William “Bud” Saunders
Athlete
Class of 1932
Track, Football, Basketball
McKendree’s greatest all-time track record holder, with five records to his credit, is four time track letterman William “Bud” Saunders. He twice tied the 1913 100-yard dash record of 10 seconds flat, set a record in the 220-yard dash and then broke that record himself with a time of 22.4 seconds, was the 440-yard dash record holder until 1949 and was a member of the record-holding relay teams for both the 880-yard run and the mile run. A finalist in the Little Nineteen State Meeet each of his four years as a Bearcat thinclad, he captained the squad during his senior year.
Saunders also earned four letters in football. A speedy halfback his freshman year, he was switched to left end for his last three years, a position he played with enough skill to receive honorable mention on the Little Nineteen All-conference teams of both the Bloomington Pantagraph and the United Press International.
In basketball, Saunders lettered at guard in his freshman and sophomore years but passed up his final two years on the hardwood to prepare himself for the track season. A defensive specialist, he chose to provide assists to the prolific scorers in the front-line and seldom shot the ball himself.
Saunders was a teacher, coach and principal in Illinois schools and also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
