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Hank Ketcham (American football)

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For his grandson, also known as Hank Ketcham, see Henry H. Ketcham.

Hank Ketcham
Ketcham at Yale in 1913
PositionCenter, guard
Class1914
Personal information
Born:(1891-06-17)June 17, 1891
Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Died:November 1, 1986(1986-11-01) (aged 95)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career history
College
High school
Career highlights and awards
College Football Hall of Fame (1968)

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.

Biography

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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

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  1. ^ Ketcham's entry in his Yale class history gives his birth location as Highwood,[1] which is an unincorporated community within Englewood.
  2. ^ Roving center is an outdated term for linebacker, coined during the era of the one-platoon system.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e History of the Class of 1914. Yale College. 1914. p. 218. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ketcham is Yale Captain". The New York Times. December 4, 1912. p. 14. Retrieved July 13, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Howard Jones Yale Coach". The New York Times. February 16, 1913. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c "Henry Ketcham (1968)". College Football Hall of Fame.
  5. ^ a b "WWI New York Army Cards". New York State Archives. Retrieved July 12, 2023 – via fold3.com.
  6. ^ a b "The anchor of S.S. West Fraser". Quesnel Cariboo Observer. Quesnel, British Columbia. December 17, 1995. p. Sup. 13. Retrieved July 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Miss Peters to Wed Henry H. Ketcham". Brooklyn Times-Union. September 18, 1921. p. 9. Retrieved July 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Seattle Society (column)". The Seattle Star. November 11, 1921. p. 14. Retrieved July 12, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Top Coach, Ex-Players Enter Hall". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. AP. February 14, 1968. p. 12. Retrieved July 13, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
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