Jim Kendrick
Encyclopedia
James Marcellus Kendrick was a professional football
player during the early years of the National Football League
with the Toledo Maroons
, Canton Bulldogs
, Louisville Brecks, Chicago Bears
, Hammond Pros
, Buffalo Bisons, Rochester Jeffersons
, Rock Island Independents
, Buffalo Rangers and the New York Giants
. Kendrick was a part of the Bulldogs' 1922 NFL championship team
and the Giants' 1927 NFL Championship team
.
on August 22, 1893, was the youngest of nine children to J. M. and Lura Kendrick. In 1904 his family relocated to Waco, Texas
where Jim attended Douglas Select School. The school did not have a football team at the time, however Jim did excel on the school's baseball
team. In 1911, he was elected as his senior class' president.
. There he earned All-Conference honors as an end in 1915. During the 1915 season, Kendrick and the Aggies
defeated their rival Texas Longhorns
13–0. Jim also played baseball and basketball
for the Aggies.
in the Texas National Guard
. He was part of the Second Texas Infantry Regiment. That year he was part of a force called up to track down the Mexican
bandit Poncho Villa. Jim served in the US forces under the legendary General Jack Pershing. Jim joined the United States Army
in 1917 and was in France
during World War I
.
During this era, many military units created football teams. In Jim's team won US National Guard Championship in 1917. The team won eight games and was only scored on once. Kendrick also played for the 36th Division in the 1919 American Expeditionary Force
championship game in Paris
.
. In 1922, Jim played professional football and signed with Canton Bulldogs of the National Football League. Jim played for the Bulldogs however he would occasionally sneak into the line-up for the Toledo Maroons for a few games. That year the Bulldogs won the 1922 NFL Championship.
In 1923, Jim accepted an assistant coaching position at Centre College
in Danville, Kentucky
. He also coached the school's baseball and basketball teams. On Sundays, he played for the Louisville Brecks. The team was 0–3 in NFL competition. In 1924 Jim played for Chicago Bears and still kept his coaching position at Centre and during the off-season, Jim managed and played for the Cleveland Indians
minor league
affiliate in Bradenton, Florida
. In 1925, Jim began playing for the Hammond Pros. However the Buffalo Bisons wrestled him away from his contract to play football for them.
In 1926 Jim was chosen to form a team for the Buffalo Bisons, composed only of players from Texas
and Oklahoma
. The team was renamed the Rangers, after Texas' legendary peacekeeping force. The team ended the season with a final record of 4–4–2. However, the Bisons only won two games overall in the three other seasons without Hughitt (1925, 1927, 1929), each year with a different head coach. Kendrick played in 8 games for the New York Giants in 1927. The Giants then won the 1927 NFL Championship, Jim's second title.
in San Antonio, Texas
. He coached the Rattlers for just one season. In 1933 Jim was coaching the Blanco Tree Army Reserve football team for the Civilian Conservation Corps
. That year a traffic accident occurred as the team was en-route to a playoff game. Two players were killed and others wounded. Jim suffered severe injuries to his right arm, but selflessly insisted that doctors attend to his men first. As a result, the arm became infected and had to be amputated two inches above the elbow. For this act of heroism, Jim Kendrick was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, awarded to army personnel for heroic deeds performed during peacetime, by the United States War Department.
Kendrick later became a college game official, presiding over several major games during the mid-to-late 1930s. He also was active in the oil industry and remained working their until his death.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player during the early years of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Toledo Maroons
Toledo Maroons
The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:...
, Canton Bulldogs
Canton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...
, Louisville Brecks, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Hammond Pros
Hammond Pros
The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.-History:The Pros were established by Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young who was a boxing promoter, owner of a racing stable and a doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football team...
, Buffalo Bisons, Rochester Jeffersons
Rochester Jeffersons
The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing...
, Rock Island Independents
Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...
, Buffalo Rangers and the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Kendrick was a part of the Bulldogs' 1922 NFL championship team
1922 NFL season
The 1922 NFL season was the 3rd regular season of what was now called National Football League . The NFL fielded 18 teams during the season, including new league teams such as the Milwaukee Badgers, the Oorang Indians, the Racine Legion, and the Toledo Maroons...
and the Giants' 1927 NFL Championship team
1927 NFL season
The 1927 NFL season was the 8th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, the league decided to eliminate the financially weaker teams. As a result, the league dropped from 22 to 12 teams, and a majority of the remaining teams were centered around the East Coast instead...
.
Early life
Jim, born in Hillside, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on August 22, 1893, was the youngest of nine children to J. M. and Lura Kendrick. In 1904 his family relocated to Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
where Jim attended Douglas Select School. The school did not have a football team at the time, however Jim did excel on the school's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team. In 1911, he was elected as his senior class' president.
College
Jim did not play organized football until he entered Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
. There he earned All-Conference honors as an end in 1915. During the 1915 season, Kendrick and the Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies football
The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
defeated their rival Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
13–0. Jim also played baseball and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
for the Aggies.
Military service
In 1926, Jim was a lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Texas National Guard
Texas National Guard
The Texas National Guard consists of the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Texas. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state...
. He was part of the Second Texas Infantry Regiment. That year he was part of a force called up to track down the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
bandit Poncho Villa. Jim served in the US forces under the legendary General Jack Pershing. Jim joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1917 and was in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
During this era, many military units created football teams. In Jim's team won US National Guard Championship in 1917. The team won eight games and was only scored on once. Kendrick also played for the 36th Division in the 1919 American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
championship game in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Professional football
When the war ended, Jim became an assistant football coach at BaylorBaylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.-History:...
. In 1922, Jim played professional football and signed with Canton Bulldogs of the National Football League. Jim played for the Bulldogs however he would occasionally sneak into the line-up for the Toledo Maroons for a few games. That year the Bulldogs won the 1922 NFL Championship.
In 1923, Jim accepted an assistant coaching position at Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
in Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
. He also coached the school's baseball and basketball teams. On Sundays, he played for the Louisville Brecks. The team was 0–3 in NFL competition. In 1924 Jim played for Chicago Bears and still kept his coaching position at Centre and during the off-season, Jim managed and played for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
affiliate in Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
. In 1925, Jim began playing for the Hammond Pros. However the Buffalo Bisons wrestled him away from his contract to play football for them.
In 1926 Jim was chosen to form a team for the Buffalo Bisons, composed only of players from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The team was renamed the Rangers, after Texas' legendary peacekeeping force. The team ended the season with a final record of 4–4–2. However, the Bisons only won two games overall in the three other seasons without Hughitt (1925, 1927, 1929), each year with a different head coach. Kendrick played in 8 games for the New York Giants in 1927. The Giants then won the 1927 NFL Championship, Jim's second title.
After football
In 1928, Jim was named the head football coach at St. Mary's UniversitySt. Mary's University, Texas
St. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...
in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. He coached the Rattlers for just one season. In 1933 Jim was coaching the Blanco Tree Army Reserve football team for the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
. That year a traffic accident occurred as the team was en-route to a playoff game. Two players were killed and others wounded. Jim suffered severe injuries to his right arm, but selflessly insisted that doctors attend to his men first. As a result, the arm became infected and had to be amputated two inches above the elbow. For this act of heroism, Jim Kendrick was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, awarded to army personnel for heroic deeds performed during peacetime, by the United States War Department.
Kendrick later became a college game official, presiding over several major games during the mid-to-late 1930s. He also was active in the oil industry and remained working their until his death.