Although former BYU running back and Highland resident Blair Buswell didn't play his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he did something impressive - he sculpted his way there.
As a student and football player in 1982, Buswell was honored during a BYU Cougar Club banquet where his sculptures of BYU sports stars Danny Ainge and Jim McMahon were displayed. San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walsh was the guest speaker there and was impressed with Buswell's work. Walsh asked Buswell to make a sculpture of himself and 49ers team owner, Edward DeBartolo, Jr.Now, 11 years and 22 Pro Football Hall of Fame sculptures later, a bust of Walsh sculpted by Buswell will be unveiled at the Hall of Fame inductee ceremony in Canton, Ohio, at the end of July. He is also sculpting inductee San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts.
"Bill Walsh introduced me to the Hall of Fame. It's neat to sculpt the man that gave me the big break," said Buswell.
Since 1982, Buswell has combined two talents into a career by sculpting the likes of Pete Rozelle, O.J. Simpson, Terry Bradshaw, Larry Csonka, Paul "Bear" Bryant and Tom Landry.
In high school, Buswell was an all-state football player and an art Sterling Scholar. While at BYU, Buswell taught sculpting classes after football practice while his teammates went to the training table.
"I knew art was to be my career. I just wanted to play football as long as it was fun," said Buswell, who played for the Cougars from 1979 until 1981. "It's also good that I have that background. It gives me something to talk about when they're posing for me."
Buswell meets the players at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii in January and takes pictures and measurements. A few months later, he goes to the inductees home and makes any requested changes on the busts before they are bronzed.
"It's fun. I get to meet my idols - the men of the game," said Buswell.
And the Pro Football Hall of Fame has spawned other opportunities for Buswell. He is currently working on an 8-foot-tall sculpture of former NBA star Oscar Robertson for Robertson's alma mater, the University of Cincinatti.
He's also sculpted for Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. In 1990 he was named Sports Artist of the Year by the U.S. Sports Academy.
But his sculpting talents don't stop with sports. He has western sculptures and figurative work in several galleries. Last year he was voted a member of the National Sculpture Society.