Elmer Busch
{{Short description|American football player (1889–1949)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
| name = Elmer Busch
| image = Busch_4445875084_92f2e2f234 o.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth_date|1889|06|01}}
| birth_place = Potter Valley, California, U.S.
| death_date ={{death date and age|1949|1|14|1889|6|1}}{{cite news| title= Elmer Busch, All American Star and Carlisle Graduate, Dies| work= Ukiah Republican Press| date= January 19, 1949| place= Ukiah, California| page= }}{{cite news| title= In Memoriam: Elmer Busch| work= Ukiah Republican Press| date= January 26, 1949| place= Ukiah, California| page= }}
| death_place = Ukiah, California, U.S.
| Height_ft = 5
| Height_in = 10
| Weight_lbs = 200
| position1 = Guard
| College = Carlisle
| career_highlights =
- Second-team All-American (1913)
- Captain Carlisle football team (1914)
| DatabaseFootball = BUSCHELM01
| playing_years1 = 1922
| playing_team1 = Oorang Indians
| CollegeHOF =
| CollegeHOFID =
| HOF =
}}
Elmer Eugene "Pete" Busch (June 1, 1889 – January 14, 1949) was an American professional football player with the Oorang Indians of the National Football League (NFL) in 1922. He was a Native American member of the Pomo tribe. He played his college football at the Carlisle Indian School. In 1973, Busch was inducted into the American Indian Hall of Fame.
Early life and family
Busch was born in 1890 to Jack and Maggie Busch, who lived in Potter Valley, California. Elmer had two brothers and a sister. Busch had been schooled at the Potter Valley Indian School, from 1897 until 1902, and the Sherman Institute in Riverside, California, from 1907 until 1910. While there, he was selected to attend the Carlisle Indian School.
Carlisle Indian School
Busch, a Pomo, entered the Carlisle Indian School on October 10, 1910, at the age of 20. While attending Carlisle, he became interested in football. He joined the school's football team and played there from 1911 until 1914 as an offensive tackle. In 1911, Carlisle won 11 and lost 1 game. The 1912 Carlisle team averaged less than {{cvt|170|lb}}. Busch, who was 22 years old, was the heaviest, weighing {{cvt|186|lb}} and standing {{cvt|5|ft|10|in}} tall; another source reports him at {{cvt|192|lb}}. However, that year, Carlisle compiled a total of 504 points as against their opponents' 114 points. Their record was 12 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie. As a lineman, Busch consistently beat his heavier defensive opponents, allowing the backs to gain good yardage on their runs. In 1913, Carlisle won 10, lost 1, and tied 1 game.{{Cite web |url= http://americanindianathletichalloffame.com/elmerbusch.php |title= Elmer Busch| website= americanindianathletichalloffame.com| publisher=American Indian Hall of Fame |access-date=2009-03-02 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210314/http://americanindianathletichalloffame.com/elmerbusch.php |url-status=usurped }} He was elected in 1913 as the team's captain for 1914.{{cite news| url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/11/30/100079114.pdf |title= Carlisle Elects Football Captain| place= Carlisle, Pennsylvania| date= November 30, 1913| work= The New York Times| publisher= | access-date= November 2, 2022}} However, he lost the title to Pete Calac after he was forced to resign.{{cite news| url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/10/19/106728565.pdf |title= Calac Succeeds Busch at Carlisle | place= Carlisle, Pennsylvania| date= October 18, 1914| work= The New York Times| publisher= | access-date= November 2, 2022}} After leaving the Carlisle School in April 1915 at age 25, he worked in the boiler department of the Santa Fe Railroad in San Bernardino from 1915 to 1917. He also coached football at Riverside from 1916 to 1917.{{cite web| url= http://www.indiancanyon.org/pics/carlislebios.html| title= Available Biographies of California Natives At Carlisle| url-status= dead| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070619092550/http://www.indiancanyon.org/pics/carlislebios.html| archivedate= 2007-06-19| publisher= Cumberland County Historical Society | website= indiancanyon.org| date= | access-date= 2022-11-02}}
Professional athletic career
He was a football coach at his alma mater, the Sherman Institute at Riverside (1916–17).
Busch played the 1922 NFL season with the Oorang Indians, a team composed completely of Native Americans. It was the idea of Walter Lingo, an Airedale breeder from LaRue, Ohio, with the sole intention of promoting his kennel. Busch left the team after the 1922 season.
Career outside athletics
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Busch worked in San Bernardino, California, in the boiler department of the AT & SF Railroad (1915–1917).