Bud Sprague

Bio

Mortimer "Bud" Sprague won six letters in football. He won two at Texas 1923-24, when the Longhorns had a 13-3-2 record. He then lettered four years at Army, 1925-28. Army's record was 31-6-1. Sprague was a consensus All-America tackle in 1926 and first teamer in 1927 and Army captain in 1928. He was the first of four brothers of the Dallas, Texas, family to captain his college football team. "Bud" was the oldest, followed by Howard (SMU 1932), John (SMU 1936), and Charlie (SMU 1938), and he was prompted to understatement when he often boasted: "I would say that the Sprague family is the only one in the country that had four brothers who each captained his college football team." The 1923 Texas team for whom Sprague played went 8-0-1 and out-scored opponents 241-21. Sprague was all-conference. At Army, he opened holes for the great running backs, Harry Wilson and Red Cagle. He left the Army following graduation in 1929 and entered private business. He returned to active duty in 1942, serving as an executive officer and was present at the historic Malta and Yalta conferences.

Career Highlights

• 1928 Second Team All-America
• 1927 First Team All-America
• 1926 Consensus All-America
• 1925 Second Team All-America
• 1924 All-Conference