Sidney P. Wagner (October 29, 1912 – June 5, 1972) was an American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a lineman for the Michigan State Spartans football team of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of the National Football League (NFL). Wagner was a consensus All-American in 1935.

Biography

Wagner was born in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

in 1912 and attended Lansing Central High School. After high school, Wagner enrolled at

Michigan State College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in nearby East Lansing, Michigan. Wagner played on the first Michigan State team to defeat the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team in consecutive years. Wagner was a junior in 1934, and the Spartans had not defeated the Wolverines since 1916. Wagner was one of the stars of the 1934 Michigan State team that ended the losing streak with a 16–0 win over Michigan. The celebration in East Lansing following the win over Michigan was reportedly "so euphoric" that Michigan State President Robert Shaw "cancelled Monday classes so it could continue." The 1934 Spartans finished with an 8-1 record. In 1935, the Spartans beat the Wolverines again, this time by a score of 25–6, marking the first time the Spartans won two consecutive games against the Wolverines. Wagner was ranked as one of the top linemen in 1935. ''The Spartan Sports Encyclopedia'' described him as "light, aggressive, a superb blocker and deadly tackler." He was credited with 23 tackles in a 1935 game against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. At the end of the 1935 season, Wagner was recognized as a consensus All-American at the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

position after receiving first-team All-American designations from the United Press, International News Service, the '' New York Sun'', and '' Liberty Magazine'' (selected based on a poll of 1,521 varsity players in all parts of the country). In selecting him as a first-team All-American, the United Press wrote the following about Wagner: "Wagner is a ball hawk, a dependable leader of interference and rated by teammates and rivals as the fastest lineman today. Even in defeat Wagner was great." He was named the Spartan "Athlete of the Year" for the 1935-1936 school year. Wagner was drafted by the

in the first round of the

1936 NFL Draft The 1936 National Football League Draft was the 1st draft of National Football League (NFL). It took place on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The draft was instituted in an effort to end bidding wars amo ...

. The 1936 draft was the first for the NFL, and Wagner was the first first-round pick for the Lions and the eighth pick overall in the inaugural draft. Wagner played in only five games in 1936. However, Detroit coach

Potsy Clark George M. "Potsy" Clark (March 20, 1894 – November 8, 1972) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Michigan Agricultural College, now Michigan State University, ( ...

announced a shakeup in his lineup in early November 1936, including the designation of Wagner as a starter in place of Sam Knox at left guard. Once he made the starting lineup, Wagner stayed. He played in all eleven games for the Lions in both the 1937 and 1938 seasons. However, in August 1939, Wagner announced his retirement from football, telling reporters that he intended to "devote all of his time to a promising career as an engineer."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Sid 1912 births 1972 deaths All-American college football players American football tackles American football guards Michigan State Spartans football players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Lansing, Michigan

Biography

See also

References