Ken Kavanaugh, LSU Tigers #51 (1916-2007)

Ken Kavanaugh, LSU All-American, College Football Hall of Famer, NFL legend, and decorated World War II bomber pilot, has passed away at the age of 90. He died of pneumonia in Sarasota, Florida, leaving behind a wife of 64 years, a son, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

The list of Kavanaugh’s honors, achievements, and records is both striking and humbling. We’ll provide a bulleted list here, but we urge you to follow some of the links to information sources at the end of this post, and to consider buying his biography, which was penned by his son.

• Born in 1916 in Little Rock, endured the Great Depression
• Played football for LSU, 1937-1939
• All-SEC, 1938 & 1939
• All-American, 1939
• SEC Most Valuable Player, 1939
• Led the nation in receptions, catching 30 passes for 469 yards in 9 games, 1939
• First winner of the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy, 1939
• 7th in Heisman Trophy ballotting, 1939
• Drafted by the Chicago Bears (22nd overall pick), 1940
• 23 receptions, 9 touchdowns, 1940-41
• Led the NFL with 28.5 ypc, 1941
• Enlisted in the US Air Force after Pearl Harbor, became a bomber pilot, 1942
• Flew anti-submarine missions in the Caribbean, then transferred to England and flew B-24 and B-17 aircraft on 30 bombing missions over Germany, 1942-1945
• Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four Oak Clusters, 1945
• Returned to the Chicago Bears, 1945-1950
• Final NFL Stats: 90 games played; 162 catches for 3,626 yds; 50 TD catches + 2 fumble recovery TD
• Four Chicago Bears receiving records: Career TD receptions: 50; Single Season TD Receptions: 13; Avg YPC: 22.4; Avg YPC, Single Season: 25.6. All four records still stand.
• Member of Chicago Bears All-Time Team
• Bears receivers coach, 1951-53
• Villanova receivers coach, 1954
• Ends coach, NY Giants, 1955-68
• College Football Hall of Fame, 1963
• Offensive coach, NY Giants, 1969-70
• Scout, NY Giants, 1971-1999
• Retired to Sarasota, Florida, 2000
• Kavanaugh’s son, Ken Jr., played receiver for LSU, 1969-71, and played briefly in the NFL
• Ken Jr. authored and published a biography of his father, entitled The Humility of Greatness, 2002
• Unconfirmed, but some quick Googling suggests Ken Jr. currently works in commercial real estate for Coldwell Banker in the Atlanta area.
• Kavanaugh’s daughter, Kristy Kavanaugh Nehilla, died in 2005. She was an English and History teacher for homebound students in Virginia.

What an amazing life. We’ve ordered The Humility of Greatness from Amazon.com and can’t wait to read it.

Here’s a list of useful links on Ken Kavanaugh, from which the information above was compiled.

• College Football Hall of Fame bio on Ken Kavanaugh
• Clann Chaomhánach bio on Ken Kavanaugh
• Wikipedia entry on Ken Kavanaugh
• Hickock Sports bio on Ken Kavanaugh
• LSUSports.net article on Ken Kavanaugh
• ESPN.com article on Ken Kavanaugh
• The Humility of Greatness by Ken Kavanaugh Jr. at Amazon.com
• Washington Post article on the passing of Kristy Kavanaugh Nehilla

Del.icio.us   Digg this