Walter S. Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Walter Scott Kennedy was an American football
player and coach and newspaper publisher. He was an All-American quarterback
for the University of Chicago
and captain of the 1898 and 1899 Chicago Maroons football
teams. He later moved to Albion, Michigan
where he was the publisher of the Albion Evening Recorder from 1904 to 1939. He also coached the Albion College
football team from 1904 to 1920.
, in approximately 1873. He played high school football at Villisca, Iowa
. After graduating from high school, Kennedy attended Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri
, where he again played football.
where he played football for head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
from 1896 to 1899. He also competed for Chicago in baseball and track. Kennedy was five feet, nine inches tall and weighed 196 pounds. He began his football career as a tackle
, but he was moved to the halfback
position in 1897, playing in the same backfield as College Football Hall of Fame
inductee, Clarence Herschberger
. At the end of the 1897 season, his teammates elected him as the captain of the 1898 Chicago Maroons football
team. At the time of his election as team captain, the Chicago Daily Tribune
wrote: "In guarding the men who carry the ball and in breaking up the interference of the opposing team he is unsurpassed in the West, and is a hard man to stop when he himself advances the ball."
For the 1898 and 1899 seasons, Kennedy was moved to the quarterback
position. In November 1898, questions were raised as to Kennedy's eligibility to play college football. An individual formerly associated with Chicago football, who was then coaching in Iowa, wrote a letter to the University of Chicago reporting that Kennedy's mother had informed him that her son was receiving $500 a year to play football at Chicago. Several additional letters were received, raising questions about Kennedy's past, including his baseball record. The University of Chicago concluded that Kennedy was eligible, and he was selected by Walter Camp
as a second-team All-American quarterback in 1898.
In February 1899, Caspar Whitney
renewed the controversy over Kennedy's eligibility in an article published in Harper's Weekly
. Whitney had secured a copy of the Western Conference
rules and argued that Kennedy, having played college football at Tarkio College for at least one season, was not eligible to play a fourth year of varsity football for Chicago.
Despite the questions over his eligibility, Kennedy (at age 26) was permitted to return in 1899 as Chicago's starting quarterback. He was also chosen to be Chicago's captain for a second time in 1899. Several schools, including Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin boycotted Chicago in 1899, protesting Chicago's use of players with dubious eligibility. In 1929, a columnist in the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that the undefeated 1899 team was considered one of the two greatest Chicago football teams of all time. The 1899 Chicago Maroons defeated Notre Dame (23–0), Cornell (17–6), Purdue (44–0), Northwestern (76–0), Minnesota (29–0), and Brown (17–6), and played to ties against Iowa (5–5) and Penn (5–5).
Because of the boycott of Chicago, the 1899 season ended with uncertainty as to whether Chicago or Wisconsin had fielded the best team in the West. Wisconsin agreed to a post-season championship game against Chicago. The game, played on December 9, 1899, was Kennedy's last game for Chicago. Chicago won the game 17–0, and Kennedy later described the game as his "greatest thrill in football." The game matched the punting skills of Wisconsin's Pat O'Dea
against Kennedy's punting. Kennedy was forced to punt from Chicago's ten-yard line, and Kennedy kicked the ball as he was being thrown to the ground by Wisconsin end Eddie Cochems
. The kick proved to be the longest punt of Kennedy's career. At the end of the 1899 season, he was selected as a first-team All-American by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was selected as an All-Western player at either halfback or quarterback three straight years from 1897 to 1899.
, where he worked as both a newspaperman and football coach. He was the publisher of the Albion Evening Recorder from 1904 to 1939. He was also the head football coach at Albion College
from 1904 to 1920, leading the team to a 51–29–8 record (.625 winning percentage) and four championships.
Kennedy died in Albion, Michigan in 1954 at age 79.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach and newspaper publisher. He was an All-American quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and captain of the 1898 and 1899 Chicago Maroons football
Chicago Maroons football
The Chicago Maroons are the college football team representing the University of Chicago. The Maroons play in NCAA Division III as a member of the University Athletic Association. From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power...
teams. He later moved to Albion, Michigan
Albion, Michigan
Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...
where he was the publisher of the Albion Evening Recorder from 1904 to 1939. He also coached the Albion College
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
football team from 1904 to 1920.
Early years
Kennedy was born in Woodburn, IowaWoodburn, Iowa
Woodburn is a city in Clarke County, Iowa, United States. The population was 244 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Woodburn is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, in approximately 1873. He played high school football at Villisca, Iowa
Villisca, Iowa
Villisca is a city in Montgomery County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,344 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Villisca is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....
. After graduating from high school, Kennedy attended Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri
Tarkio, Missouri
Tarkio is a city in Tarkio Township, Atchison County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,583 at the 2010 census . It was platted in 1880 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Tarkio" is from a Native American word meaning "place where walnuts grow"...
, where he again played football.
University of Chicago
Kennedy enrolled at the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he played football for head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
from 1896 to 1899. He also competed for Chicago in baseball and track. Kennedy was five feet, nine inches tall and weighed 196 pounds. He began his football career as a tackle
Tackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
, but he was moved to the halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
position in 1897, playing in the same backfield as College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inductee, Clarence Herschberger
Clarence Herschberger
Clarence B. "Herschie" Herschberger was an American football fullback, punter and placekicker. He played for the University of Chicago from 1896–1898 and became the first western player to be selected as a first-team All-American in 1898...
. At the end of the 1897 season, his teammates elected him as the captain of the 1898 Chicago Maroons football
Chicago Maroons football
The Chicago Maroons are the college football team representing the University of Chicago. The Maroons play in NCAA Division III as a member of the University Athletic Association. From 1892 to 1939, the Maroons were a major college football power...
team. At the time of his election as team captain, the Chicago Daily Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote: "In guarding the men who carry the ball and in breaking up the interference of the opposing team he is unsurpassed in the West, and is a hard man to stop when he himself advances the ball."
For the 1898 and 1899 seasons, Kennedy was moved to the quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
position. In November 1898, questions were raised as to Kennedy's eligibility to play college football. An individual formerly associated with Chicago football, who was then coaching in Iowa, wrote a letter to the University of Chicago reporting that Kennedy's mother had informed him that her son was receiving $500 a year to play football at Chicago. Several additional letters were received, raising questions about Kennedy's past, including his baseball record. The University of Chicago concluded that Kennedy was eligible, and he was selected by Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
as a second-team All-American quarterback in 1898.
In February 1899, Caspar Whitney
Caspar Whitney
Caspar William Whitney was an American author, editor, explorer, and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889 when he worked for Harper's Magazine....
renewed the controversy over Kennedy's eligibility in an article published in Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
. Whitney had secured a copy of the Western Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
rules and argued that Kennedy, having played college football at Tarkio College for at least one season, was not eligible to play a fourth year of varsity football for Chicago.
Despite the questions over his eligibility, Kennedy (at age 26) was permitted to return in 1899 as Chicago's starting quarterback. He was also chosen to be Chicago's captain for a second time in 1899. Several schools, including Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin boycotted Chicago in 1899, protesting Chicago's use of players with dubious eligibility. In 1929, a columnist in the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that the undefeated 1899 team was considered one of the two greatest Chicago football teams of all time. The 1899 Chicago Maroons defeated Notre Dame (23–0), Cornell (17–6), Purdue (44–0), Northwestern (76–0), Minnesota (29–0), and Brown (17–6), and played to ties against Iowa (5–5) and Penn (5–5).
Because of the boycott of Chicago, the 1899 season ended with uncertainty as to whether Chicago or Wisconsin had fielded the best team in the West. Wisconsin agreed to a post-season championship game against Chicago. The game, played on December 9, 1899, was Kennedy's last game for Chicago. Chicago won the game 17–0, and Kennedy later described the game as his "greatest thrill in football." The game matched the punting skills of Wisconsin's Pat O'Dea
Pat O'Dea
-External links:* Australian Dictionary of Biography...
against Kennedy's punting. Kennedy was forced to punt from Chicago's ten-yard line, and Kennedy kicked the ball as he was being thrown to the ground by Wisconsin end Eddie Cochems
Eddie Cochems
Edward Bulwer "Eddie" Cochems was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota State , Clemson , Saint Louis University , and Maine . During his three years at St...
. The kick proved to be the longest punt of Kennedy's career. At the end of the 1899 season, he was selected as a first-team All-American by the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was selected as an All-Western player at either halfback or quarterback three straight years from 1897 to 1899.
Later years
After graduating from Chicago, Kennedy went into the newspaper business. He began his newspaper career as a football writer for the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1900. In 1904, Kennedy moved to Albion, MichiganAlbion, Michigan
Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, where he worked as both a newspaperman and football coach. He was the publisher of the Albion Evening Recorder from 1904 to 1939. He was also the head football coach at Albion College
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
from 1904 to 1920, leading the team to a 51–29–8 record (.625 winning percentage) and four championships.
Kennedy died in Albion, Michigan in 1954 at age 79.