Notable Lewis Countians
Russell Brooks ‘Russ’ Bailey
1897–1949
A Weston-born WVU All-American center, member of the 1920 Akron Pros championship team, and later a prominent surgeon and cancer leader. Bailey was born in Weston and became a standout at West Virginia University before entering professional football and medicine.
Lewis County connection
Bailey was born in Weston and became a standout at West Virginia University before entering professional football and medicine.
Weston-born football player and physician Russell Brooks Bailey.
The Wheeling Intelligencer via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Lewis County connection
Bailey was born in Weston and became a standout at West Virginia University before entering professional football and medicine.
Career and public significance
A Weston-born WVU All-American center, member of the 1920 Akron Pros championship team, and later a prominent surgeon and cancer leader.
His life unusually combines the first championship season of the league that became the NFL with a substantial surgical and public-health career.
Reading the record carefully
Sources conflict between 1897 and 1899 for his birth; this edition uses October 17, 1897 while openly preserving the discrepancy.
Life and legacy
Timeline
1897
Born in Weston; one WVU source gives 1899.
1920
Plays for the Akron Pros, recognized as the first APFA/NFL champion.
1920s–1940s
Builds a career in surgery and cancer leadership.
1949
Dies in Charleston.
Sources and further reading
How this profile was documented
- Russ Bailey
WVU Sports Hall of Fame
Starting source for biographical dates, offices, achievements, and the Lewis County connection.
- Russ Bailey
Pro Football Reference
Starting source for biographical dates, offices, achievements, and the Lewis County connection.
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