Dan Kenan

Dan Kenan
Sport(s) Football
Playing career
1913–1914 Wesleyan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1915 Wesleyan (assistant)
1916, 1920 Wesleyan
Head coaching record
Overall 9–2–3

Dan C. Kenan was an American football player and coach. He played football for Wesleyan University in 1913 and 1914 and served as the head coach of the Wesleyan football team in 1916 and 1920. His .750 winning percentage as Wesleyan's head football coach ranks third in the 127-year history of Wesleyan football.

Athlete

Kenan grew up in El Paso, Texas,[1] and attended the El Paso Military Academy.[2] He subsequently enrolled at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he played for the Wesleyan Cardinals football team in 1913 and 1914. He was a utility player during most of the 1913 season and played at both the halfback and tackle positions in Wesleyan's 1913 game against Trinity College.[2] Kenan was unanimously selected as the captain of Wesleyan's 1914 football team and played fullback for the 1914 team. He also did punting and drop kicking for the 1914 Wesleyan team. At the end of the 1914 college football season, Outing magazine selected Kenan for its Football Roll of Honor as one of the "Stars of the Gridiron in 1914."[3]

Coach

In June 1915, Kenan was voted the best athlete in Wesleyan's senior class.[4] That same month, he was also hired as an assistant to help Dick Eustis coach the football team.[5][6] In February 1916, Kenan became the head football coach at Wesleyan and led the team to 4–1–2 record.[7][8][9] He was also hired as Wesleyan's head men's basketball coach in December 1916.[10] With the entry of the United States into World War I, Kenan entered the military and was assigned to an officer's training camp in 1917.[11] After leaving the military, Kenan returned to his position as Wesleyan's head football coach in 1920.[12] He led the 1920 football team to a 5–1–1 record and a tie for the Little Three football championship.[9] In two seasons as Wesleyan's head football coach, Kenan compiled a 9–2–3 record. His .750 winning percentage ranks third all-time in the 127-year history of Wesleyan football.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dick Eustis Engaged To Coach Wesleyan". The Day, New London, Conn. 1915-08-26.
  2. 1 2 "Kenan New Wesleyan Captain". The New York Times. 1913-11-24.
  3. ↑ "FOOTBALL ROLL OF HONOR: The Men Whom the Best Coaches of the Country Have Named as the Stars of the Gridiron in 1914" (PDF). Outing. 1915. p. 498.
  4. ↑ "VOTES THE TIMES THE BEST: Wesleyan Senior Class Again Chooses It Among Newspapers". The New York Times. 1915-06-18.
  5. ↑ "Kenan to Coach Wesleyan". The New York Times. 1915-08-26.
  6. ↑ "DAN KENAN PICKED TO ASSIST EUSTIS: Wesleyan's Last Football Captain to Instruct In Gymnasium All the Year; DAN KENAN". The Hartford Courant. 1915-06-29.
  7. ↑ "DAN KENAN HEAD COACH AT WESLEYAN: Chosen to Succeed Dick Eustis --Last Year Assistant Coach". The Hartford Courant. 1916-02-24.
  8. ↑ "WESLEYAN SQUAD CALLED; Coach Kenan Will Hold First Football Practice Monday". The New York Times. 1916-09-15.
  9. 1 2 "127 SEASONS OF WESLEYAN FOOTBALL". Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
  10. ↑ "WESLEYAN ATHLETIC COUNCIL PICKS DAN KENAN TO COACH BASKETBALL: Believes Constructive Work Shown in Football Will Have Good Result on This Sport". The Hartford Courant. 1916-12-06.
  11. ↑ "WESLEYAN FOOTBALL ELEVEN IN A WRETCHED CONDITION: Coach Kenan, Captain Boswell and Manager McCarthy Doing Service for Uncle Sam". The Hartford Courant. 1917-09-19.
  12. ↑ "KENAN TO COACH WESLEYAN; Football Practice at Middletown to Start Sept. 20". The New York Times. 1920-09-17.
  13. ↑ "ALL-TIME COACHING RECORDS". Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
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