Harold "Monk" Saunders (2024) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame

Harold "Monk" Saunders

Induction:
2024
Class:
1940

In a 1975 column, Harry Farrar, the late well-respected columnist at the Denver Post, wrote that Saunders was “one of the finest football ends and golfers in the Rockies” … He earned eight letters across three sports: four in golf, three in football and one in basketball … Earned the nickname of “Monk” from football coach Bunny Oakes: when he missed a block in practice, and Byron White was leveled hard, Oakes shouted, “Who’s the monkey who missed that block?” It stuck … He was a sophomore on the 1937 football team that went 8-0 in the regular season, earning a national ranking of 16th at one time, and earned the school’s first bowl berth where the Buffs lost to Rice in the Cotton Bowl, 28-14 … In 1939, he caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Leo Stasica that proved to be the winning points in a 12-6 win over Brigham Young … Also had TD receptions in close wins over Wyoming and Denver, and earned Williamson “Alternate” All-America honors as a senior … A two-time Mountain States (also known as the Big Seven) Conference medalist in golf, winning over teammate Larry Flanders in 1938 (1 up), and besting another Buff, Joe Watson, in 1939; in 1940, he was the conference runner-up, falling to Denver’s Bob Hogan … He was the second Buffalo golfer to qualify for a national amateur event (and would become the first to play in more than two) when he participated in the 1947 U.S. Amateur Public Links in Minneapolis (missed the cut); he qualified again in 1948 by earning medalist honors in district qualifying (71-70—141); he lost to Leonard Ruck of Toledo, Ohio, 1 up on the 19th hole in the main tourney in Atlanta which was now all match play … He qualified a third time in 1951, this time losing in the quarterfinals after winning four matches in Milwaukee … Also played one season of basketball as in other years he had to work to pay his tuition and room and board … After CU, he was recruited by Cmdr. Gene Tunney and joined the U.S. Navy where he was a PT Boat Captain in World War II, and went on to become a college football referee for 34 years in the Big Seven/Eight, Western Athletic and Rocky Mountain Athletic conferences, and officiated in the Orange, Cotton and Fiesta bowls … He was also a longtime high school teacher and coach in Lovell, Wyo., and Rocky Ford, Colo. … Orphaned at the age of 13 when both his parents were killed at a railroad crossing in a train/car accident in Omaha, he came to Boulder after he heard about its “pretty campus” … Once in Boulder, he worked as a dormitory hasher and in athletics, washing clothes and sweeping Carlson Gym … He worked at Wellshire Golf Club in Denver several summers and eventually became a member of the club when he played as an amateur post-college … He was the Nebraska State Marbles champion as a 16-year old in 1934 … Graduated from Benson High School in Omaha, where he was a teammate of Iowa Hawkeye legend Niles Kinnick … Married the former Marian Smith in 1941 and they had three sons; one, Norm, earned six letters in the mid-1960’s playing for Sox Walseth (basketball) and Les Fowler (golf); another (Steve) was a longtime executive with Coors Sports … Grandson Reed handles the public address for the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field (and his son Will’s middle name is Harold, after his great grandfather) … He was born in Omaha on January 6, 1918 and passed away on March 15, 2000 at the age of 82.