Howard Pierce "Cub" Buck (August 7, 1892 – June 14, 1966) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He played as a tackle at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, captaining the team and earning consensus All-American honors in 1915. Buck then played professionally for 10 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

(1916–1920) and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

(1921–1925). He served as the head football coach at

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

from 1917 to 1919, at Lawrence College in 1923, and as the first head coach at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

from 1926 to 1928. Buck was inducted into the Wisconsin State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1956, the

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is a team-specific hall of fame honoring players, coaches, executives and other contributors to the history and success of the Green Bay Packers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). ...

in 1977, and the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department Hall of Fame in 1991.

Early life and college playing career

Buck was born on August 7, 1892, in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

. He attended high school there and was named to Wisconsin's all-state prep team as a center. Playing for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

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. That year he also starting playing professional football for the

. Buck played under an assumed name, Moriarity, because his parents didn't want him playing professionally, especially on Sundays. Buck coached at Wisconsin during the week and for games on Saturdays, then travelled to the site of the Bulldogs game on Sunday. In 1917, Buck was hired as the head football coach and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at age 25. Coaching through

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

1918 influenza pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

, in three years his teams were 10–7. He continued to play with

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

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. Buck added an extra game in 1920 by playing in the Green Bay Packers' last game of their season. In 1921, the Packers joined the fledgling professional league that would become the

(NFL).

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau ( ; April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native, George Whitney ...

made Buck the first Packer with a guaranteed salary by paying him $75 per game. That year was the first Green Bay–

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

game and it featured the first cheap shot of the storied rivalry. John "Tarzan" Taylor slugged Buck and broke his nose. 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. He led the Packers in scoring in 1923 and threw a touchdown pass in 1924. While playing for the Packers, Buck coached for the Lawrence Vikings, mainly as an assistant, but he was the head coach for the 1923 season. He was also the executive director of the Boy Scouts in Appleton. In 1926, Buck became the first head coach of the

Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Foot ...

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 The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

, one in Miami and one in Havana. During the first two varsity seasons, the Hurricanes were 3–6–1 in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

and 4–4–1 in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

Later life and death

Buck left football coaching in 1929, but he often went to three football games each weekend during the season. He moved to

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

and opened a car dealership. He died in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

in 1966.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Howard 1892 births 1966 deaths American football tackles Canton Bulldogs players Carleton Knights athletic directors Green Bay Packers players Lawrence Vikings football coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football players All-American college football players Carleton Knights football coaches Sportspeople from Eau Claire, Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame