Buzz Borries

Buzz Borries
Navy Midshipmen No. 10
Position Halfback
Class Graduate
Career history
College
High school Lapeer
Personal information
Date of birth (1911-12-13)December 13, 1911
Place of birth Louisville, Kentucky
Date of death January 3, 1969(1969-01-03) (aged 57)
Place of death Orange Park, Florida
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg)
Career highlights and awards
College Football Hall of Fame (1960)

Fred "Buzz" Borries (December 13, 1911 – January 3, 1969) was an American college football player who played halfback for the Navy Midshipmen football team of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1932 to 1934.

Borries was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended Lapeer High School in Louisville.

As a junior halfback for the Navy Midshipmen in 1933, he scored the Midshipmen's sole touchdown to give Navy a 7-0 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish; it was Navy's first victory in the Navy–Notre rivalry series in seven years. In 1934, he helped Navy score its first victory over the Army Black Knights football team since 1921. Against Army, Borries carried the ball 36 times and set up Slade Cutter's field goal for Navy to win 3-0. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American following his 1934 senior season.

After graduating the U.S. Naval Academy in 1935, Borries was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Nine years later, Borries was a commander serving aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gambier Bay during the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf. Borries was later awarded the Bronze Star for his heroic conduct under enemy fire during the battle. As the carrier's air officer in charge of Flight Operations, he was able to launch all the ship's aircraft while the ship was sinking and under heavy fire from Japanese navy battleships and cruisers. After the Gambier Bay was sunk by enemy shellfire, Borries took charge of the ship's life rafts and was credited with saving the lives of 200 of this fellow crew members.

Borries was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960.[1]

References

  1. ↑ National Football Foundation, Hall of Fame, Buzz Borries Member Biography. Retrieved April 5, 2015.

Further reading

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