Alfred Scotchard "Shag" Sheard (November 17, 1898 – November 11, 1980) 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.

Early years

Sheard was born in 1898 in

Canton, New York Canton is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two Administrative divisions of New York#Villa ...

. He attended Canton High School and

St. Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...

, also located in Canton. He played college football for the

St. Lawrence Saints football The St. Lawrence Saints are composed of 33 teams representing St. Lawrence University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's alpine skiing, basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, nordic skiing, riding, rowing, socc ...

team in 1919 and 1920. As a freshman in 1919, he established himself as the team's star

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

with his long runs (including a 60-yard touchdown run against the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

), dashes around the ends, forward passes, long punts, and tackling. As a sophomore in 1920, he moved to the left halfback position where he continued to excel as a

triple-threat man In gridiron football, a triple-threat man is a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player. Triple-threat men were the norm in the early da ...

. Sheard's college career ended after his sophomore season when a University of Rochester coach recognized Sheard playing professional football for the 1922 Frankford Yellow Jackets.

Professional football

In October 1921, Sheard reportedly joined the

Rochester Jeffersons The Rochester Jeffersons were an American football team based in Rochester, New York from 1898 to 1925. The team was a founding member of the National Football League (NFL), in which they played from 1920 to 1925. History Formed as an amateur ...

of 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), but no statistical information is recorded regarding his role on the 1921 team. According to available records, Sheard played three seasons from 1923 to 1925 at left halfback and quarterback for Jeffersons. He appeared in 18 NFL games, all of them as a starter. He continued to be a versatile contributor. In 1924, the ''Rochester Democrat and Chronicle'' reported: "Sheard ran back punts as only Sheard can, and had his teammates on the receiving end of several of his passes handled the ball cleanly." The Jeffersons disbanded after the 1925 season. In 1926, Sheard joined the Rochester Oxfords football team as both player and coach. He was the Oxfords' coach and "triple threat" star from 1926 to 1931. In 1932, he left the Oxfords and became coach of the rival Rochester Russers. He continued as coach of the Russers in 1933. After leading the Oxfords to multiple Western New York football championships, he did the same for the Russers.

Later years

Sheard later served as the head football coach at his alma mater, St. Lawrence, for one season, in 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheard, Shag 1898 births 1980 deaths Rochester Jeffersons players St. Lawrence Saints football coaches St. Lawrence Saints football players People from Canton, New York Coaches of American football from New York (state) Players of American football from New York (state)