George Thomas Saimes (September 1, 1941 – March 8, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back for the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL). He played college football as a fullback for the Michigan State Spartans. He won AFL championships with the Bills in 1964 and 1965.
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Position: | Safety | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Canton, Ohio, U.S. | September 1, 1941||||||||
Died: | March 8, 2013 Canton, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 71)||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 186 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
College: | Michigan State | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1963 / round: 6 / pick: 71 (By the Los Angeles Rams) | ||||||||
AFL draft: | 1963 / round: 6 / pick: 48 (By the Kansas City Chiefs) | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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Saimes was born and died in Canton, Ohio. In 1964, he had a career-high six interceptions and earned the first of his five American Football League All-Star Game appearances. He made The Sporting News All-AFL Team in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Former Pro Football writer and president of the Pro Football Writers Association, Larry Felser, calls Saimes "the finest open-field tackler in the league."
He achieved All-American Football League honors five times, and is a member of the American Football League All-Time Team, the Buffalo Bills' Wall of Fame, and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
Saimes went on to be a professional football scout with the Blesto V Combine, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Washington Redskins, and the Houston Texans. Saimes died in Canton of leukemia on March 8, 2013.[1]