Byron Ledare "By" Bailey (October 12, 1930 – January 18, 1998) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, primarily as a fullback and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, Bailey is a member of the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

, the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...

, the B.C. Lions Wall of Fame, and the

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

Athletic Hall of Fame. Bailey's #38 jersey is one of eight numbers

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the B.C. Lions. In 2006, Bailey was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Bailey scored the first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

in the history of the B.C. Lions' franchise, on August 28, 1954, against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

College career

Bailey's family moved from

in the early 1940s to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, where Bailey played high school football at

West Seattle High School West Seattle High School (known to students as "Westside") is a comprehensive public high school in Seattle's West Seattle neighborhood that serves grades nine through twelve as part of the Seattle Public Schools. History and facilities The ...

. Following his high school graduation, Bailey played collegiately as a halfback at

, where he is 5th place all-time for the longest

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

from scrimmage, 84 yards, against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in a 1949 contest. Bailey was inducted into the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

Professional career

National Football League

Bailey was drafted by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the 25th Round of the 1952 NFL Draft. He played sparingly, but was with the team when they won the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

NFL Championship game, 17–7, over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. The following year, Bailey was traded to the then last place

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 ...

, where he finished the 1953 season with 29 yards on 13

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

attempts, and 8 pass receptions for 119 yards.

Canadian Football League

Unhappy with his playing time in Green Bay, Bailey, recruited by

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

legend and the first

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the B.C. Lions

Annis Stukus Annis Paul Stukus (October 25, 1914 – May 20, 2006) was a Canadian football player, journalist, coach, broadcaster, and executive. He was the first head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos and the BC Lions of the Western Interprovincial Football ...

, joined the Lions for their inaugural, 1954 season. Bailey scored the first touchdown in B.C. Lions' history on August 28, 1954, during an 8–6 loss to the

. Bailey also scored the first, winning touchdown in B.C. Lions' history on September 18, 1954, during a 9–4 victory over the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

. Bailey was the Lions' leading rusher and offensive captain from 1955 to

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, and twice led the CFL Western Division in kick-off returns. In 1957, Bailey was named to the CFL Western Division All-Star Team as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. That same year, Bailey won the Bobby Bourne Memorial Trophy as the Lions' "Most Popular Player." Bailey was also honored with a "By Bailey Night" by the Lions during the 1960 season, the first player to receive such an honor. Bailey began his career as a fullback in the Lions' double fullback offensive backfield. In

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, when the Lions dropped the double fullback position, Bailey played outside

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He wore #88 as an offensive player and #38 when on defense. Bailey retired following the B.C. Lions first Grey Cup Championship in 1964. Over his 11-year career with the Lions, which covered 158 games, Bailey rushed for 3,643 yards on 783 attempts, and caught 101 passes for 1,161 yards. He was the first B.C. Lion player inducted into the

in 1975, and was inducted into the

the same year. In November, 2006, Bailey was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

Post-football life and death

Following his retirement from the B.C. Lions in 1964, Bailey worked as an executive with the Crown Zellerbach paper company. His wife of 36 years, Diana, died in 1986. After remarrying in 1989, Bailey moved north of

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

near where the Lions would hold their spring training camps. Bailey died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at age 67 on January 18, 1998, at his home in

Winfield, British Columbia Winfield is a neighbourhood and formal ward within the District Municipality of Lake Country, British Columbia, located adjacent to the northern city boundary of Kelowna. The community, formerly an unincorporated settlement, is now one of th ...

. His funeral was held in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

References

Sources

Lionbackers.com profile - #38 By Bailey (Fan Site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Byron 1930 births 1998 deaths Players of Canadian football from Nebraska BC Lions players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football defensive backs Canadian football linebackers Canadian football running backs Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska Washington State Cougars football players West Seattle High School alumni American football halfbacks