BOB GRIDER
Football, 1937-40
Inducted March 5, 1988
 
Bob Grider was a standout footballer at SMSU during one of the brightest eras of SMSU football as he lettered four seasons for the Bears from 1937 through 1940.  A native of Kansas City, KS, he worked as a halfback on both offense and defense and handled the kick off and placekicking chores for SMSU.  Howard Blair took over as the SMSU head coach in Grider’s sophomore season of 1938 and led SMSU to a 5-2-2 mark and second place in the MIAA.  The Bears jumped to a 7-1-1 season in the 1939 campaign and again wound up second to Northwest Missouri State.  The Bears won their last three games of the ’39 season and then ran off 10 straight victories in 1940 in one of the most successful SMSU football seasons ever.  The 1940 Bears breezed to the league title and outscored their 10 opponents by a combined 279 points to 20 in a season which included seven shutouts.  Grider wound up his career with 10 touchdowns and 13 extra points and was instrumental in a string of victories which reached 18 straight before SMSU lost in mid-1941; the longest winning streak in SMSU football history.