Alfred Leo Buser (September 21, 1888 – December 3, 1956), nicknamed Al Buser, was an American football player and coach. Buser played college football for the University of Wisconsin, and was recognized as an All-American. He later became the fourth head coach of the Florida Gators football team that represents the University of Florida.

Early years Buser was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1888.Florida Memory, World War I Induction Card , Florida State Library & Archives, Tallahassee, Florida. Retrieved March 18, 2010. He attended Madison High School, where he was a stand-out high school football player and track and field athlete, and graduated in 1907.

College career After graduating from high school, Buser attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Buser played tackle for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 1908 to 1911. He memorably scored a touchdown as a lineman in the 1910 game against Chicago.Parke H. Davis, Football: The American Intercollegiate Game, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York, p. 170 (1912). As a senior, he was elected captain of the 1911 football team."Football Captain Ill," Milwaukee Sentinel, p. 10 (January 10, 1911). Retrieved March 18, 2010. The 1911 Badgers finished 5–1–1College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records, John R. Richards 1911 . Retrieved March 18, 2010.—their sole loss was a 5–0 edging by the Chicago Maroons."Badger-Maroon Game Notes," Chicago Daily Tribune, p. C2 (November 3, 1911). Retrieved March 18, 2010. After his junior year, Buser was named an All-American by Outing magazine,"Many Westerners on this Honor List: Football Coaches' Verdict of All-American Stars Offered By Outing," The New York Times (December 19, 1910). after his senior season, Buser was again named an All-American by Outing,"Pick Syracusans for Honor List: Representative Coaches Select Orange Captain-Elect and Retiring Captain," Syracuse Herald (December 11, 1911). a first-team All-American by The New York Globe,"Three Westerners on All-American Eleven," Sandusky Star Journal (December 2, 1911). a Walter Camp third-team All-American,"All-American Teams Picked By Walter Camp," Harvard Crimson (December 7, 1911). Retrieved March 18, 2010. and a Collier's first-team All-Western Conference tackle.James Mott, ed., 1959 Football Facts and Wisconsin Athletic Review 1958-1959, Wisconsin's All-Conference Players, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, p. 40 (1959). He lettered three years in football and once in track,Morris Bockee Mitchell, ed., 1912 Wisconsin Badger, W Wearers, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin (1912). Retrieved March 18, 2010. as a shot-putter.

Buser graduated from Wisconsin in 1912, and served as the director of athletics of the Wisconsin athletic association during 1913. Buser married the former Leila W. Mathews that same year."Alumni News," The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine, vol. 15, no. 2, p. 85 (November 1913).

Coaching career From 1917 to 1919, Buser was the head coach of the Florida Gators football team that represented the University of Florida in Gainesville.2012 Florida Football Media Guide , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 107, 115, 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012. Early expectations were high for Buser's first Gators team in 1917."Lively Year is Ahead for State 'Varsity Eleven," Miami Daily Metropolis, p. 10 (October 12, 1917). Retrieved March 18, 2010. The Gators opened their season with a 21–13 win over South Carolina Gamecocks, after falling behind early, but lost their remaining four Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) games to the Tulane Green Wave, Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers, and Kentucky Wildcats.College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records, Alfred Leo "Al" Buser: 1917 . Retrieved March 19, 2010. During his three seasons leading the Gators, Buser compiled a 7–8 record,College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records, Alfred Leo "Al" Buser Records by Year . Retrieved March 18, 2010. including the one-game 1918 season shortened by the 1918 influenza pandemic and World War I. Buser was also the university's athletic director and the professor in charge of its physical education department.University Record, Vol. XIV, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (May 1919). After an improved 5–3 season in 1919,College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records, Alfred Leo "Al" Buser: 1919 . Retrieved March 19, 2010. Buser was replaced by William G. Kline.

In 1920, Buser was hired as athletic coach at Saint Paul Central High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota and mentored the football team for three seasons. He also coached a number of other sports at Central. Buser was the athletic director for Hamline University in Saint Paul during the 1924–25 academic year and head football coach for the Pipers in the fall of 1924.Robert S. Crawford, ed., "U.W. Clubs," The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 13–16 (November 1924). Retrieved March 18, 2010.

Later life and death In 1925, he was elected as the first president of the W Club, the University of Wisconsin's lettermen's association, as well as a member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Alumni Association in 1943.Jeanne Lamoreaux, ed., The Wisconsin Alumni Association," The Wisconsin Alumnus, vol. 44, no. 4, p. 289 (July 1943). Retrieved March 18, 2010. He was also a member of the Iron Cross Society, the university's leadership honorary.The Iron Cross Society, Past Initiates by Year: 1910–1919 . Retrieved March 18, 2010.

Buser died in Minneapolis, in 1956.George Richard, ed., "Necrology," The Wisconsin Alumnus, vol. 58, no. 10, p. 39 (February 15, 1957), Retrieved March 18, 2010.

Head coaching record College

See also List of University of Florida faculty and administrators List of University of Wisconsin–Madison people

References