Cub Buck
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S. | August 7, 1892
Died | June 14, 1966 Davenport, Iowa, U.S. | (aged 73)
Playing career | |
1913–1915 | Wisconsin |
1916–1920 | Canton Bulldogs |
1921–1925 | Green Bay Packers |
Position(s) | Lawrence |
1927–1928 | Miami (FL) |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1917–1919 | Carleton |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 21–20–3 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
| |
Howard Pierce "Cub" Buck (August 7, 1892 – June 14, 1966) was an
Early life and college playing career
Buck was born on August 7, 1892, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He attended high school there and was named to Wisconsin's all-state prep team as a center. Playing for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1913 to 1915, he never missed a game and earned three All-Western Conference honors.
Coaching and professional playing career
After graduating, Buck served as an assistant football coach at Wisconsin in 1916.[3] That year he also starting playing professional football for the Canton Bulldogs. Buck played under an assumed name, Moriarity, because his parents didn't want him playing professionally, especially on Sundays.[4] Buck coached at Wisconsin during the week and for games on Saturdays, then travelled to the site of the Bulldogs game on Sunday.[5]
In 1917, Buck was hired as the head football coach and athletic director at Carleton College at age 25.[6] Coaching through World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic, in three years his teams were 10–7. He continued to play with Jim Thorpe and the Bulldogs through 1920, the first year of the American Professional Football Association. Thorpe called Buck the greatest lineman he had played with or against.[2]
Buck added an extra game in 1920 by playing in the Green Bay Packers' last game of their season.[6] In 1921, the Packers joined the fledgling professional league that would become the National Football League (NFL). Curly Lambeau made Buck the first Packer with a guaranteed salary by paying him $75 per game.[5] That year was the first Green Bay–Chicago game and it featured the first cheap shot of the storied rivalry. John "Tarzan" Taylor slugged Buck and broke his nose.[5][6]
Buck played for the Packers through the 1925 season. Besides playing both sides of the line, Buck was the punter and placekicker. From 1922 to 1925, Buck made 24 of 35 extra points and 10 of 28 field goals for a total of 54 points.
In 1926, Buck became the first head coach of the Miami Hurricanes football program. Before the team could play its first game, a hurricane destroyed the under-construction stadium and postponed the start of the season. The first team was a freshman squad; they went 8–0, including two defeats of the University of Havana, one in Miami and one in Havana.[8] During the first two varsity seasons, the Hurricanes were 3–6–1 in 1927 and 4–4–1 in 1928.
Later life and death
Buck left football coaching in 1929, but he often went to three football games each weekend during the season.[9] He moved to Rock Island, Illinois and opened a car dealership.[5] He died in Davenport, Iowa in 1966.[10][11]
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carleton (1917–1919) | |||||||||
1917 | Carleton | 4–1 | |||||||
1918 | Carleton | 2–2 | |||||||
1919 | Carleton | 4–4 | |||||||
Carleton: | 10–7 | ||||||||
Lawrence Vikings (Midwest Conference ) (1923)
| |||||||||
1923 | Lawrence | 4–3–1 | 2–1–1 | 3rd | |||||
Lawrence: | 4–3–1 | 2–1–1 | |||||||
Miami Hurricanes (Independent) (1927–1928) | |||||||||
1927 | Miami | 3–6–1 | |||||||
1928 | Miami | 4–4–1 | |||||||
Miami: | 7–10–2 | ||||||||
Total: | 21–20–3 |
References
- ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Athletic Department Hall Of Fame". University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ "Cub Buck Named to Hall of Fame". Milwaukee Sentinel. December 15, 1956. p. 2C.
- ^ "Cub Buck Calls Thorpe 'Greatest'". Wausau Daily Herald. November 15, 1957. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 9781879483903.
- ^ a b c d "Howard "Cub" Buck". Green Bay Packers. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ "Cub Buck Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ "This is Miami Football - History" (PDF). University of Miami. p. 134. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
- ^ O'Donnell, John (June 14, 1966). "Sport Chats". Quad-City Times. p. 13. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference