Red Badgro | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||
| Born | (1902-12-01)December 1, 1902 Orillia, Washington, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | July 13, 1998(1998-07-13) (aged 95) Kent, Washington, U.S. | ||||||||
| Football career | |||||||||
| No. 29, 17, 32 | |||||||||
| Position | End | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Kent (Kent, Washington) | ||||||||
| College | USC (1923–1926) | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career statistics | |||||||||
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Baseball player Baseball career | |||||||||
| Outfielder | |||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||
| June 20, 1929, for the St. Louis Browns | |||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||
| September 18, 1930, for the St. Louis Browns | |||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||
| Batting average | .257 | ||||||||
| Home runs | 2 | ||||||||
| RBI | 45 | ||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||
Morris Hiram "Red"Badgro (December 1, 1902 – July 13, 1998) was an American professionalfootball andbaseball player. He played as anend in theNational Football League (NFL). He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
A native ofOrillia, Washington, he attended theUniversity of Southern California (USC) where he played baseball,basketball, and football. He then played nine seasons of professional football for theNew York Yankees (1927–1928),New York Giants (1930–1935), andBrooklyn Dodgers (1936). He was selected as a first-teamAll-Pro in1931,1933, and1934. He scored the first touchdown in thefirst NFL Championship Game and was a member of the1934 New York Giants team that won thesecond NFL Championship Game.
Badgro also played professional baseball as anoutfielder for six years from 1928 to 1933, including two seasons inMajor League Baseball for theSt. Louis Browns (1929–1930). After his career as an athlete was over, Badgro served as a football coach for 14 years, including stints as the ends coach forColumbia (1939–1942) andWashington (1946–1953).
Badgro was born in 1902 inOrillia, Washington.[1] His father, Walter Badgro (1865–1940), was a farmer in Orillia.[2][3] He attended Kent High School where he was twice named captain of the basketball and baseball teams.[4] Badgro later recalled that his focus was on baseball and basketball in high school, noting that he only played "maybe three games of football in four years" of high school.[5]
Badgro enrolled at theUniversity of Southern California (USC) on abasketball scholarship. At USC, was a multi-sport star in baseball, basketball, and football.[6] Playing at the end position for the USC football team, he was selected by theUnited Press as a first-team player on the1926 All-Pacific Coast football team. He was aforward for the USC basketball team and was named to theAll-Pacific Coast Conference basketball team in 1927.[7] During the 1927 baseball season, he led USC with a .352batting average, scored 25 runs in 21 games, and was named to the All-California baseball team.[8]
Badgro played 10 seasons of professional football. During the 1927 season, he appeared in 12 games for the New York Yankees.[1] The Yankees folded after the 1928 season, and Badgro opted to focus on professional baseball. He did not play professional football in 1929.
After playingMajor League Baseball in 1929 and 1930, Badgro qualified as a free agent in professional football and signed with theNew York Giants for $150 a game.[9] He gained his greatest acclaim as the starting left end for the Giants from 1930 to 1935. He was regarded as a sure-tackling defender and an effective blocker and talented receiver on offense. Giants coachSteve Owen said of Badgro: "He could block, tackle, and catch passes equally well. And he could do each with the best of them."[10] Highlights from Badgro's prime years include the following:
Badgro concluded his playing career with theBrooklyn Dodgers in 1936.[1]
Badgro also played professional baseball. He played minor league ball in 1928 for theTulsa Oilers in the Western League and the Muskogee Chiefs in the Western Association, compiling a .351batting average in 513at bats.[13] He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association in 1929.[13]
In June 1929, Badgro made his major league debut with the St. Louis Browns. Over the 1929 and 1930 season, he appeared in 143 games, 80 of them as a right fielder and 13 as a center fielder. He compiled a .257 batting average in 382 major league at-bats and appeared in his final major league game on September 18, 1930.[14]
Badgro continued to play in the minor leagues for several years, including stints with theWichita Falls Spudders of the Texas League (1931–1932) andSeattle Indians of thePacific Coast League (1933).[13]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Underline | Incomplete data |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lng | TD | ||
| 1927 | NYY | 12 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| 1928 | NYY | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1930 | NYG | 17 | 14 | — | — | — | — | 3 |
| 1931 | NYG | 13 | 11 | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 1932 | NYG | 12 | 11 | 6 | 106 | 17.7 | — | 0 |
| 1933 | NYG | 12 | 10 | 9 | 176 | 19.6 | — | 2 |
| 1934 | NYG | 13 | 13 | 16 | 206 | 12.9 | — | 1 |
| 1935 | NYG | 5 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| 1936 | BKN | 9 | 7 | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | — | 0 |
| Career | 94 | 76 | 35 | 560 | 16.0 | 13 | 7 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lng | TD | ||
| 1933 | NYG | 1 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 29 | 1 |
| 1934 | NYG | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 29 | 1 | |
In 1937, Badgro returned to USC to finish the credits he needed to graduate.[15] At the same time, he was a member ofHoward Jones' football coaching staff at USC, responsible for working with USC's frosh players.[16]
In June 1938, Badgro was hired as the football coach atVentura High School inVentura, California.[17] He also coached football, baseball, and basketball forVentura Junior College.[15]
In June 1939, he was hired as an assistant coach (responsible for ends) underLou Little atColumbia.[18] He remained at Columbia through the 1942 season.[19]
In 1944, Badgro was employed in a Seattle war plant.
In February 1946, Badgro was hired as an assistant football coach at theUniversity of Washington.[20] WhenHoward Odell took over as Washington's head coach, he retained Badgro as his ends coach.[21] Badgro was again retained whenJohn Cherberg took over as head coach in 1953.[22] He resigned his coaching post at Washington in January 1954 in order to pursue private business inKent, Washington.[23]
Badgro was married to Dorothea Taylor. After retiring from football, Badgro worked for the Department of Agriculture in the State of Washington.[15]
In 1967, Badgro was inducted into the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame.[24] Badgro was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1981 at age 78. At that time, he was the oldest person to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.[25] Badgro's Hall of Fame Induction Party was held on August 15th, 1981, at 5 PM in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Badgro died in July 1998 at age 95 inKent, Washington. He had been hospitalized after a fall.[26]
· Baseball Almanac