Henry Kean

Henry Arthur Kean (1894–1955) was an American college football coach best known for his tenure as head coach at Kentucky State University from 1931 to 1942. At KSU, Kean's teams won four Negro National Football championships and ten straight Midwestern Athletic Association championships. His lifetime coaching record was an impressive 166-33-9, with a winning ratio of 0.819.

Coaching career

Kentucky State

Kean was the sixth head college football coach for the Kentucky State University Thorobreds located in Frankfort, Kentucky and he held that position for twelve seasons, from 1931 until 1942. During his tenure as head coach at KSU, he led the team to four Black College National Football championships and ten straight Midwestern Athletic Association championships. His coaching record at Kentucky State was 73 wins, 17 losses, and 6 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him first at Kentucky State in total wins and first at Kentucky State in winning percentage (.792).^[1]

Tennessee State

Kean moved to Tennessee State University in 1943 and led the Tigers to five football national titles. Kean was the 11th head football coach for the Tigers in Nashville, Tennessee and he held that position for eleven seasons, from 1944 until 1954. His coaching record at Tennessee State was 93 wins, 16 losses, and 3 ties. As of the conclusion of the 2007 season, this ranks him second at Tennessee State in total wins and second at Tennessee State in football winning percentage (.844).

Henry Kean also coached basketball at Tennessee State from 1944-1949 and from 1950-51. As head coach, he recorded 108 wins and only 26 losses. In 1948-1949, the Tigers went undefeated finishing with a record of 24 wins. The Tigers scored 1,765 points and allowed only 977 points by their opponents. The 1948-1949 is TSU's only undefeated team.

Kean was inducted into the Tennessee State Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.

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Personal life

Kean's love of football started in 1916, when he helped lead Fisk University to gain the National Black Football Championship, becoming an All-American player for the 1916 team in the process.

Kean was a graduate of Fisk University and Indiana University. He was a star athlete in football, basketball, baseball and tennis.

Kean served as a 2nd Lieutenant in World War 1 in the 350th Artillery Regiment.

He was also a mathematics teacher at Louisville Central High School.

Henry Arthur Kean was the son of William T. Kean and Alice E. Garrett of Louisville, Kentucky.

Henry had a sister Olive Kean, who married Mr. Boone and was a school teacher. They had no children.

He had a brother, Gardner Kean, who was the first black executive at Gulf Oil. He had no children.

He had another brother, William T. Kean. While a student at Louisville Central High School, William or "Bill" was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. The 5' 7" athlete weighed 140 pounds when he played football at Howard University, where he also earned letters in three other sports. He was one of the school's first 4-letter athletes and in 1922 was named to the Negro All-American Team as a quarterback. As a coach, he directed the Louisville Central football team to a 225-45-12 record. As the basketball coach, he led the Louisville Central Yellow Jackets to wins in 857 of its 940 games. He is the maternal grandfather of NBA player Allen Houston

Henry Arthur Kean married the beautiful Bessie Fogle of KY and they remained happily married until his death. They had two children.

Henry Arthur Kean's son, Henry A. Kean, Jr., played forward for the Harlem Globetrotters. Henry Arthur Kean had one child, Dominic Kean of Nashville TN.

Kean's daughter Carroll Elizabeth Kean married Dr. Samuel Waymer Williams and they had two children, Christopher Eric Williams and Andrea Marie Williams. Christopher married Vivianne Plazas and they have six children (Alec Christopher, Gabriel Joseph, Isabella Gisele, Philip Samuel, Mia Caroline and Noemi Angel) and they reside in Dallas, TX. Andrea married John Rice and they have two children (Matteo and Kira) and they reside in Bethesda MD.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Kean held college degrees from both Indiana University and Fisk University, and taught mathematics at Louisville's Central High School.

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