Hank Ketcham (American football)

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

Hank Ketcham

Ketcham at Yale in 1913
Position	Center, guard
Class	1914
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.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career history
College	Yale (1911–1913)
High school	Englewood (NJ) Hotchkiss School (CT)
Career highlights and awards
2× Consensus All-American (1911, 1912) Second-team All-American (1913)
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

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

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

1. 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. "Henry Ketcham (1968)". College Football Hall of Fame.
5. "WWI New York Army Cards". New York State Archives. Retrieved July 12, 2023 – via fold3.com.
6. "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.

External links

• Hank Ketcham at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Hank Ketcham at Find a Grave