A Tribute to Dr. Roger B. Saylor

A Tribute to Dr. Roger B. Saylor (May 23-1918 to May 2, 2013)

Dr. Roger B. Saylor was one the pioneers in Pennsylvania Football History.

He was born in Newark, New Jersey on May 23, 1918. He was a graduate of Lebanon Valley College and earned his doctor’s

degree at the University of Illinois. He taught statistics at Penn State University and later at Capitol Campus in Middletown, PA.

In September of 1981, he was granted the rank of Professor Emeritus. When he retired, he moved to Florida, making his residence in Hope Sound and Juno Beach. He passed away on May 2, 2013, just 3 weeks shy of his 96th birthday.

Dr. Saylor became interested in rating high school football teams and established what came to be known as the Saylor Points

system. This system (or some modification) is still in use today. Dr. Saylor’s state rankings from 1914 to 1987 appear in this edition of the Pennsylvania Football News beginning on page 370.

It was Saylor’s rankings, controversial at times, that led the PIAA to establish a playoff system to determine the best football teams in the Keystone State. His rankings were very popular, but the die -hard football fans still wanted a playoff to determine the best teams in the state. In 1988, the PIAA elected to start a high school football playoff system.

Dr. Saylor also became the state historian and still kept records of every high school football team that ever existed and what was even more amazing was the fact that he did this long before the advent of computers.

Saylor was a big supporter of the Pennsylvania Football News and when he found time, he would contribute articles for the newspaper and the website.

Dr. Roger B. Saylor will surely be missed by many who had the pleasure of knowing him.

That staff at Pennsylvania Football News is working every day to add Dr. Saylors work to our schedule data base so you will be able to view all the team schedules he compiled by year.