William Howard "Bud" Kerr (November 10, 1915 – April 9, 1964) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He was an All-American football player at Notre Dame in 1939. He later served as the head football coach at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

, from 1956 to 1959.

Biography

Kerr was born in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

but moved to Newburgh at three years old. He attended

Newburgh Free Academy Newburgh Free Academy (NFA) is the public high school educating all students in grades 9– 12 in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District, which serves the city of Newburgh, New York, the towns of Newburgh and New Windsor, and portions of ...

where he was in the school bad for his first three years and only joined the football team as a part-time player as a senior. After high school, he worked for four years in order to afford college. Kerr attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

where he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

position for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...

team. He was selected by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, the All-America Board, the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

, the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' and the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

as a first-team end on the

1939 College Football All-America Team The 1939 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1939. The nine selectors recognized by the N ...

. After graduating from Notre Dame, Kerr held assistant coaching positions at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

. Kerr served as a line coach at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

in 1947 and 1948 and then moved to the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

to take on the same role there in 1949. He was hired as the head football coach at the University of San Francisco, succeeding fellow Notre Dame alumnus,

Joe Kuharich Joseph Lawrence Kuharich (April 14, 1917 – January 25, 1981) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of San Francisco from 1948 to 1951, and at the University of Notre Dame from 1959 ...

, in December 1951. However, the

San Francisco Dons football The San Francisco Dons football program were the intercollegiate American football team for University of San Francisco located in San Francisco, California. The team competed in NCAA Division II as a Division II Independent football program. The ...

program was discontinued in early 1952 and did not resume until several years later. In February 1956, after a stint as the ends coach of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

, Kerr was hired as the head football coach for the

Flyers football team. He coached the Flyers from 1956 to 1959, compiling a record of 15–24–1. Kerr later worked as a motel manager and an employee of Pioneer Carloading Co. in San Francisco. Kerr died in his home at

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

in 1964 after complaining of chest pains."Ex-UD Grid Pilot Kerr Dies in San Francisco,"
''Dayton Journal-Herald,'' April 14, 1964, p. 12. He was buried in San Francisco at

Golden Gate National Cemetery Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Bud 1915 births 1964 deaths American football ends Dayton Flyers football coaches Denver Pioneers football coaches Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers football coaches Los Angeles Dons players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players San Francisco Dons football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches Washington University Bears football coaches Sportspeople from Newburgh, New York People from Tarrytown, New York Players of American football from New York (state) United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of English descent American people of French-Canadian descent Burials at Golden Gate National Cemetery Newburgh Free Academy alumni