in 1928, Sprague captained Army to an 8-2-0 record. During his three years as a starter at Texas, the school won 20 games, lost 5, and tied 2, while Army was 24-4-1 in his three seasons there.
He was also a track and field athlete as a sprinter and shotputter.
Sprague was one of four brothers who captained college football teams. The others played at Southern Methodist University. Howard captained the 1932 SMU team, John was SMU captain in 1936, and Charlie was captain of the 1938 team.
Sprague went into the maritime insurance business in New York City after his military service and went on to become president of the New York Board of Trade and director of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce.