Donald Preston Fambrough (October 19, 1922 – September 3, 2011) 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 served two stints as the head football coach at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, from 1971 to 1974 and 1979 to 1982, compiling a record of 36–49–5.

Early life

Fambrough was born on October 19, 1922 in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County, Texas, Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County. Longview is located in East Tex ...

to Ivey and Willie Whittington Fambrough. He attended

Longview High School Longview High School (colloquially known as LHS) is a public high school located in the city of Longview, Texas, in Gregg County, United States and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Longview Independent School District ...

College football and military career

Fambrough 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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in 1941 and 1942 before serving in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

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 ...

. After returning home from the war, he and his wife moved to

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

. While in Lawrence, he chose to play football at the

. Following his college career, he was drafted by the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

(now known as the Arizona Cardinals) with the 276th overall selection in the

1945 NFL Draft The 1945 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1945, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected halfback Charley Trippi. Player selections Round o ...

Coaching career

Fambrough's first coaching job was at Kansas as assistant from 1948 to 1953. After that, he served as an assistant at East Texas State University, now known as

Texas A&M University–Commerce Texas A&M University–Commerce is a public university in Commerce, Texas. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1889, the inst ...

and the Municipal University of Wichita, now known as

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

. Fambrough returned to Kansas as assistant coach under Jack Mitchell in 1958. He served as the head football coach at Kansas from 1971 to 1974 and again from 1979 to 1982 and compiled a 36–49–5 record as a head coach.

Later life

Fambrough remained involved in Kansas football leading up to his death, and would occasionally take part in team practices. The school dedicated a bench overlooking Memorial Stadium to him in 2007. Fambrough is known for his hatred of rival

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and gave an annual anti-Missouri speech to the football team before each Border War game.

Personal life

Fambrough married his wife, Delfred Few, on October 4, 1941. Del, who taught English for many years at Lawrence High School, preceded him in death on November 17, 2001. The couple had two children, sons Robert and Preston.

Death

Farmbrough died September 3, 2011 at his home in Lawrence, Kansas from head injuries sustained in a fall. He was survived by two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fambrough, Don 1922 births 2011 deaths Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Kansas Jayhawks football players Second Air Force Superbombers football players Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football coaches Wichita State Shockers football coaches Longview High School alumni People from Longview, Texas Players of American football from Texas Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Kansas United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II