Former SMU star Shuford dies at 92
He was fullback on Mustangs' 1935 championship team
02:00 AM CDT on Thursday, May 17, 2007
By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]
Harry Shuford, a two-time All American and tri-captain of
SMU's 1936 Rose Bowl team, died Wednesday. He was 92.
Shuford was a
fullback on SMU's 1935 national championship
team that lost to Stanford in the 1936 Rose Bowl.
"He was just a first-class person, I'll tell you that," said Maco Stewart,
a teammate on the 1935 team. "He wasn't a fast fellow, he was just
steady. You could count on him. He wasn't going to make mistakes."
Shuford was an All-American in 1934 and 1935 but later became
known as the
boyhood idol of Doak Walker, who won the
1948 Heisman Trophy while playing for SMU. Shuford befriended
the young Walker, who was said to have chosen the number 37
when he arrived at SMU because that was Shuford's number.
Shuford was
drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles but
attended law school at SMU, where he graduated first in his class.
He went on to a prominent career in law and banking.
He served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Texas
as well as general counsel for Dr Pepper. After switching careers
to banking, he was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of
St. Louis and the chairman of the board of First National Bank of
Dallas.
Among his many civic endeavors, Shuford was the president of
the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association as well as the Salesmanship
Club of Dallas.
"He was involved in everything and lived a full and rich life," his
son, David Shuford, said. "He was pretty modest about
[his football career] over the years, but
at the end he talked
about his football days and was proud of it."
Shuford
died in his sleep at Presbyterian Village North where
he had lived the last eight years, his son said.
A private graveside service will be followed by a public memorial
at 11 a.m. Friday at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/051707dnsposmushuford.3662dfe.html
Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 6:46 pm