Position | Center, guard |
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Class | 1914 |
Personal information | |
Born: | Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. | June 17, 1891
Died: | November 1, 1986 Seattle, Washington, U.S. | (aged 95)
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career history | |
College |
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High school |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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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.
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]