Sam Houston Sanders Jr (1900 - 1991)

Born 1 May 1900 in Marshall, Mississippi, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Marion G. (Hemphill) Sanders — married 28 Apr 1928 in Fulton, Kentucky, United States

Died 1991 at about age 90 in Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Bill Boyce [send private message]

Biography

• https://www.theclio.com/entry/58436
• https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/tennessee-doctors-football-team/

Tennessee Doctors Football Team

From 1920 to 1926, the UT Medical Units football team cut a path of destruction through college football—undefeated for three consecutive seasons and outscoring their opponents 500-44. The four-acre intramural field at UT Memphis was named UT Doctors Field in their honor in 1979. The Tennessee Docs wore orange and white uniforms, and a season ticket for seven games cost $7.50. A crowd of 4,500 saw the Docs beat Ole Miss 24-6 in their first game against a big name school in 1921. On October 27, 1923, the Doctors played Carson Newman College (Parsons against Doctors) on Shields-Watkins Field, winning 7 to 0. In 1926 the Doctors lost to the Army team from Ft. Benning, Georgia, 14-0. One of the army team’s coaches was identified in a Memphis newspaper picture as “Major Eisenhamer,” the man who 18 years later would command the Allied invasion of Europe and who became a two-term president of the United States.

Following the 1926 season, the Athletics Committee at the Medical Units voted to drop football. The Tennessee Doctors are credited by some with saving the Medical Units. The school was in financial difficulty—there were fewer than 50 students and not enough money. Rumors were abundant that the school would close. The next fall, after the first unbeaten season, enrollment doubled, and it climbed even higher the following year. By the spring of 1923, the faculty adopted a resolution-limiting enrollment.

Written by Betsey B. Creekmore

Dr Sanders weighed 120 pounds and played football as a scatback. "A scatback in football refers to a running back that beats defenders using his elusiveness and speed. Scatbacks typically feature smaller builds than a traditional running back."

Dr Sanders' father listed Photographer as his occupation in the 1900 US Census. His father became allergic to the chemicals used to develop photos, which prompted Sammy to study allergies during his medical career.

Dr Sanders and his wife Mary had no children. He was a caring and generous Godfather to me and I was lucky to have had his guidance in my life.

Sources

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9XJ-R1M : accessed 28 June 2022), Sam H Saunders in household of Sam H Saunders, Beat 1 Holly Springs city Ward 1, Marshall, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60, sheet 16A, family 297, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,820.
• Names improperly spelled Saunders on census records in 1900.

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MP8G-DPP : accessed 28 June 2022), Sam Sanders in household of S H Sanders, Oxford, Lafayette, Mississippi, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 26, sheet 3B, family 66, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 745; FHL microfilm 1,374,758.

• "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZXR-BTS : 25 June 2022), Sam Houston Sandero, 1917-1918.

• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHTD-TVD : accessed 27 June 2022), Sam Houston Sanders in household of Sam Houston Sanders, Robertson, Texas, United States; citing , sheet , line , family , NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll ; FHL microfilm .

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4C6-PN8 : 11 January 2021), Sam H Sanders, Civil District 2, Shelby, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 98-282, sheet 7A, line 18, family 178, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3969.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGF-5PJX : 3 July 2020), Sam Houston Sanders, ; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.