George Sanford

Bio

At the entrance to Rutgers Stadium, inscribed upon a bronze plaque, is a tribute to George Sanford. It was financed and installed by his players, the men "...he inspired to deeds beyond themselves." Sanford was an inspirational man who excelled as both player and coach. Sanford played center on the 1891 and 1892 Yale teams which held their 26 opponents scoreless. Though he was never chosen to an All-America team, a 1927 poll named him the all-time Yale center. Sanford began his coaching career at Columbia (1899-1901), called in to revive the football program which had been abandoned after the 1891 campaign. His 1899 team defeated Yale for the first time ever, and it was at Columbia that Sanford developed the famous "Flying Hurdle Play" which saw Harold Weekes catapulted over the scrimmage line. Moving to Rutgers (1913-1923), Sanford had marked success as his club rolled to 56-32-5. He was hailed as a "miracle worker" in 1917, after his Rutgers team beat the heavily-favored Newport Naval Reserve All-Stars, 14-0. Between his terms at Columbia and Rutgers, Sanford devoted his energy toward a successful insurance brokerage business.