Sport(s) Football Overall 7–8 1908–1911 Wisconsin Name Alfred Buser | 1917–1919 Florida Role American football player 1917–1919 Florida Positions Guard, Tackle | |
 | ||
Born September 21, 1888
Madison, Wisconsin ( 1888-09-21 ) Died December 3, 1956, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Education University of Wisconsin-Madison | ||
Alfred Leo Buser (September 21, 1888 – December 3, 1956), nicknamed Al Buser, was an American football player and coach. Buser played college football for the University of Wisconsin, and was recognized as an All-American. He later became the fourth head coach of the Florida Gators football team that represents the University of Florida.
Contents
Early years
Buser was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1888. He attended Madison High School, where he was a stand-out high school football player and track & field athlete, and graduated in 1907.
College career
After graduating from high school, Buser attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Buser played tackle for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 1908 to 1911, and memorably scored a touchdown as a lineman in the 1910 game against the University of Chicago. As a senior, he was elected team captain for the 1911 football season. The 1911 Badgers finished 5–1–1—their sole loss was a 6–0 edging by the Chicago Maroons. After his junior year, Buser was named an All-American by Outing magazine, after his senior season, Buser was again named an All-American by Outing, a first-team All-American by The New York Globe, a Walter Camp third-team All-American, and a Collier's first-team All-Western Conference tackle. He lettered three years in football, and once in track, as a shot-putter.
Buser graduated from Wisconsin in 1912, and served as the director of athletics of the Wisconsin athletic association during 1913. Buser married the former Leila W. Mathews that same year.
Coaching career
From 1917 to 1919, Buser was the head coach of the Florida Gators football team that represented the University of Florida in Gainesville. Early expectations were high for Buser's first Gators team in 1917. The Gators opened their season with a 21–13 win over South Carolina Gamecocks, after falling behind early, but lost their remaining four SIAA conference games to the Tulane Green Wave, Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats. During his three seasons leading the Gators, Buser compiled a 7–8 record, including the one-game 1918 season shortened by the 1918 influenza pandemic and World War I. Buser was also the university's athletic director and the professor in charge of its physical education department. After an improved 5–3 season in 1919, Buser was replaced by William G. Kline.
Athletic director
Buser was later the athletic director for Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 1925, he was elected as the first president of the W Club, the University of Wisconsin's lettermen's association, as well as a member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Alumni Association in 1943. He was also a member of the Iron Cross Society, the university's leadership honorary.
Buser died in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1956.