 Sensanbaugher in 1944 | |||||||||
| No. 94 | |||||||||
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| Positions | Halfback,defensive back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1925-08-12)August 12, 1925 Midvale, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | November 8, 2005(2005-11-08) (aged 80) Lakeland, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Uhrichsville(Uhrichsville, Ohio) | ||||||||
| College | |||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||
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Dean Sparks Sensanbaugher (August 12, 1925 –November 8, 2005) was an American professionalfootball player who was ahalfback anddefensive back for two seasons with theCleveland Browns andNew York Bulldogs in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) andNational Football League (NFL) in the late 1940s.
Sensanbaugher playedcollege football for theOhio State Buckeyes under head coachPaul Brown in 1943, but left the following year to serve in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II. He transferred to theUnited States Military Academy and played for anArmy Black Knights team that won all of its games in 1944 and finished first in theAP Poll. When the war ended, he returned to Ohio State to finish his college career.
Sensanbaugher joined theCleveland Browns, a professional team coached by Brown, in 1948. The Browns went undefeated that year and won a third straight AAFC championship. The Browns released him the following year, however, and he played briefly for the Bulldogs and in theCanadian Football League before leaving the sport. Sensanbaugher later worked in trucking and settled inFlorida, where he died in 2005.
Born to Ted and Glenna Sparks Sensanbaugher, Dean Sensanbaugher grew up inUhrichsville, Ohio, and attended the town's high school.[1][2] He enrolled atOhio State University in 1943 and made the school's football team as a freshmanhalfback under coachPaul Brown.[2] Brown was forced to play 17-year-olds that year because his older players had been drafted into theUnited States military asWorld War II intensified.[3] Sensanbaugher returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown in a game againstNaval Station Great Lakes in 1944, setting a school record that still stands as of 2015. TheOhio State Buckeyes finished with a 3–6 record that year.[2][3] After the season, he was named Ohio State's most outstanding freshman.[4] He played in theEast–West Shrine Game inCalifornia, an annual college all-star game.[5]
Sensanbaugher himself joined theU.S. Army in 1944 and transferred to theUnited States Military Academy inWest Point, New York.[2] He played football for Army in late 1944 and participated in that year'sArmy–Navy Game, which Army won 23–7.[6] Army had a perfect 9–0win–loss record in the1944 season, and finished the year ranked first in theAP Poll.[7] Early the following year, however, Sensanbaugher was deemed ineligible to continue playing because he flunked three courses.[8]
Sensanbaugher trained inLouisiana and was moved toCalifornia in preparation for active duty, but the war ended before he was sent to fight overseas.[2] Sensanbaugher then transferred toAmherst College inMassachusetts and back to Ohio State to finish his college career in 1947.[2]
Married Virginia Scott, had two sons Scott and Dirk Sensanbaugher.
Sensanbaugher gave up his final year of college eligibility in 1948 after he was selected by theCleveland Browns in the1948 AAFC Draft, a professional team in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) coached by Brown.[9][10] The signing of Sensanbaugher and other former Ohio State players with remaining college eligibility was controversial; it angered Ohio State fans who felt Brown was depleting the school's football team.[11] Brown defended Sensanbaugher's decision to go to the Browns by saying it was not about money and that he "just wants to play football, and decided he'd rather play with us than with Ohio State".[11] Cleveland went undefeated in 1948 and won a third straight AAFC championship as Sensanbaugher rushed for 59 yards and one touchdown.[1][12]
The Browns released Sensanbaugher before the 1949 season, and he was picked up by the NFL'sNew York Bulldogs.[13] He stayed there until he was released in October.[1][14] In 1950, Sensanbaugher was named an assistant coach atOtterbein University inWesterville, Ohio, near his hometown.[15] Sensanbaugher resumed his playing career in 1952, trying out for theOttawa Rough Riders of theCanadian Football League and later playing in Canada for theToronto Argonauts.[16]
Sensanbaugher worked in the trucking industry after leaving football, and settled inLakeland, Florida in 1992.[17] He died there in 2005.[17] He had two sons, a daughter and one stepson.[17]
