Howard Cornelius Gentry Sr. (April 15, 1921 – February 14, 1995) was an American

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 ...

coach. He was the 12th head football coach at Tennessee A&I State College—now known as Tennessee State University—in Nashville, Tennessee, serving for six seasons, from 1955 until 1960, and compiling a record of 42–10–1. Gentry was also the athletic director at Tennessee State from 1961 to 1976. Gentry played

as a

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

at Florida A&M University under head coached

William M. Bell William McNeil "Big Bill" Bell Sr. (June 10, 1909 – May 10, 1991) was an American college football player and coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina from 1934 t ...

and Jake Gaither. His coaching career began at North Carolina A&T University under Bell and was then an assistant coach at Wilberforce State College—now known as

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for te ...

—in Wilberforce, Ohio under head coach

Gaston F. Lewis Gaston Frederick "Country" Lewis (August 4, 1903 – November 28, 1989) was a Negro league baseball player and an American football, basketball, track, and cross country coach. Biography A native of Clinton County, Ohio, Lewis grew up on a f ...

. Gentry moved to Tennessee A&I in 1949 to become and assistant football coach under

Henry Kean Henry Arthur Kean Sr. (April 20, 1894 – December 12, 1955) was an American football and basketball coach. He served as head football coach at Kentucky State University from 1931 to 1942 and Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College—no ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* 1921 births 1995 deaths American football tackles Central State Marauders football coaches Florida A&M Rattlers football players North Carolina A&T Aggies football coaches Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers athletic directors Tennessee State Tigers football coaches African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football African-American college athletic directors in the United States 20th-century African-American sportspeople Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio {{1950s-collegefootball-coach-stub