Shugart a Winner at Every Level

AMES, Iowa -- Throughout his life, Clyde Shugart always credited his school and his football teammates for opening the biggest of doors for him. Shugart, an Ames native who played on one of Iowa State's greatest football teams before successful careers in the NFL and private business after his playing days, passed away last month at his home in Gulf Breeze, Fla. He was 92.

“He was the best friend and best teammate anyone could have,” said Iowa State halfback Everett “Rabbit” Kischer when Shugart was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. “You could count on him every time.”

The 6-1, 200-pound tackle graduated from Ames High School in 1934, earning first-team all-state honors at guard. He was tabbed as “the finest prep lineman in the state” by The Des Moines Register. Shugart stayed in Ames and continued his football career at Iowa State, where he was a prominent member of one of ISU's best football teams in school history. Shugart anchored the right side of line with All-American guard Ed Bock on the 1938 “Cyclone Eleven” squad that produced a 7-1-1 record for coach Jim Yeager. That Iowa State squad, which was ranked as high as No. 18 in the nation, suffered its only loss of the season to Oklahoma and managed a tie against Kansas State.

“We had such great teamwork and great players on the 1938 team and that team's success opened doors for me,” Shugart said during his ISU Hall-of-Fame induction. “Because of that team I was noticed and drafted into the NFL with the Washington Redskins. Because I was in Washington D.C., I got offered a job working for C.Y. Stephens (the namesake of C.Y. Stephens Auditorium at the Iowa State Center) in the dairy industry.”

Shugart and Bock led the way for Kischer, who earned All-America honors in 1938. Shugart garnered first-team all-conference honors in 1938 and received All-America board recognition, playing all but 20 minutes of the entire season. In a 1960s poll, Shugart was named the best tackle in school history. All three went on to even bigger success in business.

Three days after Shugart earned his degree from Iowa State, he and his wife moved to Washington D.C., where he'd been drafted by the Redskins.

“I was too small to play tackle in the NFL, so they moved me to guard,” Shugart said.

Shugart not only made the team, but became a stalwart on the line for one of the most successful NFL teams of the 1940s. He moved to guard with the Redskins, blocking for NFL Hall of Famer “Slingin” Sammy Baugh from 1939-44, never missing a game in his career. The Redskins and Shugart played in three NFL Championship games (1940, 1942, 1943), winning the 1942 NFL title with a 14-6 victory over the Chicago Bears. He was named to two Pro Bowl teams in his six-year NFL career.

Even for a Pro-Bowler, life in the NFL in the 1940s was a far cry from the million-dollar careers of today's pro football players.

“I had to work year-round to stay above water,” Shugart said. “But High's Ice Cream worked with me. I practiced in the morning and worked in the afternoon. They let me work at many different jobs learning the business. None of it would have happened without going to Iowa State and the great team I played on.”

When his NFL days ended, the dairy industry major took over as a manager of a High's Ice Cream branch plant and moved to nearby Baltimore. He moved up the ladder in the company and later owned 50 percent of the corporate stock. He still remained close with his alma mater. He was voted president of the National Cyclone Club in 1973. Shugart was inducted in the Iowa High School Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

Shugart was born Dec. 7, 1916 in Elberon, Iowa. He is survived by his second wife, of 21 years, Mary Ellen Shugart. Shugart and his first wife, Ruth, had three children, John, Margaret and Sandra. He left eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Iowa State University Athletics

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