Sid Gepford
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Position: | Halfback |
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Personal information | |
Born: | Illinois | December 15, 1895
Died: | September 9, 1924 Marion, Illinois | (aged 28)
Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Weight: | 152 lb (69 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Decatur (IL) Stephen Decatur |
College: | Millikin Bethany |
Career history | |
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Career NFL statistics | |
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Sidney "Sunshine" Gepford (December 15, 1895 – September 9, 1924) was an American football halfback who played one season in the American Professional Football Association with the Decatur Staleys. He first enrolled at Millikin University before attending Bethany College. He attended Stephen Decatur High School in Decatur, Illinois.
With the Millikin Big Blue, Gepford played halfback and quarterback.[1] In November 1919, he and teammate Roy Adkins joined the Staleys for their game against the , which the Staleys won. However, the two were exposed by Millikin head coach Norman Wann and banned from Millikin athletics for violating their amateur athlete statuses, though they were allowed to remain in school.[2][3] They permanently joined the Staleys for the remainder of the year and into 1920, with Gepford playing quarterback/halfback for the football team and was a member of the basketball team.[4][5] He also worked for A. E. Staley in the summer.[6]
In 1922, Gepford and Adkins enrolled at Bethany College on the advice of a former Millikin coach. As Bethany did not have rules regarding amateur eligibility, the two were also joined by players from the Staleys.[7] During a 1923 game against Butler, Gepford suffered a concussion but continued to play. Due to the injury, he began experiencing headaches that persisted while he worked at Staley and prepared for his new job as a high school history teacher in Marion, Illinois. On September 9, 1924, he committed suicide by gunshot, which his mother attributed to his concussion (chronic traumatic encephalopathy); he is considered one of the first APFA/NFL players to die since the league's formation in 1920 and the first as a result of football-related head injuries.[6][8]
References[]
- ^ "2,000 persons see Charleston humbled". The Decatur Herald. November 9, 1919. Retrieved November 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two Millikin men out of athletics". Decatur Daily Review. November 13, 1919. Retrieved November 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "May dismiss Millikin men from school". The Decatur Herald. November 13, 1919. Retrieved November 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Arcola team falls to Staleys by score 41-0". The Decatur Herald. November 24, 1919. Retrieved November 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Star players try out for Staley quintet". The Decatur Herald. November 19, 1919. Retrieved November 6, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Sidney H. Gepford". Staley Museum. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- ^ "Roy Adkins". Staley Museum. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- ^ "Sidney Gepford". oldestlivingprofootball.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
External links[]
- 1895 births
- 1924 suicides
- Players of American football from Illinois
- American football halfbacks
- Millikin Big Blue football players
- Bethany Bison football players
- Decatur Staleys players
- Suicides by firearm in Illinois
- American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy