:Russ Bailey
{{Short description|American football player and surgeon (1897–1949)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Russ Bailey
| image = Russ Bailey.png
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| number =
| position = Center
| birth_date = {{birth date|1897|10|17}}
| birth_place = Weston, West Virginia, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1949|9|15|1897|10|17}}
| death_place = Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
| high_school = Weston
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lbs = 183
| college = West Virginia (1915–1919)
| pastteams =
- Akron Pros ({{NFL Year|1920}}–{{NFL Year|1921}})
| highlights =
- NFL champion (1920)
- First-team All-American (1917)
- Second-team All-American (1919)
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 23
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 21
| pfr = B/BailRu20
}}
Russell Brooks Bailey (October 17, 1897 – September 15, 1949) was an American professional football player who was a center. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Akron Pros of the APFA (later renamed National Football League in 1922). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers. After his football career, he was a surgeon.
Career
Bailey attended Weston High School in Weston, West Virginia.{{cite news |author1=John Heisman |title=Heisman's Hundred in Hall of Football Fame |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94164902/heismans-hundred-in-hall-of-football/|access-date=February 3, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=November 2, 1928 |page=23}} He attended West Virginia University, where he studied a pre-med curriculum. He played college football for the Mountaineers from 1915 to 1919.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94165570/obituary-for-rb-bailey-aged-54/|title=Dr. R.B. Bailey Dies Suddenly in West Virginia|page=8|work=Cherokee County Herald|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 21, 1949 |accessdate=February 3, 2022}} At West Virginia, he was a two-time All-American in 1917 and 1919 and served as a team captain in 1917.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94162975/men-to-wage-hot-fight-for-berths/|title=Men To Wage Hot Fight for Berths|page=28|work=The Pittsburgh Press|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 14, 1919 |accessdate=February 3, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94163092/is-russ-bailey-getting-scared/|title=Is Russ Bailey Getting Scared?|page=7|work=The Wheeling Intelligencer|via=Newspapers.com|date=October 23, 1919 |accessdate=February 3, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94163092/is-russ-bailey-getting-scared/|title=West Virginia all-Americans 1919|page=14|work=New Castle Herald (New Castle, Pennsylvania)|via=Newspapers.com|date=November 24, 1919 |accessdate=February 3, 2022}} Following his career at West Virginia, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and earned his doctorate.
He joined the Akron Pros in 1920 as the team's starting center,.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94164034/akron-football-eleven-will-make-strong/|title=Akron Football Eleven Will Make Strong Bid For "Pro" Championship|page=24|work=Akron Beacon Journal|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 10, 1920 |accessdate=February 3, 2022}} The Pros would go undefeated and were awarded the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup.{{Cite web | url=http://www.ohio.com/news/searching-for-lost-trophy-1.204246 | title=Searching for the Lost Trophy | work=Akron Beacon Journal | date=April 25, 2011 | last=Price | first=Mark | access-date=December 21, 2011}} He remained with the club through the 1921 season.[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BailRu20.htm Russ Bailey at Pro-Football-Reference.com], Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed February 3, 2022.
After football, Bailey worked as a surgeon in Wheeling, West Virginia, and served as chairman of the West Virginia Cancer Society, president of the West Virginia State Medical Association, chairman of the West Virginia Board of Health and director of the American Cancer Society.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94166323/dies-suddenly-dr-russell-brooks-bailey/|title=Dies Suddenly - Dr Russell Brooks Bailey|page=3|work=Cumberland Times-News|via=Newspapers.com|date=September 19, 1949 |accessdate=February 3, 2022}} He died on September 15, 1949, after collapsing on a golf course in Wheeling.
Bailey was named to the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.{{cite web|url=https://wvusports.com/honors/wvu-sports-hall-of-fame/russ-bailey/68 |title=WVU Sports Hall of Fame - Russ Bailey |publisher=wvusports.com |access-date=February 3, 2022}}
References
{{reflist|9}}
External links
- [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BailRu20.htm Pro-Football-Reference]
- {{Find a Grave}}
{{1920 Akron Pros}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Russ}}
Category:People from Weston, West Virginia
Category:University of Cincinnati College of Medicine alumni
Category:Players of American football from West Virginia
Category:American football centers
Category:West Virginia Mountaineers football players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
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