Hank Ketcham (American football)
American football player (1891–1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Holman Ketcham (June 17, 1891 – November 1, 1986) was an American college football player who played at the center and guard positions for the Yale Bulldogs football team. Ketcham was a consensus All-America first-team selection in 1911 and 1912, and a second-team selection in 1913. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Ketcham at Yale in 1913 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Center, guard |
| Class | 1914 |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 17, 1891 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | November 1, 1986 (aged 95) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
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| College |
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| Awards and highlights | |
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Biography
Ketcham was born in Englewood, New Jersey,[a] and lived in Brooklyn, New York, and North Hatley, Quebec, during his youth.[1] His father was a graduate of Yale and a lawyer.[1] After attending the Hotchkiss School, Ketcham enrolled at Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and the Psi Upsilon fraternity.[1]
Ketcham played every game for Yale's varsity football team in 1911, 1912, and 1913. He helped lead Yale to a 7–2–1 record in 1911 and a 7–1–1 record in 1912 and was a consensus All-America Team selection for both of those seasons. In December 1912, Ketcham was selected as captain of the 1913 Yale football team.[2] In a departure from past tradition at Yale, Ketcham subsequently appointed Howard Jones as the school's first salaried football coach.[3][4]
Ketcham later recalled: "I played every varsity game for three years and was taken out only once for a slight injury … I am generally credited with having developed the term 'roving center'.[b] Except for today's platoon systems, football hasn't changed materially. We had the on-side kick, the ball was a bit larger in circumference and the drop kick was more popular than the place kick."[4]
At the time he graduated from Yale, Ketchum expected to work in railroading, having worked during one summer for the Big Four Railroad.[1]
Ketcham served in the United States Army as a lieutenant during World War I, from May 1917 to April 1919.[5] He saw action as a member of the 103rd Field Artillery Regiment in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse–Argonne offensive, being slightly wounded in the latter.[5]
Ketcham moved to Seattle and entered the lumber business, eventually owning a lumber wholesale business.[6] In 1921, he married Katherine Eugenia Peters.[7][8] Three of their sons went on to found the West Fraser Timber company.[6]
In February 1968, Ketcham was selected as an inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame.[9] He died in 1986, aged 95.[4]
Notes
- Roving center is an outdated term for linebacker, coined during the era of the one-platoon system.