George Henry Sauer Jr. (November 10, 1943 – May 7, 2013) 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 who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for six seasons with the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL)'s

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, and later played in the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

. His father, George Henry Sauer Sr., played for the

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 ...

from 1935 through 1937.

Biography

Sauer played

for the

as a

. He was a member of the undefeated 1963 Longhorns, and of the 1964 Longhorns that defeated previously unbeaten

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the 1965 Orange Bowl. After being teammates at Texas, Sauer and quarterback Jim Hudson continued as teammates for the

for five seasons, 1965 through 1969. Sauer led the

(AFL) in receptions in the 1967 season. In 1968, he started and caught eight passes for the Jets in the third

AFL-NFL World Championship Game The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 (with the exception of the Pro Bowl between the 1967 and 2009 se ...

, helping defeat the NFL's heavily favored

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. His eight receptions and 133 yards led all receivers in that game. Sauer retired at the peak of his career following the

1970 NFL season The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first after the consummation of the AFL–NFL merger. The merged league realigned into two conferences: all ten of the 1969 American Football League season ...

because he considered professional football dehumanizing. In a 1971 interview with the Institute for the Study of Sport and Society, Sauer said, "When you get to the college and professional levels, the coaches still treat you as an adolescent. They know damn well that you were never given a chance to become responsible or self-disciplined. Even in the pros, you were told when to go to bed, when to turn your lights off, when to wake up, when to eat and what to eat. You even have to live and eat together like you were in a boys’ camp." Sauer's father, on the subject of his son's retirement, stated, "He definitely does not like to be regimented." In spite of his disillusionment about playing professional football, Sauer returned to play for the New York Stars of the

in 1974. That season, Sauer caught 38 passes for 547 yards, good for 14.4 yards per catch and three touchdowns. After retiring, Sauer pursued writing and completed a novel. He also coached a minor league football team in the late 1970s. As of 1994, the same year as his father's death, Sauer was a textbook graphics specialist living in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. He died on May 7, 2013, in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin and Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus as well as the home of Otterbein University, the population was 39 ...

, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

, having suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer Jr., George 1943 births 2013 deaths American football wide receivers Charlotte Hornets (WFL) players New York Stars players New York Jets players Texas Longhorns football players American Football League All-League players American Football League All-Star players Sportspeople from Sheboygan, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American Football League players Waco High School alumni

Biography

NFL career statistics

Regular season

See also

References