College Texas Role American football player Name George Jr. | TSN All-AFL 1966, 1967, 1968 Positions Wide receiver | |
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Born November 10, 1943
Sheboygan, Wisconsin ( 1943-11-10 ) Honors American Football League
Champion, 1968
World Champion, 1968 1965–1969
1970
1974 AFL New York Jets
NFL New York Jets
WFL New York Stars Died May 7, 2013, Westerville, Ohio, United States Education University of Texas at Austin | ||
AFL All-Star 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 | ||
George Sauer, Jr.: Football Wide Receiver
George Henry Sauer, Jr. (November 10, 1943 – May 7, 2013) was an American football wide receiver who played six seasons for the American Football League's New York Jets. He 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, helping defeat the NFL's heavily favored Baltimore Colts. He later played for the New York Stars of the World Football League. He also coached a minor league football team in the late 1970s. His father, George Sauer, played for the Green Bay Packers from 1935 through 1937.
While at Texas, Sauer played as a wide receiver, catching passes from quarterback Jim Hudson. After being teammates as Texas, Hudson and Sauer would continue as teammates for the New York Jets for five years from 1965 through 1969.
Sauer retired at the peak of his career following the 1970 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 World Football League in 1974. That season Sauer caught 38 passes for 547 yards, good for 14.4 yards per catch and 3 touchdowns.
After retiring, George pursued writing and completed a novel. As of 1994, same year as his dad's death, Sauer was a textbook graphics specialist living in St. Paul. He died on May 7, 2013 in Westerville, Ohio of congestive heart failure, having suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
